California

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Pop and pour. This is a blend of 91% Syrah, 6% Mourvèdre and 3% Viognier.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is intense with with black raspberries, black olives, roasted herbs, dark chocolate and char.  Full bodied.  Great lush texture.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with underlying charred earth. Some chocolate on the finish.  Delicious.  This is still young and will improve over the next five to seven years.  It should drink well for ten to twelve after that.  It drinks great on its own, with time this will work just as well with food.  It worked well with Indian food.  

This continues to be one of the best Chardonnay's made anywhere.  Light golden in color with slight green swirls, clear and bright.  The nose has lemon curd, minerality, and vanilla.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, lemon curd and vanilla with great minerality.  Still quite young, this should drink well for the next ten to fifteen years.  It went great with soft cheeses and also some vegetarian Indian food.  

This is a blend of fruit from Sierra Madre, Hilliard Bruce and Pisoni vineyards in Santa Barbara County.  Light golden in color.  The nose has grapefruits, minerals, baking spices and slight citrus.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is a big wine.  The grapefruit and slight lemons come thru with underlying minerality and oak.  Some acidity bit not a lot.  It works better with food, soft cheeses were perfect.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

This is a blend of 70% Syrah, 15% Grenache, and 15% Sangiovese from Santa Barbara County.  It also a very good value.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries, spice and slight forest floor.  Full bodied.  Medium silky tannins.  On the palate, this is open and drinking well already.  Nice black raspberry fruit with some cherries and black cherries.  A bit of black tea underneath.

Another wine made by Thomas Rivers Brown, this was the first time trying this one, and it is awesome.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight blueberries, cedar, slight dark chocolate and baking spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is concentrated.  Medium tannins.  Flavors of cassis, black cherries, slight licorice with some oak and a bit of minerality.  Great balance.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This drinks well with some decanting now, but may yet improve over the next five to seven years.  Either way, this should drink well for th

Lovely Rosé blend.  This is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from Farella and Moonracer vineyards.  Due to the fires in 2020, Realm decided that they could not make all of their reds so this was harvested early and turned into a Rose which is less susceptible to smoke taint (due to less time on the skins).  The results are excellent.  This is the second time I have been lucky enough to taste this.  Some say this is made in a Provence style, but rather, this seems to have fresh vibrant fruit albeit on the softer side (likely due to the Merlot), but certainly of Napa.  Very pale pink/ora

This has 99% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Semillon.  A nice refreshing wine that is a great summer aperitif.  Very pale, slivery green in color.  The nose is interesting with orange citrus and lemon zest notes.  A nice, slightly creamy texture.  On the palate, flavors of grapefruit and grapefruit zest.  Some warmth on the finish.  With a bit of air, a Sweet-Tart quality comes out which is enjoyable.  This drinks nicely on its own but worked with tomato Bruschetta.  Drink over the next year.  Nice value.  

From Magnum.  This is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petite Verdot and 5% Malbec.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is dominated by Brettanomyces which comes across as a "ripe" barnyard.  Some people love this while others are averse.  This is a spoilage yeast that will only bloom when the bottle sees warmer temperatures.  In addition, there are plums and cassis with some green bell pepper and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this drinks a bit cleaner.  Very earthy with cassis, bell pepper and black cherries.  Medium tannins.  Long fin

This is very nice but curiously seemed a bit behind the two prior vintages of this wine.  Perhaps a bit shutdown.  Still, it was very good. Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight smoke and an herbal streak (rosemary/tarragon?).  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is nice cherry fruit, a bit stemmy with an underlying damp earthiness.  Moderate finish.  This will work better with food.  Pasta with mushrooms would be a nice choice.  It will be interesting to watch it develop Drink over the next five to seven years.  

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 22% Mourvedre, and 18% Grenache from Torrin Vineyard.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, some black olives and smoke.  Full bodied.  Great, rich texture.  Nice balance.  On the palate, this is still youthful but starting to open a bit. Black raspberries, plums, black cherries with underlying scorched earth.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This may still improve but it will make great drinking for another ten to twelve years.  Great on its own, this will work well with braised meats or roasted vegetables.