One of the best Grenache wines made in the USA but it does have a very different profile. Served blind to a group of experienced tasters, no one guessed Grenache although there were some Syrah guesses.
This is a Kermit Lynch wine. Pale ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is interesting with cherries, some black cherries, black olives and spice. Medium bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, cherry fruit. This drinks easy and is a nice quaff. Better with food this is a great "pizza" wine. Drink over the next couple of years.
This is 80% Mourvedre with the rest made up of Syrah and grenache. Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has plums, some black cherries, spices, and anise. Medium to full bodied. Medium tannins. Good balance. On the palate, t plums with spices and some black cherries. This is drinking quite nicely on its own but would be better with food. This would work well with beef stew. Drink over the next ten years.
This is a 51%/49% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, black raspberries, graphite, black pepper, spice and char. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Good balance. On the palate, this is delicious. Flavors of cassis, \black cherries, black raspberries, slight herbal note (mint?), spice and char. Long finish. This is deep and complex if still very young. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years. This is great on its own and will work well with grilled meat, fowl or veggies.
This is a Rhone blend of 72% Shiraz, 13% Grenache, 12% Mataro, and 3% Viognier. Deep purple/garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is deep with black raspberries, plums, black cherries, black pepper and dark chocolate. Full bodied. Medium tannins. Good acidity. On the palate, this is tasty with depth and complexity. Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries, dark chocolate, spice and char. Long finish. This is still very young and will improve. Drink over the next eight to twelve years. very nice on its own, this would be a nice pairing with Indian cuisine.
This is a classic Barossa Shiraz. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is great with black raspberries, black licorice and slight violet notes. Full bodied. Medium to firm tannins. On the palate, this is delicious. Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries, spice, black pepper and slight roasted meats. Long finish. This is still young and will benefit from a few more years in a good cellar. Drink over the next ten to fifteen. This is great on its own and will work well with roasted meats or root vegetables. Excellent value.
This is a different chardonnay from their famous "Artist's Series" but is quite good. About half of the batches are treated with sulfur but the others are not before combining them. The Leeuwin people this leaves a fresher but still protected white wine. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is intense with lemons, slight vanilla, slight spice and some crushed shells/salinity. Full bodied texture. Good acidity. Very light tannins. On the palate, lemons, slight lemon cream, grapefruit along with just a touch of minerality. Long finish. This is very nice on its own but b
This is a slightly sweet Riesling from the Clare Valley in southern Australia. Green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose opens with some peach notes that adds some green apple scents. There is also a slight flinty note. Medium bodied, slightly viscous. Good acidity. On the palate, this is semi-sweet with flavors of peach, slight green apples and just a hint of minerality. Good finish. served to a bunch of professed "Riesling haters", this proved to be popular. It is also food friendly but don't forget the sweetness. This would go great with a Beet and Goat Cheese salad. Dri
This winery makes some of the best values in France. They tend to make big, fruity wines more akin to California than France. In fact, blind, I thought this was Santa Barbara Grenache.
This was a bit different than a bottle of this I recently opened. Both were excellent, but this one had an issue or two. Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cherries, dust, slight anise and slight char. Medium to full bodied. Great acidity. Light to medium tannins. On the palate, this has cherries, slight black cherries, celery and spice. The green note gets bigger on the finish. Overall, this is a very good wine, but the green streak is a bit disappointing. Still, this wine is made to drink with food and that should help out that issue. Pappardelle al R
