California

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  • Alexander Valley
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Chappellet has long been devoted to its Chenin Blanc, even when it wasn’t really in favor. This iteration - frankly the best in years - offers lovely aromatics and a soft mouth feel, a white wine that doesn’t want to be aggressive, but one that seduces you. There are notes of light resin, lemon peel, lime kefir, hints of apricot, tangerine and orange zest. The acidity is what really supports this wine, allowing it to be a food companion for a variety of diverse foods, or even a stand-alone cocktail wine with a cheese platter.

This is really a classic California Pinot Noir, offering bright expressive fruit, easy drinkability and a good food companion. Black cherry, rhubarb, cherry compote, blackberry jam, dominate and there are back notes of light floral, vanilla, and cherry cream pie. This is not a difficult Pinot to grapple with, it is straightforward enjoyment that makes your day better. An array of oak was used - only 11 months in total - with a variety of new and older barrels, which allows the wine to retain its brightness and liveliness while having structure and light tannins. Enjoy now through 2026.

Cline makes some great value wines and this is one of them.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, raspberries, briar patch, and black pepper.  Medium bodied.  Slight tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is a bit short of jammy but in that direction.  Flavors of Cherries, Black cherries, and Raspberries.  Good finish.  This is more than an easy drinker, but it does go down smoothly.  Nice on its own, this will work great with a lot of foods.  A nice choice with ribs or a burger off the grill.  

One of  the best Grenache wines made in the USA but it does have a very different profile.  Served blind to a group of experienced tasters, no one guessed Grenache although there were some Syrah guesses.

What’s unusual about this iteration of Pinot from Kosta Browne is that it really straddles the line between an earthy mineral driven Pinot noir, and a more traditional California style of bright strawberry and bright red fruits. Perhaps that’s no surprise as the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has enough diverse soils to produce intriguing fruit and diurnal swings due to its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. This Pinot works and works very well.

Jonata makes some great wines, and while they can be a bit pricey, they would likely be a lot more if they were from Napa and not Santa Barbara. This is a blend of 88% Cabernet Franc, 10% cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color with some garnet hues, mostly opaque and bright.  Great nose.  Black cherries, tobacco, leather and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is ripe (no green bell peppers) but not overblown at all.  Depth.

It was great to try this wine.  I was a buyer of this wine for a long time, but, it kind of fell off my radar (there are only so many high end bottles I can buy), but this is one to revisit.  It is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.  purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar, blueberries, cloves, baking spices and slight char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is young but delicious.  Great texture.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries and black cherries with some cedar and spice.  Long finish.  This is deep a

Bottle No.

This is a very serious white from "Rhone" varietal producer, Saxum on California's Central coast.  One of the best white wines in the world being produced today.  It is a blend of 53% Grenache Blanc, 29% Roussanne, 15% Chenin Blanc, and 3% Chardonnay.  Light to medium gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  Enticing and complex.

It has been difficult but I finally managed to keep my hands off a bottle to let it get ten years of age.  The result?  It was fantastic but not necessarily better than it was at age 5, just different.  Golden in color, a bit deeper, clear and bright.  The nose is big and fresh with lemon curd, vanilla, minerality and spice.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Flavors of vanilla lemon cream with some spice and minerals.  Delicious.  Contemplative.  What a great Chardonnay.  Great on its own but  probably better with food.  This would be e