Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.

Three Sticks 2021 Pinot Noir, Gap’s Crown Vineyard

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$75.00USD

One sip and you realize this is a different kind of Pinot Noir than the norm. If you know Sonoma Coast Pinot’s, they all have a rustic quality to them; a brambly component that sets them apart from the overt fruity Pinot, and this is a good thing. This certainly offers red raspberry and wild cherry, touches of huckleberry and gooseberry, but it is that resin/bramble/wild berry note that makes this a unique and fun wine. Certainly this wine is not for everyone, the acidity is higher than most Pinot’s, but it immediately begs for food.

Three Sticks Pinot Noir, Sonoma Ciast

NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé, USA, California, Wine Review

Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$23.00USD

This is a blend of 61% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 6% Pinot Blanc.  Light golden in color with slight salmon pink hues.  A nice mousse with lots of small bubbles.  Nice nose with strawberries, cranberries, slight citrus and a whiff of smoke.  Medium to full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nice minerality with light cherries and some orange citrus.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now but seems a bit tight.  It took a couple of hours to open, so if serving, give it an hour or so to breathe.  It is very food friendly and would be great with duck or turkey.  A really nice value a

NV Piper Sonoma Blanc de Blancs, USA, California, Wine Review

Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$23.00USD

This California Sparkling wine is made in the Methode Traditionelle way.  Interestingly, it is a blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Blanc.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  There is a nice mousse with small-ish bubbles.  On the nose, it has baked bread (Brioche?) along with a touch of lemon.  With air, some green apple scents emerge.  Medium bodied with excellent acidity.  The palate is more about minerality but also has some citrus.  Long finish that has a bitter almond (in a good way) note.  This is drinking well and should continue for another five years.  Very food friendly,

NV Piper Sonoma Brut, USA, California, Wine Review

Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$23.00USD

This is a blend of Chardonnay (56%), Pinot Noir (37%) and Pinot Blanc (7%).  Golden in color with some faded pink hues.  A nice mousse with small bubbles.  On the nose there is some strawberries, minerals, slight green apples and slight yeast.  Full bodied with good acidity.  On the palate, lots of minerality with cherries and green apples.  Long finish.  This is quite tasty now and should drink well for another five to seven years.  Very food friendly, this would work with most foods.  It was lovely with fried appetizers.  At $23, this is an excellent value and will be a great addition to

Rodney Strong 2021 Pinot Noir Reserve, Russian River Valley

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
90
Grade: 
Current Price: 
$60.00USD

A plush wine, this is a rather decadent Pinot Noir, offering Rainer cherry, plum, raspberry, rhubarb, a slight earthiness as well as light vanilla, campfire smoke and pomegranate. The acidity keeps the bright fruit balanced and the light touches of oak influence (14 months in French oak of which just over half was new) creates a velvety easy drinking smooth wine. Some wines are built for deconstructing and some wines and made for the pure enjoyment of drinking them, and the latter is the case here. ORIGIN: Sonoma, Russian River Valley. ALCOHOL: 14.5%

2016 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages, USA, California, Sonoma, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2016
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$90.00USD

Way back at the end of the prior century, the 1996 version was the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year.  Now, 25 years later and no one really seems to care anymore.  The truth is this is an excellent wine.  A proprietary blend, I am told this is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, soy sauce and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, cassis with some forest floor and spice.  This is a "cooler" climate wine that got per

2018 Becklyn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$89.00USD

Not a lot of people realize that Mike Smith (Myriad among many others) is the winemaker at Becklyn.  Their wines are highly recommended.  This one is no exception.  It is the basic Cabernet in their lineup. Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar,  and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is complex, deep and also quite tight.  Flavors of cassis, some graphite and char.  Long finish.  It could use a few more years in the cellar or else give it a long decant for now.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.

Alma de Cattleya 2022 Pinot Noir

Vintage: 
2022
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$35.00USD

The Alma de Cattleya wines represent quality wines without sticker shock. To prove that point the 2022 Sonoma County Pinot offers soft elements of strawberry, pomegranate, guava, rose water, red raspberry, and light citrus. This is a delicate wine, but with enough acidity and tannic structure. Aged just 11 months in French oak allows for the fruit to be more expressive and the quality in the bottle exceeds the price. ORIGIN: Sonoma County. ALCOHOL: 14%

Chappellet 2021 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$95.00USD

It should be no surprise that this wine is a stunner. Chappellet has long delivered quality wines that exceed the status quo; nearly 60 years in fact. The fruit for this wine comes from Pritchard Hill, a well-know parcel that produces exceptional grapes. A classic old-school Cabernet, this offers blackberry, blueberry, huckleberry, boysenberry and black cherry notes with back notes of vanilla, sage, tight tannins, good acidity and the one thing that makes a wine sing – balance. Comprised of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, there are small amounts of Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot added in.

2018 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Sonoma Coast, USA, California, Sonoma, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$50.00USD

Rivers Marie (the home winery of winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown) really knocked it out of the park with their 2018 Chardonnay.  This is the basic release (not a single vineyard) and it is wonderful.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon curd, vanilla and spice.  Full bodied.  Silky light tannins.  Great acidity and balance.  On the palate, this is delicious. Lemons, vanilla and slight smoke.  Long finish.  This is delicious on its  own and will work well with sea food or even fowl.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  An Excellent value!

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