Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Purple in color. The nose has red berries, dust, warmth and some sour cherries. On the palate, the red fruits continue. This is ripe. Not deep but tasty. Easy drinking. Went well with roasted acorn squash and butter sauce. Good finish. This older winery has a range of nice wines. This one was $16 and its hard to beat that value. Drink up in the next year or two.
This continues to develop and open. It is finally at a point where it can be opened without too much air. This bottle was pop and pour and enjoyed over several hours. A lovely cooler climate Syrah. Purple in color. The nose has roasted meats, black raspberries and black olives. On the palate, this opens in the glass with a nice complexity. Medium tannins. Nice boysenberry fruit with undertones of roasted meats and earthiness. Good finish. Works with heartier and spicy foods quite well. Nice finish. Should be good to go for the next seven to ten years.
Silvery green in color. Very nice nose with chalk, minerals, tarragon and slight lemon notes. Decidedly more mineral driven than fruit. On the palate, the lemon comes out a bit more along with a bit of peach. Plenty of minerals as well. A very nice oily texture. Great balance and acidity. Long finish. This is a energetic and persistent wine that is lean and goes great with food. It has depth and complexity as well and probably be drinking just fine in ten years, but the energy will be gone, so it is best enjoyed in the next few.
This is really drinking well right now. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, underlying graphite and slight black pepper. On the palate, there is nice black raspberry fruit. Good texture. Plenty of depth. Still drinking on the young side of maturity. Medium tannins. Good acidity. Worked well with food. Not a monster wine but plenty of fruit and delicious. Still some development to go and possible upside.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with slight aquarium notes. Also some cherries and black cherries. On the palate, there is a lot of heat and it seems disjointed. Tart cherries but brown sugar. Alcohol on the finish. Again, this appears to be a poorly stored bottled, but how to know for sure or where the issue is. Drinkable for sure, but doesn't work with food at this point. Hopefully, this bottle was not representative.
Ruby/purple in color. Cloudy. The nose is sweaty socks. Perhaps some macerated cherries. On the palate, this is very soft. Very sour cherries with some dank earthiness. It is a style of Pinot that I like but this seems either mishandled or way past prime at this young age. Not sure if this bottle was representative It reminds me of some of the unclean Burgundies that were more prevalent 25 years ago. That is not to say undrinkable or even bad, as this wine is certainly offering some nice and interesting notes, but more to say, what this might have been (or a pristine bottle is).
Light green gold in color. The nose is nice with minerals and melons. On the palate, this is tight. Obviously it's young, but still it took some time to open. The melons carry thru to the palate along with a slight grass note. Good finish. Works well with or without food but needs a bit of air. Very solid but seems like some patience may be rewarded. Good now, but will greatness develop? I think so.
These are my go to wines for later in the night when you just want a bit more wine. I buy a bunch every vintage and drink through them quickly, not that they won't last, but as they are really great values. So, I was a bit surprised to see I still had a 2014 left. Screw capped. On opening, this was singing. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries. Also some black pepper and a bit of roasted herbs. On the palate, this is lush but also deep. Gulpable but at the same time it has some complexity. Nice finish. Drinks well on its own but would go well with heartier foods.
This was done as a one off in order to raise money for victims of the earthquake. This vineyard is an enclosed small vineyard at about 800 feet of elevation. This is a wine that is still tight but with just a bit of air, it is drinking beautifully right now. Purple in color. The nose has dark cherries, spice and a bit of bramble. On the palate, slight tannins. Black cherry fruit. Some depth. Good acidity. Very food friendly for medium or heartier foods. Nice finish. I don't think this gets better from here but will undoubtedly change and mature.
71% Syrah, 28% Mourvedre and 1% Viognier. This is a gorgeous wine that is drinking great right now but still has some maturation to come. Purple in color. On of the cool things about Viognier is it make Syrah more opaque. Another is that it has lifting aromatics which carry the Syrah and Mourvedre along with it. In this case, just a gorgeous nose. Black raspberries, roasted herbs, grilled meats, white pepper, musky earthiness all just explode from the glass. On the palate, this has a lovely velvety texture. Good balance. Lots of black raspberry fruit with underlying earthiness. It
