California

• Amador County
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• Sonoma County
  • Alexander Valley
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  • Russian River Valley
  • Sonoma Coast
  • Sonoma Mountain
  • Sonoma Valley
  • Knights Valley

Inky purple in color.  This is very tight (pop and pour).  Unlike a lot of 2012's, this needs some air or cellar time.  The nose is nice with cassis, graphite, vanilla and spice.  Full bodied.  Lush and big.  On the palate, black currants, black pepper, sandal wood and slight earthy forest floor notes.  Good balance.  Long finish.  Kept improving.  Great now, but with upside.  Probably anothe 10 years to peak and good for a couple more decades.  Prodigious wine.

Pop and pour.  This needs air or cellar time.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has great black raspberries with black pepper and some roasted meats.  Very young.  Firm tannins.  Great black raspberry fruit.  Plenty of depth but hard to see the bottom.  It opens slightly in the glass.  The last sip three hours later is the best.  Plenty of upside for this wine.  It is delicious but if drinking it now, open it 12 hours in advance to breathe.  

Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has dark cherries, coffee and dust.  On the palate, sweet dark fruit.  Cassis with a toffee/coffee note.  Nice finish.  Not showing a lot right now so it is a bit confusing whether its shut down or not.  Given its pedigree, one would think so.  It is good, but I would have expected great.  So, probably hold for now or give it lots of air.  

OK.  First, this was served to me totally blind.  Second, read this review with a grain of salt as I am the winemaker/co-proprietor of the winery.  Purple in color.  The nose has nice black raspberry fruit and a bit of coffee.  On the palate, black raspberry fruit with medium to firm tannins.  Some oak showing itself as coffee and spice.  Slightly sweet but it might just be ripe fruit.  Nice finish.  Blind, it seemed like it saw sunshine but I didn't pick California.  I thought perhaps a Portugese wine.  I liked it and scored it 92 points.  Once its identify was revealed, it (of course) mad

Inky purple in color.  The nose is very tight.  Black raspberries.  spice/oak.  Primary. On the palate, this is lush with a great texture.  Black raspberry fruit.  Seems deep but impenetrable.  Firm tannins.  Doesn't budge much with air.  Plenty of upside on this but it needs a decade to sort itself out and open up.  For now, its enjoyable but seems like the better course is to show patience.  

Ruby in color.  This looked a bit older than it was.  Blind, however, most people were guessing Burgundy.  The nose is very earthy with cherries.  On the palate, again earthy with cherries.  Slightly clipped on the finish.  Medium tannins.  This seemed like it may have been a bit shut down.  Pop and pour, it would have been helped out with some air.  It would be good to revisit this in a few years.  

Rhys makes some of the most "Burgundian" Pinot Noirs in California.  This one, however, seemed more California in style.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has dark cherries and a slight cola note I don't remember getting before.  On the palate, black cherries with a slight dark chocolate note.  Tight but quite complex.  It unwinds in the glass.  Still drinking quite youthfully.  Delicious now, but I suspect it will evolve and mature for a decade or two.  Wonderful wine with plenty of upside.  

Bought on release ($26) and cellared well.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice earthy with cherries.  Hints of green tobacco drying in a barn.  On the palate, black cherries and minerals with a nice, slightly bitter streak.  This is at peak now and I would drink in the next few years.  Complex.  Food friendly.  Nice showing.  

This is from the To Kalon vineyard in Napa.  Truly one of the best and certainly historic vineyards on the valley floor.  One of the best Cab Francs made in Napa.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, slight cigar tobacco.  Nice.  On the palate, this is ripe and avoids the green pepper that sometimes is in Cab Franc (for better and worse).  It has great black cherry fruit, some black raspberries.  Depth though still quite tight.  This is young and needs a decade IMO.  Long finish.  

This was pop and pour and probably could have used a bit more air.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice with dark cherries, slight bramble, a bit of pepper and iodine.  On the palate, this is quite juicy.  A bitterness at first which turned more to a sour cherry note.  I preferred the later.  Nice finish.  This is a big wine and while a bit jammy, in no way over the top.  A crowd pleaser.