Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
This seems to be a bit over the hill. That said, it has enough to suggest that it was probably a nice wine a few years ago. Ruby/purple in color. Cherries and dried cherries on the nose. Medium bodied. On the palate, cherries and dried cherries. Slightly oxidized perhaps. Nice finish. It would be interesting to try a newer vintage of this.
Excellent wine and in a young, but good place right now. It does have a decade or two left. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has dust, cassis, cherries, slight sandalwood and cigar box. On the palate, this drinks like a riper Bordeaux wine. Dark cherries, cassis, slight earthy funk. Great texture, almost seamless. Long finish. This is a very pretty feminine wine but certainly hasw all the structure it needs. Great wine.
Purple in color. The nose is dusty with cassis and cranberries. Very soft on the palate. Some depth. Nice tart cranberry and raspberry fruit. Easy drinking. Little tannins. A solid wine but I would drink these up.
My first time trying this winery and I was impressed. Excellent wine. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nsoe has cherries, spice and a morel mushroom quality that was great. On the palate, it is a bit candied but delicious. Sweet dark cherries. Slight tannins. Enough acidity. Very nice finish. Wored well with food. Outstanding.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis, dust and nutmeg. On the palate, this is tight. Great cassis fruit. An underlying spice quality. There is a nice ripeness here. It needs some time to integrate and has some upside potential. It does seem riper than earlier vintages but well within bounds. Great wine.
Deep golden in color. The nose has a lot of oak along with some lemon chifon. On the palate, the oak is still pretty pronounced. Slightly oily texture. Nice lemony fruit. Slightly sweet on the finish. This is very good but I might hold a bit for the oak to intgrate if that is an issue. Maybe another few years.
Purple in color. The nose is deep with black raspberries, roasted meats and black pepper. On the palate, black raspberries and a nice underlying earthy/char. Starting to show some layers but still young. Moderate tannins. Long finish. This is really starting to hit its stride right now. There is still some upside potential to get better in a few years.
Ruby in color. This is a solid red made to be a good value. It has a bit of a manufactured taste to it. Red fruits. Slightly over ripe. No obvious faults. A good party wine.
This is young and needs cellar time or air. The bottle I had was decanted for 5 hours and still quite tight. Purple in color, slight ruby. The nose has cherries, green tobacco, black cherries and slight lavender. On the palate, black cherries with heavy tannins. Slight black licorice emerges on the long finish. This is deep with a lot of complexity. It is ripe enough, something many California Cabernet Francs have trouble with, wihtout being hot or raisny. Should last a couple of decades easily. Delicious wine. One of the top two or three Cab Francs from California I have ever tas
This is 68% Merlot, 22% Cab Franc and 10% Cab Sauv. This saw 40% new oak. 1500 cases produce. Purple in color. The nose has coffee, bell pepper, cherries and slight tobacco. Also a bit of bandaid. It has a pretty, soft texture. Cherries and spice on the palate. Light tannins. Tart on the finish in a good way. Especially for the vintage, this is a nice "old school in style" red. Would work well at the dinner table. $75
