Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
This is a Kosher for Passover wine from California. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, black cherries, slight tobacco and slight spice. Full bodied. Light to medium tannins. On the palate, this is dry with flavors of black cherries, cassis, spice and char. Good finish. This was served as part of our Passover Seder meal and worked very well with hearty foods. Drink over the next five years.
Rich and bold, this Cabernet is in the vein of “new school” Napa Cabernet; which is to say unashamedly rich, forward fruit, potent oak, and a no holds barred take on a formidable Napa cab. That’s not to say it isn’t well structured, because this certainly is, and Turnbull is well-known for making structured Cabernets. In point of fact they have been doing so for a long time, and I have reviewed many of their wines over the years. This offers very ripe blackberry and blueberry fruit, plum, noticeable oak notes, including vanilla, sandalwood, and slightly sweet charred oak.
Sea Smoke has long produced very good and unique Pinot Noir coming from a scant few miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. The ubiquitous fog that covers the mountains helps to grow Pinot in its naturally desired cool environment. What results out of this for Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is that Sea Smoke is more on the darker fruit side and carries an earthy quality that an abundance of Santa Barbara Pinot Noir does not.
A gorgeous wine that may not yet be at peak. Purple in color, shimmering bright. The nose has boysenberries, chocolate, slight graphite, char and spice. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Very well balanced. On the palate, flavors of black raspberries, char and slight chocolate. Long finish. This does not seem to be at peak yet but getting there. If opening soon, a one hour decant would be a good idea. Drink over the next ten to twenty years. This drinks well on its own and will work with hearty foods. This would be nice with Lamb Stew or Quinoa with Roasted Squash.
A good showing for this wine which seems to be just about at peak. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is dusty with black raspberries, chocolate, char and spice. Full bodied. Medium to firm tannins. On the palate, flavors of black raspberries with spice and char. Long finish. This won't get better but one should still have another five to eight years (based on this bottle) before it starts going downhill. it is nice on its own but probably better with food. It would go nicely with Indian cuisine.
