Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Light golden in color. The nose has spice and lemons. On the palate, this has a loose/fat texture but at the same time a crisp acidity. While a bit more precision is nice, the overall package is very pleasing. Nice lemons notes on the palate. Good finish. Clean and very drinkable Chardonnay. Worked well with food.
One of my favorite white Rhones from California. Served a bit too cold, this needed to warm up a bit. Then it was great. Green/gold in color. The nose is lemony with a slight waxy note once warmer. Also a nice mineral streak. On the palate, this is crisp and bright. Lots of energy. Lemons with that mineral streak. Long finish. Worked well with food. Its hard to guess on the ageing trajectory of these wines, but it seems very young now and enjoyable. I will hold at least one to age a bit and see.
Alesia is produced by Rhys with their non-estate fruit. Alder Springs is one of the idiosyncratic vineyards in California. North of Sonoma and right on the coast, the vineyard can be drastically different from year to year and they grow a host of different varietals. Truthfully, I wondered if this fruit got ripe enough in 2011, but now worries. Not a fruity wine, but enough for sure.
Wow. Yes, this is expensive but this is truly an amazing wine. Purple in color. The nose is just amazing. Cassis, blueberries, slight spice and sandalwood, some cedar. Deep and complex. On the palate, open for business. Bevan wines drink better younger than any luxury wines I know of. Cassis, blueberries, slight earth/minerals. Deep and complex. Great mouthfeel. Damn delicious. One of those wines where each sip leaving you wanting another one. Then the bottle is drained. Hard to say if this will get better, maybe so with some maturity.
A classic Napa Chardonnay. Light golden in color. This has seen a lot of the oak integrate over the last year or two which is good. There is still some vanilla on the nose but also some nice lemon cream. On the palate, this has good acidity. Lemon with spice and vanilla. Decent finish. This is not their top of the line and is priced accordingly. As such, it presents some value in the Napa Chard world. Not a stunner but certainly a wine most people at least enjoy. There is still some possible room for this to improve with a couple more years of cellaring.
Purple in color. This is a GSM blend. The nose has jammy black cherries and cherries. Spice and slight roasted notes. On the palate, this is jammy fruit. Dark cherries and cherries with a peppery note. Some depth. A very good wine that seems like it will be better drunk in the next five years.
Saxum just killed it in 2007 and now that the wines have shed their baby fat and some of the exuberance, they are rocking. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and gamey meats (in a good way). On the palate, wonderful texture. High energy. This is a big wine but so light on its feet. Lots of alcohol but it never shows in anywhere. Delicious. Deep and complex. Still, may have some upside as this ages. Easily has a decade, probably two. Just a fantastic wine.
Inky purple in color. The nose is very nice with black cherry fruit. Some bramble. A bit if spice. On the palate, this has a lovely, juicy texture. Black raspberry and black cherry fruit. Some depth although this is young and its packed tight. It does unwind in the glass. Nice finish. This is really enjoyable now and should store well for a decade or more.
I love ridge Zin and Zin blends. And I love Pagani fruit, so I thought I would like this more than I did. Its good, and maybe with some time it settles down a bit but I hoped for more. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and some bramble to it. Also a bit of underlying charcoal. On the palate, this is solid black raspberry fruit but it seems over ripe and bordering on cloying especially on the finish. Perhaps with some cellaring it some into more balance and if so, there is room for a couple of points of upside. As it is, it is a good wine but if sweetness bothers you, p
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is slightly earthy with black raspberries. Light tannins mostly resolved. Very smooth. Some layering as it unwinds in the glass. Cassis, earth. Finishes with a bit of menthol. This is showing gorgeously and I think probably at peak right now. No hurry but I would drink in the next decade and maybe a bit sooner. It won't get better. Groth is a wine that is maybe not as trendy as it used to be, but that is not because of any lack of quality. They still consistently put out top notch Napa Cabs.
