Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
emBrazen is a new line of wines honoring bold women who were trailblazers in their fields. This one honors Celia Crus, salsa singer originally from Cuba. Look her up. Yellow gold in color. The nose has slight grapefruit. On the palate, this is easy. Not a lot of acidity here. Slight grapefruit. This retails for $16 which is a fair price. The label is sure to start a few discussion.
Outpost wines are made by Thomas Rivers Brown, a sensational winemaker. They are made up on Howell Mountain from mountain fruit and are very intense yet also generous. This one is of course young, but delicious. Consumed over two days, it was just as good on either day if different. Purple in color. The nose has cassis, graphite, blueberries and slight spice. On the palate, this is concentrated and intense. Firm tannins. Cassis and blueberry fruit with some spice. Really delicious. On Day 2, some leather notes emerge. It will take some hearty meat dishes to stand up to it at this
This is really in a nice place right now. Purple in color. The nose is nice with black cherries, spice and a bit of char. On the palate, this has a really nice texture. Despite the vintage, a lot of Sonoma Zins did just fine in 2011 and this is one. Black cherries and black raspberries with some char. Good finish. Not a monster Zin but plenty of fruit too. Works well with food.
This is a Rhone blend. Ruby in color. The nose is dusty with black cherries. On the palate, the cherries continue thru. Its a bit clipped on the mid-palate and finish. This is nice easy drinking. A bit hot but not too out of bonds. It should probably be drunk in the next few years.
Purple in color. The nose is great with black cherries, slight cola and a bit of roasted herbs. On the palate, this has a great texture. Black cherry fruit. Very clean. Still not yet at maturity, it may still have some upside. Good balance with nice acidity. Would work great with steakfish or fowl. Rhys started commercially in 2004 and there wines have gotten better over time, but even the earlier ones seem to age quite well.
Just a beautiful wine. Drinking youthfully but showing some development. Open for business. Purple in color. The nose has leather, bramble, black raspberries. Very deep. With air, some graphite. On the palate, black raspberries with an underlayer of charred earth. A lovely texture; both velvety and intense. great finish. This would pair with heartier foods and certainly spicy foods. This may not get better but has five to seven years left at peak easily and probably more as it morphs into more of a claret styled Zin. So good right now though.
Purchased on release, this is holding up and in fact, drinking quite well at age 15. It did need about 20 minutes to shed some bottle stink though. Purple in color. The nose has nice cherries, slight sour cherries, and some barnyard funk. There is some Brett on the nose and palate showing as barnyard and slight band-aid. On the palate, drying tannins. Slightly sweet cherries. And a bit of barnyard comes through. This is not drinking old, but probably never was a top level Pinot Noir. Still, it has a nice complexity right now and seems in balance. Would work well with fowl. There
Light ruby in color. The nose is sweaty with cherries and slight earth. On the palate, this has macerated cherries. A bit harsh but ok. A mild bit of depth. THis is a fine wine to serve for large parties. It retails for $15 and is varietally correct. Not a big wine, but not delicate either.
WARNING-Biased Review. This is perhaps the most backward wine we have made. Purple in color, slight ruby band at the rim. The nose has boysenberries, charred wood, spice, and slight violet notes. On the palate, this is tight. Medium tannins. Deep but hard to see the bottom. Boysenberry fruit. Good acidity. Long finish. This really needs more air or cellar time. It works with spicy or hearty foods at the moment. Another five years and it should be opening up nicely. Once it opens, the fruit is pinpoint. There is a lot of potential for upside here with proper cellaring.
WARNING-Biased Review. This is tighter than most 2012's but starting to open up a bit. Still, a decant for a couple of hours is not a bad idea. Purple in color with ruby swirls. The nose has boysenberries, black olives, white pepper and charred wood. On the palate, this is lean but puts on weight in the glass. Deep boysenberry fruit with underlying char. Food friendly with heartier and spicy food. Good finish. This is nearing peak but easily has a decade plus to go.
