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This is 100% Mourvedre according to the back label.  Gorgeous wine but I am very partial to Mourvedre wines.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, slight plums, spice, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this needs some air to open fully.  Lots of black raspberry fruit over and earthy and smoky base.  Great liveliness.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit but no harm drinking now and over the next twelve to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would work well with Indian foods or most stews.  

An excellent wine.  Deep purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, baking spice, cedar and slight roasted herbs.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the cassis comes thru with cedar underneath.  Tannic but mellows with air.  Long finish.  This is drinking quite well and should continue to do so for another 12 to fifteen years.  It drinks great on its own and would also work with roasted brisket.  

This is a single vineyard Cabernet from a Thomas Rivers Brown home winery.  Just gorgeous if a bit young.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has blueberries, cassis, baking spice, slight asphalt and cedar.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, the blueberries and cassis come thru though quite concentrated.  Underlying char and slight earthiness.  Great energy and balance.  Long finish.  Still quite young and this should get even better.  Hold (if you can) for a few more years and drink over the next 20 to 25 years.  Great on its own (with some air) or drink with so

This is a lovely cooler climate Syrah made in a more elegant, lower alcohol style.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, white pepper and slight char.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is nice black raspberry fruit with mild tannins.  Some underlying earthiness and char.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This seemed to be about at peak but shoudl drink well for another five to seven years.  It works better with food.  This will work well with pastrami or other "deli" meats.  

This took a while to come around, but it is finally showing the promise it showed on release.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, a touch of black olives and sandalwood.  Full bodied.  Lovely acidity.  On the palate, great black raspberry fruit with underlying earthiness.  Concentrated fruit that unwinds in the glass.  Nice finish.  This appears to be at or close to prime and should continue to  drink well for 8 to ten more years.  A nice wine on its own and will work well with roasted meats, fowl or veggies.  

I am a big fan of the RM Chardonnays.  This is the "generic" non-single vineyard offering.  It might be a hair less than those others but it is also less expensive and an outstanding wine on its own.  Light gold with some green swirls, shimmering bright.  The nose is classic with lemons, vanilla, slight chalk and a hint of mint.  Full bodied but with cut.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious right from the go.  Lemons, vanilla, slight spice with a long finish.  Great texture.  Young, of course, but this should easily do another ten years as it matures.  Might even get better. 

This is a blend of 38% Grenache, 33% Mourvedre, and 29% Syrah.  Purple in color with ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, black raspberries, slight char and a bit of anise.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is nice.  Not over done.  Notes of black cherries, black raspberries and plums with a slight underlying char.  Good energy.  Nice finish.  Drinking well now, it should continue to do so for the next seven to ten years.  A nice wine to have on its own or with a burger or ribs off the grill.  

Beautiful showing for this stalwart of Napa.  What a great vintage.  Consumed over two nights, it was even better on night 2.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, black cherries, cedar, leather and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, lots of cassis and black cherry fruit with an underlying dry earthiness.  Still a fair amount of oak and tannins - it is young.  This should get better over the next five years and drink well for ten to twelve after that.  That said, it is delicious today.  Given the price of Napa Cabs, at MSRP of $48, this is priced attractiv

Bonterra has been a winery that has been reviewed here many time.  They provide quality wines at a fair price from grapes that are organically farmed.  This is a blend of mostly Grenache with some Malbec and Viognier.  The juice comes from the remains of grapes used from their Rose, and then hard pressed.  It is fermented mostly in barrel although some sees stainless, and then aged in neutral French oak for five months.  It is not meant to take too seriously.  Garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, fig newtons, and clementine oranges.  Medium bodied.  13.3% ABV.  On the

This is the new venture from Cameron Hughes.  He buys lots of juice that wineries can't or don't want to try to sell, and repackages the juice and sells at a steep discount.  One can guess where the grapes are from, but it is never announced.  The wines are sold thru a daily e-mail but they recently added a store on their site for unsold wines.  I am skeptical about buying wine that is advertised as "really being X" or "declassified X" but these wines are not expensive and I thought I would give it a go.  This is one of their higher priced wines at about $21 delivered.  Overall, I am happy