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

2017 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block, USA, California, Sonoma, Russian River Valley,Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$53.00USD

Purple/ruby in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with dust, black raspberries, black olives and spice.  Lovely texture.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, raspberries, black raspberries, some char and a really interesting "sourdough bread" note.  Some warmth on the finish.  This is drinking well but should still improve with good cellaring.  It is great on its own and will works with many foods.  Grilled Eggplant would be nice but it would work with peppercorn encrusted steak or even tuna.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  

2019 Sine Qua Non Syrah Distenta I, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
98
Grade: 
Current Price: 
$240.00USD

This drank very well considering how young it is.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, cedar, black olives, slight violets and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great texture.  On the palate, this is big and tasty.  Concentrated.  ll no doubt improve a bit as it matures, it offers up plenty of black raspberries, spice, roasted herbs and slight blueberries.  Long finish.  This should go another twenty years.  It is great on its own but needs big food for now.  It worked well with pizza but would also be nice  with Roasted Squash.  

2021 Tench Estate Sauvignon Blanc Tench Vineyard, USA, California, Napa

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-

I am a big fan of Tench wines, but this is the first Sauvignon Blanc of theirs that I can recall tasting.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is a bit quiet but has  some tropical fruits along with a slight pear note.  Medium bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is a bit more expressive.  Flavors of Guava and pair with just the slightest grassiness.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and  should continue for another three to five years.  It is nice on its own and will work well with lighter foods. A nice pairing would be stuffed peppers.  

2009 Regusci Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2009
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A

Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has an earthiness along with black olives and cassis. Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, flavors of cassis, black cherries and spice.  Nice finish.  Overall, a pretty classic Stags Leap Cab that is just getting to maturity.  Drink over the next ten years.  It is nice on its own and will work with many foods. It would work well with Roasted Root Vegetable Casserole.  

2022 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, California, Napa, Oakville, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2022
Grade: 

This is quite young and tight and needs another five to ten years of good cellaring - minimum.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is very tight.  Showing a bit of cassis, some cherries, spice and char.  On the palate, firm tannins.  Full bodied.  This wine seems shut down for the moment but there are some sweet cherries.  Moderate finish.  This wine has great structure and in due time, should be gorgeous.  This is an expensive wine and should be held for a decade and drunk for twenty to thirty years after that. 

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