Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.

2014 Bryant Family Vineyard Bettina, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2014
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$300.00USD

Beautiful wine.  This is a proprietary blend from one of Napa's top producers.  Bettina is the name of the owner's wife.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, chocolate, slight coffee, dust and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Nice balance.  On the palate, this is more on the elegant/Bordeaux style of Napa.  Cassis, black cherries, leather, and coffee with some underlying char.  Lively.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and should continue for another fifteen to twenty years.  Nice on its own, this will work with bigger foods such as P

2017 Saxum James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$180.00USD

This is a blend of 43% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, and 10% Counoise from Paso Robles.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, minerals, char, slight spice and a bit or candied raspberries.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  No sign of the 15.8%abv.  Loads of black cherries, black raspberries with a slight char and plenty of minerality.  Long finish.  This is young but drinking well now.  It will get better though.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own, it nee

2020 North Coast Wine Club Sangiovese, USA, California, Amador County, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$30.00USD

This is made with California grapes, shipped cold to Ohio for production.  It is one of the mysteries of wine as to why some many winemakers in California, struggle to produce Sangiovese, while in Tuscany (including Chianti), there are so many good ones and even a few great ones.  This is a nice wine but does not resemble the Chianti's in Italy.  But, that's ok.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has dust and black cherries (so far, so good).  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the acidity does not come thru, but there is plenty of cherry fruit along wit

2010 Torrin The Banshee, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2010
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$100.00USD

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre.  Torrin wines are bruisers, but at age 13, this one is just starting to calm down a bit.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper, roasted meat and leather.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Loads of black raspberries and some plums with underlying char and a nice minerality.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  It is nice on its own and would work well with a beef stew.  

2017 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$18.00USD

This is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cassis, dust and slight dishwasher note (not pleasant).  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Much better on the palate.  Cassis with a fair amount of oak.  Moderate finish.  This drinks easy on its own and would be nice with a burger or plate of pasta.  Drink over the next few years.  

2021 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$19.00USD

One of the old guard from Napa.  This is their basic Zin which is actually a blend of 83% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 3% Alicante, and 4% mixed reds.  This is a fine value.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has bramble with a peppery note.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries and raspberries.  Easy finish.  This is drinkable without requiring contemplation.  Drink over the next couple of years.  A nice wine with foods off grill.  

2020 Frog's Leap Chardonnay Shale and Stone, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$39.00USD

Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has gun powder and yellow grapefruit.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, grapefruits with underlying char/smoke.  Good acidity.  Slight residual sugar on the finish.  A nice wine, but it sees no oak which makes it suspect that the grapes were close to the wildfires.  Is the "smoke" just from sulfur?   Drink over the next few years.  Better on its own or with some cheeses.  

2007 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2007
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+

Hard to believe that a 16 year old California Syrah could taste so youthful, but this bottle was bought on release and well stored.  82% Syrah, 13% Mourvedre, and 5% Grenache.  15.7% abv.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meat, roasted red peppers, white pepper and slight char.  Full bodied.  Well balanced.  Great texture.  Powerful yet agile, it is both huge and deft at the same time.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Medium tannins.  Loads of black raspberry fruit with some minerality, white pepper and char.  Long finish.  Tasting thru th

2006 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2006
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$130.00USD

76% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, and 6% Grenache.  This weighed in at 16.7% abv!  Again, this is a monster wine, but it doesn't drink like one.  No noticeable alcohol on the nose or palate.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, plums, White pepper, Roasted herbs and slight earthy/gamey meats.  Full bodied.  Great acidity.  On the palate, this has loads of fruit.  Black raspberries, black cherries and slight plums with a bit of black pepper and char.  Long finish.  This is a great wine if not quite up to the top vintages of Bone Rock, it is almost there.  It is

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