Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has black cherries, bel peppers, spice and some pepper. Medium bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, this has some black cherry fruit with green bell peppers. One dimensional. Clipped finish. This would be a fine wine with meatloaf or a burger. Drink over the next few years.
Nice to revisit this. It is just about at peak at age 14. No hurry though. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, cedar, some earthiness and a hint of graphite. Full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, this is delicious. Cassis with some earthiness. Layers that unwind in the glass. Long finish. It worked well with a variety of Hungarian foods.
Checked in on this recently. At age 11, it is still drinking beautifully. It took about an hour to open and then soared. Medium golden color, clear and bright. The nose has the vanilla note along with lemon cream. Full bodied. Showing more depth and complexity although less vibrancy than in its youth. Long finish. Delicious. This went great with Hungarian Mushroom Goulash.
I have reviewed, favorably, the Pinot Noir from Gowen Creek for years. When you find a wine that offers such consistency, you stick with it. What Gowen offers is a sublime melding of fruit like black cherry, red raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry acidity, minerality and judicious use of oak. This wine has those in spades. Though the word “balance” is tossed around a lot in the wine industry, when you taste one, you know. Not only is this wine balanced, it is simply enjoyable to drink.
These come in 187ml individual servings packaged in an attractive glass bottle with a plastic stopper and screw on top. Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is tight but opens to show cherry aromas. Perhaps a touch of volatile acidity as well which helps life the nose. Medium bodied. Medium tannins. Nice balance. On the palate, black cherry fruit. Moderate finish. This is a fun, easy drinking wine that would be nice for picnics. Drink now.
This offers nicely balanced red fruit with minimal oak, solid acidity and decent tannic structure. Not an easy thing to find in a Merlot, and a Merlot at this price. Black cherry, black berry, huckleberry, red currant, light cedar and vanilla notes dominate and this is a very comprehensive wine. Mainly Merlot, there are small percentages of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Malbec. It was aged for 14 months in French oak, only 40% of which was new, hence the light wood touch. What this ultimately offers is a robust Merlot that is well worth the price.
Any vineyard facing San Pablo Bay, like Toro Hills, is buffeted by wind and fog coming off the water. Typically fruit grown here is more fully developed. This Toro Hills Pinot has that depth of flavor, less bright strawberry notes and more raspberry, huckleberry, blueberry and blackberry with soft black cherry, spring wildflowers, and a slight earthiness. The acidity is spot on allowing for expressiveness with food while the mild barrel aging (10 months in barrel with just 30% new French oak) allows for a balanced approach and fruit over wood. ORIGIN: Sonoma County. ALCOHOL: 14.9%
Christopher Tynan's wines do not get enough attention. The Syrahs are great but this is stunning. Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright. The nose has cassis, blueberries, camphor, baking spices, fresh tobacco and chocolate. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Great energy and balance. This is still very young but starting to open up. On the palate, cassis, pencil lead, and chocolate with some underlying char. Long finish. This needs another five to ten years to get closer to peak and then should be great for another twenty to thirty after that. Great on its own, this needs bi
The home winery for Thomas Rivers Brown, one of Napa's premier winemakers. This is a new (albeit classic) vineyard for TRB. Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright. The nose is great. Complex and clean with cassis, blueberries, pencil lead, sandalwood and menthol. Full bodied. The palate is also complex if tight. Cassis and blueberries with some spice and slight char. Long finish. This is obviously young but already drinking great. Still, another decade in a good cellar will take this to the 100 level. Great on its own, it will need big food now to match the firm tanni
Interesting bottle with what looks like a pewter disk for a label. Made by Phillipe Melka. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis, black cherries, tobacco, clay and spice. Firm tannins. Great balance. On the palate this is complex but still very young. Cassis, black cherries, spice and slight cedar. Long finish. This needs another five to ten years in a good cellar. It should age for fifteen to twenty after that. Great on its own, it will need big, fatty meats in its youth. Plenty of upside potential to improve.
