This is a nice value in Napa Cabernet. Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, black cherries, spice and dust. Full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, nice cassis fruit with underlying spice. Solid finish. This is easy to drink on its own but will b a nice wine with a burger. Drink over the next five to seven years.
I am a huge fan of Ceritas, but sadly, this one was not up to the usual standards. It was my first time trying this vineyard so perhaps that was it. Light golden in color. Clear and bright. The nose has some minerality to it. Medium bodied. On the palate, there isn't much going on. Nothing bad, but just a bit of minerality. A little bitter on the finish. With air, some lemon came out. Certainly drinkable and without an obvious fault. Perhaps a victim of high expectations. It probably is best to drink with food. Perhaps a grilled chicken sandwich would work well. Drink over the
One of my favorite producers of Sonoma Chardonnay, this is their base wine. It may be a step behind the single vineyard offerings, but it is still outstanding. Light golden/green in color, clear and bright. The nose is great. They do use noticeable oak. There is a nice lemon curd, along with a bit of vanilla and spice. Full bodied. On the palate, this is crisp with lemons, minerals and spice. Nice finish. Obviously young, this drinks great now but will continue to mature. It should drink well for the next ten years. Great on its own, this will work well with salmon or chicken dis
My current favorite in value wines. Even better than the 2017. And, under $20! Purple in color. The nose is great with black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat, and slight roasted meats. Great texture. On the palate, lots of concentrated black raspberries over char and clean earth. Light tannins. Nice finish. This has some complexity and might still get better. It should drink well for seven to ten years. Great on its own, it will work well with fatty fried foods.
This is drinking great right now. Everything one could want in a Santa Cruz Pinot Noir. Deep ruby in color with purple swirls. The nose has cherries, candied cherries and slight cherry cough drops with just a hint of clean earthiness. Medium bodied. On the palate, this has layers of cherry fruits with underlying earthiness. Lovely, slightly lush texture with a slickness that makes it so drinkable. Nice finish. This seems to be closing in on peak but may still develop more. Either way, it should easily do ten to twelve more years.
Australia's most iconic wine. Always a pleasure to try one and this, at age 30 is just showing traces of age. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, vanilla, spice and slight black pepper. On the palate, this is full bodied with medium tannins. Plenty of black raspberry fruit. Fresh with lots of energy. Plenty of depth. This is drinking well now but may still improve as it matures. It should drink well for another fifteen years or more. This is great on its own and will work with roasts and drilled meat, fowl or veggies.
Apparently, one of the reasons for the name is that these vineyards are tended to with the use of horses. This was tasted side by side with the Tribe. Of course, which you like better is personal taste but this seems much more backwards at this point. Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, white pepper, slight bacon fat, and clean char. Medium to full bodied. Firm tannins. The palate has more boysenberry fruit with the underlying char coming thru. It is tightly packed, but intense. It probably needs ano0ther five years to open and maybe five afte
From the same people who make Cayuse in Washington state. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black olives, roasted meat, and black pepper. Very enticing. Full bodied. On the palate, this is still young with medium to firm tannins. Nice black raspberry fruit. Big, but more youthful than a fruit bomb. If served blind, I think I guess a young Cornas rather than Washington. Nice finish. I have no real experience to judge ageability of these wines, but it seems like it need another five years or so, and then should be good for ten or fifteen more.
A very unique expression of Grenache. These wines are big but they have such energy and hide the alcohol very well. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. Lots of black cherry fruit with a bit of earthy funk. Also, some dust and spice. On the palate, this has a great texture. Raspberries, black raspberries with light tannins over earth and char. Long finish. This is drinking great is a bit on the younger side of maturity. It should continue to drink well for the next ten to fifteen years. This drinks great on its own and will work well with roasts or stews.
From Magnum. This was tasted right after some older Bordeaux's and the difference was obvious. Both styles were good, but even at age 17, this was about fruit and sunshine while still showing some tertiary development. Purple in color, opaque and bright.
