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

2018 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$65.00USD

A classic Napa Bordeaux blend with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  Shimmering bright and opaque.  The nose is complex and great.  Cassis, black cherries, earthy, hay, char and slight milk chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Slightly sinewy texture.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries cassis, carob, with a touch of eucalyptus on the long finish.  This is still young and a few more years in the cellar ought to up the score by a couple points.  Either way, this should drink well over the next twe

2018 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon "The Leap", USA, California, Napa, Stags Leap, Wine Rev iew

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$115.00USD

Gorgeous wine that needs a bit of cellar time.  This is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot.  Inly purple in color, magenta at the rim, clear and bright.  The nose is tight but with air opens to cassis, chocolate, cedar and a scent best described as sauteed onions (unusual but very nice).  Firm tannins.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate cassis, chocolate, char and a slight chalky note.  Great almost seamless texture.  A bit of tart raspberries make a delightful finish.  This needs a few more years in the cellar or a long decant and the score will undou

2018 Etude Pinot Noir Grace Benoist Ranch, USA, California, Carneros, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$47.00USD

This is a really nice Pinot Noir from Carneros. Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice. Earthy with cherries and slight sandalwood. Medium bodied. Light tannins. Good acidity. On the palate, cherries with slight sour cherries over char and earthiness. Long finish with a touch of menthol. Some depth and complexity that will increase with cellar time. This drinks well now and should continue to for the next ten to twelve years. Very nice on it own, this will work well with roasted duck or chicken.

2011 Bevan Cellars EE Cuvée, USA, California, Napa, Oakville, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2011
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A

Nice to try this from a "lesser" vintage but with some nice age on it.  It is in a very good place right now.  It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Cabernet Franc.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco and a slight herbal notes.  Also a but of spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis with underlying char.  Lots of depth.  Nice finish.  This won't get better but it is drinking very nicely and should continue for another eight to twelve years.  It works on its own but worked great with mushroom ravioli.  A great example of great

2015 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, USA, California, Napa, Rutherford, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$319.00USD

This is made by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, one of the top winemakers in the world. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is huge with cassis, cedar, baking spice, anise and char. Full bodied. Almost seamless texture. Juicy acidity. On the palate, loads of cassis with nice minerality and underlying char. Long finish. This is delicious. This is still quite young and will mature and probably get even better. Drink over the next twenty years. Great on its own, this will work with bigger meat dishes or even roasted veggies especially root vegetables.

2017 Krutz Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$150.00USD

My first time trying this winery.  It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, dust, cedar and mint.  Full bodied.  Soft and accessible texture.  Delicious.  On the palate lots of cassis with underlying char.  Firm tannins.  A bit of dark chocolate on the long finish.  This is drinking well but will undoubtedly mature and improve a bit.  Great on its own, it needs bigger food such as a steak or rib roast.  Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years.  

2010 Sine Qua Non The Monkey, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2010
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$195.00USD

This is a blend of 53% Roussanne, 23% Viognier and 19% Chardonnay.  At age 12, this took only a few minutes to open and then was drinking well.  Deep golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has wax lemons, and some gunpowder.  Full bodied.  Showing just as slight touch of oxidation as older white Rhone varietals often do.  The palate has lemons, pith and vanilla.  Long finish.  This is very tasty and quite complex.  There is some serious weight to this wine.  It drinks great on its own but will work even better with food.  Its hard to put a drinking window on white Rhone varietals but

2019 Gentleman Farmer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, USA, California, Napa, Oak Knoll, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2022
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$105.00USD

This is a new winery for Intowine.com.  Vintner Joe Wolosz, along with his husband and partner Jeff Durham are making some exceptional wines in Napa.  This one is quite good, but it is very tight and needs some cellaring to really hit its peaks.  Purple in color with the thin ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has loads of cassis, cedar and fresh cut oak note.  It is very rich.

2019 Gentleman Farmer Napa Valley Red Wine, USA, California, Napa, Oak Knoll, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$67.00USD

This is a Merlot dominant Napa Red proprietary blend from Oak Knoll.  Really an impressive wine.  Inky purple in color with a thin ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is tight (it is young) but with some air, black cherries, cherries, and milk chocolate emerge.  With a bit more air, there is also cedar, cassis and slight sandalwood and dust.  It took a few hours to full open up without any decanting.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries, cassis, plums, over a char and slight tobacco.  Long finish.  This is delicious and has a nice complexity.  If drinking soon, giv

2020 Gentleman Farmer Napa Valley Rosé, USA, California, Oak Knoll, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$35.00USD

This is made from 100% Pinot Noir.  It has a deep ruby/orange color, clear and bright.  A bit darker than typical roses.  On the palate, there are strawberries, cherry powdered candy (li-a-maid?), with a slight tea and gravel.  Medium bodied.  Lovely texture.  On the palate, the strawberries come thru with some red apple notes and underlying gravel.  A bit of orange candy on the finish along with a slightly bitter orange pith note.  Tasted over two nights, it was better on night two which is rare for a Rose.  This is concentrated.  It drinks great on its own and will work well with lighter

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