Sonoma County

• Alexander Valley
• Bennett Valley
• Best of Sonoma
• Dry Creek Valley
• Fort Ross/Seaview
• Moon Mountain
• Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak
• Russian River Valley
• Sonoma Coast
• Sonoma Mountain
• Sonoma Valley
• Knights Valley

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, cedar and char.  On the palate, cassis and tarragon which is nice.  Medium bodied.  Some tannins.  This has some depth and complexity.  This drinks very well right now and would work with a wide variety of foods.  This retails for around $20 and sometimes less making this a great value in California Cabernet.  I would drink in the next few years but it should last five more if well stored.  

Light silvery gold in color.  The nose is big with lots of yellow grapefruit.  On the palate, this is not as big but nice.  Minerals and clean.  A slight bitter note.  The finish shows the return of the grapefruit.  This took about 30 minutes to open and improved after that.  Its an easy drinking wine that is very food friendly.  No hard edges.  It proved to be quite popular with friends.  

This is one of the classic vineyards in California.  A whole host of wineries use this to make some very fine Zinfandels.  Carlisle's version tends to be middle of the road.  Interestingly, it also tends to be a pretty straightforward Zin the Carlisle lineup.  Of course, that is not a bad thing.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, spice and a bit of anise.  Those qualities carry thru to the palate.  This is on the bigger side but far short of many and certainly not jammy.  A nice depth to it.  If you like more of a claret style, these have sho

Inky purple in color.  The nose is bright black raspberry fruit with some char.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  Black raspberry fruit.  Works well with food.  This is an outstanding wine, but at age 9, it is not showing the depth and complexity that might have been expected.  The question is whether it will develop.  2009 had heavy rains at harvest and pick dates often separated the great from the almost great.  It will be interesting to see where this goes over the next five to ten years.  Regardless, this is at a minimum, still a great wine.  

Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, char and black pepper.  With air, a chalky quality emerges along with more concentrated black raspberries.  Good acidity.  Deep, still young and complex on the palate.  At ten years of age, this is ageing quite slowly.  Delicious and complex.  It slowly unwinds in the glass.  Still plenty of fruit and firm tannins suggesting much more room for development.  Long finish.  Worked great with hearty food.   

Light golden in color.  The nose is clean with lemon peel, and slightly herbal notes (in a good way).  This is lean but persistent.  Tart green apples on the palate had me thinking of Chablis.  Although this is tight, it seems more open, especially with air, than a prior bottle.  Long finish.  This still needs more time to develop.  Very crisp and worked well with food. 

This is the Costco home brand.  My first time trying this and it was served to a group of people blind.  Everyone enjoyed this and for $17, there is some real value here.  Purple in color.  The nose has black cherries, bramble and spice.  On the palate, this is middle of the road in style.  A nice backbone of acidity should make it friendly with a wide variety of foods.  Good finish.  Is this amazing?  No.  But it is quite solid and as good as quite a few California Zins costing twice as much.  

Somewhat of a disappointing showing for this.  It drank fine, but a lot more was expected based on a bottle consumed just a few weeks ago.  Hopefully, the wine is just shut down at the moment.  A second bottle was opened and most of it is left, so it can be watched over the next couple of days.  Ruby/purple in color.  The nose is nice with black raspberries and some char.  On the palate, this is tight with black raspberry fruit.  No obvious faults but just lacking anything interesting or complex.  The texture is good but not what has become a staple of this wine.  Given its history, hopeful

Deep ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, some bramble and slight spice.  On the palate, this has sweet red fruits.  Drinking easy and delicious if not a lot of depth.  Nice texture.  Made for short term consumption.  Works with heavier foods.  

This is a nice value in California Chardonnay.  It is pretty classic in style but maintains an even keel which is nice.  It retails for around $16.  Light golden in color.  The nose has some slight butter along with vanilla and melon.  On the palate, this has some oak showing  but there is also plenty of fresh vibrant citrus and melon fruit.  Nice texture.  Would work with a variety of foods.  Good finish.  Nice value and a wine that will satisfy a lot of people.  Drink in the next few years.