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A plush wine, this is a rather decadent Pinot Noir, offering Rainer cherry, plum, raspberry, rhubarb, a slight earthiness as well as light vanilla, campfire smoke and pomegranate. The acidity keeps the bright fruit balanced and the light touches of oak influence (14 months in French oak of which just over half was new) creates a velvety easy drinking smooth wine. Some wines are built for deconstructing and some wines and made for the pure enjoyment of drinking them, and the latter is the case here. ORIGIN: Sonoma, Russian River Valley. ALCOHOL: 14.5%

Way back at the end of the prior century, the 1996 version was the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year.  Now, 25 years later and no one really seems to care anymore.  The truth is this is an excellent wine.  A proprietary blend, I am told this is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, soy sauce and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, cassis with some forest floor and spice.  This is a "cooler" climate wine that got per

Not a lot of people realize that Mike Smith (Myriad among many others) is the winemaker at Becklyn.  Their wines are highly recommended.  This one is no exception.  It is the basic Cabernet in their lineup. Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar,  and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is complex, deep and also quite tight.  Flavors of cassis, some graphite and char.  Long finish.  It could use a few more years in the cellar or else give it a long decant for now.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.

The Alma de Cattleya wines represent quality wines without sticker shock. To prove that point the 2022 Sonoma County Pinot offers soft elements of strawberry, pomegranate, guava, rose water, red raspberry, and light citrus. This is a delicate wine, but with enough acidity and tannic structure. Aged just 11 months in French oak allows for the fruit to be more expressive and the quality in the bottle exceeds the price. ORIGIN: Sonoma County. ALCOHOL: 14%

It should be no surprise that this wine is a stunner. Chappellet has long delivered quality wines that exceed the status quo; nearly 60 years in fact. The fruit for this wine comes from Pritchard Hill, a well-know parcel that produces exceptional grapes. A classic old-school Cabernet, this offers blackberry, blueberry, huckleberry, boysenberry and black cherry notes with back notes of vanilla, sage, tight tannins, good acidity and the one thing that makes a wine sing – balance. Comprised of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, there are small amounts of Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot added in.

Rivers Marie (the home winery of winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown) really knocked it out of the park with their 2018 Chardonnay.  This is the basic release (not a single vineyard) and it is wonderful.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon curd, vanilla and spice.  Full bodied.  Silky light tannins.  Great acidity and balance.  On the palate, this is delicious. Lemons, vanilla and slight smoke.  Long finish.  This is delicious on its  own and will work well with sea food or even fowl.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  An Excellent value!

Merlot gets a lot of mockery (See Sideways), but a well made Merlot is truly special and this is one of the best on the planet.  Now, 2011 was one of the weaker vintages in Napa, but the late Lou Kapcsandy tailors the plants to adjust for the vintages and the State Lane Vineyard is truly Grand Cru.  The result is another outstanding wine.  It also have 5% Cabernet Franc blended in.  if anything, the vintage is a bit more accessible at a younger age than most.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright.  Gorgeous nose.  Black cherries, mocha, spice and slight coffee.  Full bodie

Realm is one of our favorite wineries and The Bard may be our favorite (so hard to choose) especially considering price.  This is an expensive wine, but for the quality, this is a great wine.  It is a Cabernet based blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Petite Sirah .  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, tobacco, chocolate, coffee and baking spices.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is young and tight but also showing complexity and depth.  Flavo

A lovely, old school Zinfandel.  Whether one thinks this is young or ready or old is a matter of preference.  For my tastes, this is drinking youthfully but ready.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has bramble, raspberries, slight black cherries and spice.  Light but present tannins.  On the palate, bramble and black cherries with spice and slight char.  Drinks well.  Not over the top.  Very nice on its own but better with food.  A great wine with pizza.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

Sandlands makes some of the best Chenin Blancs in America.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with minerality/crushed shells, some lemon and lanolin.  Light to medium bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, this young.  Vibrant.  The minerality continues thru but the lemon is more persistent.  Long finish.  Tasty.  This is nice on its own and should work well with all but the heaviest meat dishes.  It worked very well with Hunan food.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.