Opened by a friend to celebrate another friends birthday. 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Light golden in color. A nice head with lots of smallish bubbles. The nose is nice with burnt hay and slight citrus. On the palate, there is some citrus and minerals. Long finish. Good acidity. This is very food friendly and will work with a wide variety of foods.
This is a very nice Cab Franc from Washington. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has black cherries, tobacco and slight bell pepper. On the palate, this has a nice complexity. Good fruits black cherries and cherries with underlying herbal notes. Good finish. Slight tannins. This works better with foods and went well with a home made pizza. It seems still young and might get better but should easily last another 5 to ten years.
Whether you like this wine comes down to style. It is well made in the "classic" new world style with rich, opulent tropical fruit, butter and oak. It does seem to be a bit past its prime so drinking sooner than later is called for. Golden in color. The nose has butterscotch, spice, mango and butter. On the palate, this has a voluptuous texture. Decent acidity certainly helps it work with food. The buttery and spice notes are predominant on the palate but there is some tropical fruit quality. This is not my preferred style of Chardonnay but it is certainly better than many in the ca
Gorgeous wine. It is sweet of course, but not as sweet as expected. Golden in color. The nose is pretty with just the slightest touch of petrol. Also lots of minerality, wet stones and slight apricot. Full bodied. Viscous. Enough acidity but a bit more to counter the sweet would be nice. Still, it is a very nice wine. Went well with Halloumi cheese. Drinking well now, but it has two or three decades of life left.
Sadly Ulises Valdez has passed away too young. This bottle was opened for a time when tasted (I believe for 24 hours), so take that into account. It is drinking very well though. Golden in color with a bit of straw. On the nose, this is nice with slight green apples, some hay and some butterscotch. On the palate, this is full bodied. There is some depth here. Drinking very well with some lemon/citrus and a nice minerality. Good finish. Worked well with some appetizers as we stood around talking.
Made from 100% Pinot Noir. Salmon pink in color. Head has larger bubbles. The nose is nice with strawberries and slight apple notes. A bit lean and crisp. On the palate, flavors of strawberries continue thru along with some watermelon. There is a slight bitterness on the mid-palate. Overall, this drinks easy. Worked well with some cheeses. Made a nice starter at a party.
This was quite good. It is still young but drinking great. It should continue to evolve and mature and should be good for another decade and probably more. Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim. On the nose, this has nice bramble, black cherry fruit, raspberries, pepper and spice. A very nice lush texture. Black cherries on the palate with underlying char and dry earth. Long finish. This is delicious and continued to open though it didn't take long to finish the bottle. Would work well with spicy foods and grilled foods.
Paso Robles is making some of the best Syrahs anywhere in the world. They have a warm fruit profile and are delicious. Dark purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, slight roasted meats, black pepper and spice. On the palate, this has a wonderful texture. Juicy yet lush. Lots of black raspberry fruit with pepper notes and some underlying char. Long finish. Delicious. This works with roasted foods. Another good match are Indian foods.
Monte Rosso is one of the top vineyards for California Zinfandel. Many producers utilize its fruit. Although it is not my favorite Bedrock Zin, it is an outstanding Zin. Purple in color with ruby swirls. The nose has nice cherry and black cherry fruit with some char and spice. Medium bodied. It is not a fruit bomb but is not shy either. Very concentrated black cherry fruit. Good acidity. Nice finish. Works well with spicy and hearty foods.
Perhaps not quite as good as the amazing 2013, but a stellar wine nevertheless. Inky purple in color. The nose has cassis, blueberries, smoke and slight floral notes. On the palate, this is open and drinking well. Still, it is deep and unwinds beautifully in the glass. It really is well served with a few hours of a decant. Cassis and other dark fruits with graphite and smoke intertwined on the palate. Juicy acidity. Medium tannins. Probably about five to ten years from peak and should last a couple more decades, but wonderful now. Needs heavier food and great on its own.
