California

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Wow.  This wine is stunning and yet, still on the young-ish side.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is explosive with cassis, dust, mocha, and smoke.  Full bodied.  A seamless texture.  Very firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, anise, dark chocolate and slight char.  Long finish.  This wine had some air prior to serving but still kept improving over the few hours we enjoyed it.  This should continue to improve over the next five to eight years, but in any event, will drink well for at least another twenty.  There is plenty of fruit to meld into the tannins as they resolve

Great to try a mature Dominus, one of the great Napa Cabs made in a more Bordeaux style.   A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot. Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with cassis and slight cigar box notes.  Full bodied.  On the palate, cassis with some depth and underlying tobacco.  This seems fully mature with a nice complexity.  Very nice finish.  This will work better food than on its own.  Lamb stew would be a great choice.  Drink over the next five years or so.  

This is a white blend made from 66% Grenache Blanc, 28% Roussanne, and 6% Chenin Blanc.  Pop and pour, this needed a good hour or more to really open up.  Pale golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a cream soda note.  With air, it shows wax and lemons.  With even more air, some tropical fruits come out (pineapple and guava?).  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate, the experience is similar to the nose; cream soda to waxy lemons to tropical fruits.  A creamy texture.  Some warmth on the finish but this also goes away with air.  This is obviously young and sho

Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has sour cherries and cherry candy.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, the sour cherries and cherry candy come thru in layers.  There is a deep complexity to this wine.  Just about at peak.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another five to eight years.  It will work well with Salmon or Tuna.  

Inky purple, opaque and bright.  The nose is warm with black raspberries, roasted meats and black pepper.  Great texture.  On the palate, black raspberries with underlying char.  Still showing very young at age 10.  This is delicious on its own.  It will need bigger foods with some spice.  Drink over the next twenty years.  

Yowza!  This is drinking wonderfully right now.  Still a tad on the young side but oh, so good.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, anise, baking spices, cherries and leather.  Full bodied.  Lush texture but lots of precision.  Depth and complexity.  On the palate, plenty of cassis, some black cherries with underlying leather and slight char/earthiness.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This is delicious on its own and will work with bigger dishes of roasted meats or fowl.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

Excellent showing.  At age 14, this is just about at peak and showing nice maturity with some youth as well.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Opaque and mostly bright.  The nose has boysenberries, slight black cherry, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  The firm tannins of it's youth are mostly resolved at this point but present.

One of the early wines from Lou Kapcsandy (RIP) back when these were (barely) affordable.  In a great place right now.  This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, graphite, dark chocolate, slight cigar box and char.  Full bodied.  Deep with layers.  On the palate, cassis and slight black cherry with underlying tobacco and earthiness.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This is just about at peak but should be there for ten or fifteen years.  A nice wine on its own but probably

This was an interesting Pinot Noir from northern California.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, sour cherries, smoke, anise and slight menthol.  Very nice.  On the palate, this has a big, but very nice texture.  Viscous with good acidity.  On the palate, this drinks well with sour cherries, anise, sandalwood and just the faint whiff of char.  Very tasty.  A long finish.  Those who like bigger, fresh (clean) Pinot Noir should love this wine.  Drink over the next ten years.  It would go well with Salmon but also roasted chicken.

This is a big, California Chardonnay in the best sense.  It is a blend of four different vineyards of Chardonnay.  Silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is big and enticing with Lemons, vanilla and nutmeg.  Full bodied with a creamy texture.  Good acidity.  Slightly oily.  On the palate, this has lemons, slight lemon peel and an interesting note of mint on the finish.  It is deep with tight complexity that unwinds in the glass.  A very long finish.  This may improve over the next year or two but either way should make great drinking for the next ten years.  It drinks great on i