California

• Amador County
  • Shenandoah Valley
• Carmel Valley
• Carneros
• Central Coast
  • Edna Valley
  • Mt. Harlan
  • Paso Robles
• Contra Costa County
• El Dorado County
• Lake County
• Lodi
• Mendocino
  • Anderson Valley
  • Yorkville Highlands
• Monterey
• Napa Valley
  • Atlas Peak
  • Best of Napa
  • Calistoga
  • Conn Valley
  • Diamond Mountain
  • Howell Mountain
  • Mt. Veeder
  • Oak Knoll
  • Oakville
  • Pope Valley
  • Rutherford
  • Spring Mountain
  • St. Helena
  • Stags Leap
  • Yountville
• North Coast
• Santa Barbara
  • Santa Lucia Highlands
  • Santa Rita Hills
  • Santa Ynez Valley
• Santa Cruz
• Santa Maria Valley
• Sierra Foothills
• 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

From Magnum.  54% Syrah, 35% Grenache, and 11% Mourvedre.  Opened and allowed to breather for a few hours prior to serving.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, blueberries, char, and white pepper.  Full bodied.  Delicious.  On the palate, ever so slightly ripe/sweet black raspberries with some cassis and underlying char.  Deep.  Lush texture.  Great balance.  Long finish.  Still on the younger side of mature at least from Magnum.  Another few years and should be good for ten to fifteen more after that.  Great on its own, this  will work with ribs or full flavor

Allowed to breathe for a couple hours before serving.  A blend of 97% Syrah, 2% Roussanne and 1% Viognier.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, roasted meats and roasted herbs, and some black pepper.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the boysenberries come thru with an underlying char.  This is deep with some complexity.  Not as intense or explosive as many of Manfred's wines but still a big wine.  15.5% abv but not noticeable on the nose or palate.  This is getting close to maturity but might still improve.  It drinks great on its own but will work with grilled or roasted veggie

This is a round, rich Chardonnay from Sonoma.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has red apples, some peach, Crème brûlée and slight pineapple.  Full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, Crème brûlée takes the stage.  Modest acidity.  Some pineapple and peach.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue to do so for the next ten to twelve years.  It will drink better on its own than with food, but would work with salmon on the grill.  

This took some time to open, then drank very well.  A precise, concentrated wine.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is mineral oriented but with some bright lemon notes.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the minerals and lemons continue.  Bright acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own but shows better with food.  Seafood would be good but worked well with a  watermelon salad.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.

Another great showing for this wine, but it did take some time to open.  In  addition, it seemed a bit different in profile than prior years (less oak and lemon, more grapefruit and salinity).  Not better or worse, just different.  Golden in color with a slight green hue.  On the nose, grapefruits, smoke/gunpowder with a streak of salinity.  Full bodied.  On the palate, tart grapefruit, a hint of almonds and some salinity.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  This should drink well for the next 12 to 15 years.  This drinks great on its own but will be even better with food.  It worked well with qu

Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with vanilla, lemon cream, slight wax note.  Full bodied.  Great acidity.  Deep and complex albeit obviously young.  On the palate, the lemon cream takes the stage with some background vanilla.  Long finish.  This it rich without being overblown.  One of, if not the best RM Chard I have had.  This should drink well for another 15 years.  Great on its own, this will work well with lobster or salmon.  

This is a nice Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries and some strawberries.  On the palate, this is a lighter, more elegant styled Pinot.  Nice cherry fruit with a touch of pomegranate.  Dry.  It finishes with tart cherries which wake up the palate.  This drinks well on its own and would work well with roasted (or fried) chicken.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This is an accessible Pinot Noir that has some seriousness to it as well.  More "old world" than a ripe fruit bomb.  Garnet in color with some purple swirls.  On the nose, it has a classic rhubarb, cranberries and cherries.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, rhubarb with some cherries.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well now on its own but is even better with food.  Lighter foods such as chicken salad are a nice match but this will work well with ribs r a burger off the grill.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

At a recent Intowine.com tasting, this proved to be quite popular especially among those who drank a lot of Rosé.  This is made from 100% Pinot Noir.  Pink/orange/amber in color, clear and bright.  The nose has watermelon, cherries and slight chervil notes.  Slightly viscous.  Dry with good acidity.  On the palate, cherries, boysenberries and slight citrus notes.  Clean and long finish.  More understated but delicious.  This drinks great on its own and will work well with all but the heaviest foods, especially on a hot day.  Drink over the next year or two.  

This sees 20% new oak.  Light green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has limes, lemons, and intriguing bit of wintergreen.  Clean.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is slightly chalky with lemon cream.  Light tannins.  The wintergreen returns on the finish along with a very slight bitter (lemon peel) note.  Tried again on day 2, it held up great.  This should drink well for five to seven years.  A nice match with seafood or salads but drinks well on its own, too.