California

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• Sonoma County
  • Alexander Valley
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  • Sonoma Coast
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  • Knights Valley

This is a blend of the three single vineyard wines that Vida Valiente releases.  The winery was formed with a charitable arm and its Foundation supports lower income students going to Stanford who lack the financial resources.  One hundred dollars from every bottle sold goes to support this Foundation.  The winemaker, Sam Kaplan, identifies particular barrels to achieve his goal for this wine.  This is the first vintage and like all of their wines, it lists 14.8% abv on the label.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but opens to cassis, dark chocolate, s

This is from the  home vineyard of Vita Valiente.  The vineyard was planted in 2018 at the base of  Glass Mountain in St. Helena.  Beautifully packaged with an etched in paper label.  Decanted for about four hours.  14.8% abv.

Decanted for about four hours prior to serving.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is quite tight.  Over the evening it opened a bit, but the bottle got drained, so nothing left on Day 2.  It happens.  Some cassis, slight graphite, baking spice and char.  Full bodied.  Very, very firm tannins.  That said, what a wonderful plush but silky texture.  Great energy and acidity.  Balanced.  The palate is a bit more opened.  Cassis, slight graphite, a bit earthy and char.  Deep.  Long finish.  If drinking now, give it an eight hour decant but this really needs five year

This is grown at a high elevation.  This is the first vintage as the vines are only three years old (planted in 2018).  14.8% abv.Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice.  Cassis, saddle leather, and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Plush texture.  On the palate, this is very accessible.  I suspect subsequent vintages will be tighter on release.  Lots of concentrated cassis notes with some earthiness and char.  A bit of a saline note on the finish.  This is not an opulent wine (which I was expecting) but still has power.  Cellaring for a few years should be rewar

First time trying this Chard.  Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is pretty with nice minerality along with lemons and a bit of peach.  Lovely oily texture.  Good acidity.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is deep.  It is very young of course, but should really develop over time.  Lemon cream notes.  Very long finish.  This is a rounder wine (in a good way) than I had been expecting and seems of California.  There is some oak but seems in balance.  Probably worth holding for a year or two and then drink for seven to ten after that.  This would be nice with sea food

This is a 60/40 blend of Chardonnay and Roussanne from California.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is lovely with lemon rind, shite flowers, slight almond notes and chalk.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  On the palate, this is big and round but enough acidity to work well.  Still young, this should continue to mature and get better but is already drinking well.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Maybe better on its own right now as this is a big wine, but it would work with shrimp and pasta for example.  

This is a blend of 65% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, and 5% Grenache.  I am a big fan of these wines and this one was no exception.  This is a big wine but it is starting to shed some of its youth.  Inky purple, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, plums, roasted meats, spice and slight chocolate note.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Deep.  Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries, slight chocolate and spice.  Great lush texture.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and will work with some foods.  Cassoulet

Bouchaine has consistently made this wine and has consistently made it well. What sets this apart from many California rosé is that it straddles the line between fruit and acidity, allowing the wine to be a part of any meal. It offers strawberry, lemon-lime, resin, light apricot and loquat. There is also a slight tartness to it, a hint of green apple that helps define this as a multi layered wine. Since the wine sees no oak at all, the freshness, the brightness and the clean fruit shines through. 1,500 cases. ORIGIN: Napa Valley, Carneros. ALCOHOL: 13.5%

Most wineries, like Acumen, love fruit grown on hilly terrain. The grapes have proper drainage, the addition of breezes keeps the leafy vines healthier and soils are richer in nutrients. Therefore, this Mountainside Cabernet has everything going for it. This wine requires a little bit of patience however, and decanting this for a few hours will be well worth your time. This shows the obvious black cherry, blueberry, boysenberry, and huckleberry notes that Cabernet typically has.

One of my favorite vineyards for Chardonnay and Jamie Kutch does great things with it.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has apples with spice and slight vanilla.  Great texture.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, the apples and vanilla come thru.  Vibrant wine.  Plenty of depth.  Delicious now but should age gracefully.  Drink over the next fifteen years.  Nice on its own, this would work well with many foods.  Baked seafood would be one.