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

2013 Saxum Syrah Booker Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$247.00USD

This is a blend of 67% Syrah and 33% Mourvedre from Paso Robles.  Of course, Booker makes its own wines but they also sell some fruit to Saxum.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice but there is some volatile acidity.  Whether it is too much is a matter of personal taste.  Very earthy with black raspberries, roasted meats and char.  Full bodied.  Great, rich texture.  On the palate, black raspberries, black pepper, some earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is drinking well right now.  Well stored bottles should have another decade or so.  It drinks great on its own

2018 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas, USA, California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A

This winery is no longer in business and the vineyard has been sold (Pax Wines).  Purple in color with ruby swirls, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, char and spice.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is a big wine.  It is cooler climate Syrah in style.  Flavors of black raspberries, black pepper and char.  Long finish.  This is still on the younger side but drinking well.  It should go another ten to fifteen years. Great on its own, this would be nice with roasted root veggies.  

2015 Carlisle Syrah James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek District, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-

Nice showing for this bottle.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black olives, and just a hint to bacon fat.  Medium to full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, black raspberry fruit with slight char.  Nice finish.  Good energy.  This drinks well now but should go another seven to ten years.  Nice on its own, this will work well with grilled meats or fowl and also roasted vegetables.  

2021 Tablas Creek Esprit Blanc de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida District, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$50.00USD

White Rhone wines can be so hard to know where they are as they age.  This wine is very good, but much bigger, riper and blowsier at the moment (or at least this bottle was) than expected.   It is a blend of 70% Roussanne, 17% Picpoul Blanc, 10% Grenache Blanc, 2% Bourboulenc and 1% Clairette Blanche.  Medium golden with a few green swirls, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon, vanilla, baked apples and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Moderate acidity.  Nice texture.  On the palate, lemons, vanilla and spices.  Good finish.  This is nice on its own but would be better with the rig

Kosta Browne 2021 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, El Diablo

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$175.00USD

Known for Pinot Noir, Kosta Browne has embarked on a Chardonnay program for a number of years but only recently has given the single vineyards wines turbo-charged attention.” “Elevating our Chardonnay to the same level as our Pinot Noirs is something our team takes great pride in,” says winemaker Julien Howsepian. This stellar example of Chardonnay allows for light malolactic fermentation, bright acidity, crisp fruit and minerality. This offers seductive notes of crème brûlée, lemon chiffon, lime kefir, sweet resin, apricot, white peach and delicate herbal wildflowers.

Chappellet 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, Hideaway Vineyard

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$175.00USD

Chappellet excels at most anything they do. So this Hideaway Vineyard Cabernet, a 100% Cabernet, should be no surprise that it’s a deftly made wine. From the outset this is a rich, structured wine. It begins with moderate to heavy tannins, which support black cherry, blackberry, light campfire smoke, rhubarb, black tea leaf, soft cedar, wild flower and herbs, and light clove. Aged in mainly new French oak to subdue the tannins, this high elevation Cabernet fruit from Pritchard Hill is classic Napa Cabernet – ripe but restrained.

Cabernet Sauvignon

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition Three Weill a Way Vineyard, USA, California, Sonoma Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A

This is 84% Syrah and 16% Viognier from Sonoma.  There are three version of this wine which Robert Parker compared to the three Guigal Lala wines from the northern Rhone.  Luckily, they were not that expensive back on release.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meats, bacon fat, slight dried flowers, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this seems mature and close to peak.  Flavors of black raspberries, slight blueberries, spice, and a hint of earthiness.  Long finish.  This wine is complex and deep.  This is great on

2018 Fingers Crossed Syrah, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$249.00USD

Whoa.  This is a big wine.  It is also Fantastic!  It is 93% Syrah, 3% Roussanne, 2% Grenache and 2% Mourvedre.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, blueberries, roasted meats, spices and herbs.  Full  bodied.  Medium to firm tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Deep with loads of black raspberries, blueberries, some black cherries, spice and char.  Long, long finish.  This is great now, but if you can wait five years, it will be even better.  That said, drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would work well with Chili

2023 Flora Springs Soliloquy White, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2023
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$70.00USD

One of my favorite whites from Napa.  This is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc with the rest Malvasia and Chardonnay.  Pale golden in color with a touch of light green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is lovely with a slight grassy note along with peach, Granny Smith apples.  Medium bodied.  Polished texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is refreshing with peach, green apples and nice minerality.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is very nice on its own and will work well with all but the heaviest foods.  It went wonderfully with Dal and Spinach Paneer dishes.  Drink over the next fi

Chappellet 2021 Cabernet Franc

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$120.00USD

Chappellet has been growing Cabernet Franc for 35 years, planted at a time when Franc was merely considered a blending grape. Comprised of 78% Cabernet Franc (there are small amounts of four other grapes), Chappellet had a made bold choice to produce a stand-alone wine from this grape. Sure, Franc has been made in the U.S. as a stand-alone, and the Loire Valley is ripe with iterations of Franc - most notably in Chinon and St. Dennis. But Franc in California and Franc in France are quite different. That difference aside, Chappellet does an admirable job crafting a very enjoyable wine.

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