Medium gold in color. The nose is nice with only a slight petrol note. Wet rocks and slight grapefruit. With air, more petrol comes out. Nice texture. Dry but the fruit gives it a feeling of sweetness. Grapefruits and minerals. Nice finish. Food friendly. Ageing just fine and no real hurry.
30% Rousanne, 25% Marsanne, 20% Grenache Blanc, 15% Picpoul, and 10% Vermentino. This is one of my favorite (mostly) Rhone white wines from Paso Robles. Light golden in color. The nose is really nice with peaches, slight canned peaches, a nice minerals streak, some vanilla candle and some lemon peel. On the palate, this has a great oily texture. Slightly viscous. An excellent crispness. Depth and complexity. Do not serve this too cold as the complexity really comes out when the wine starts to get over 60F. Peaches, lemons, and minerals. Long finish. Great with food.
This wine is from the late great winemaker Denis Malbec's own winery. He made wine for some of the top wineries in Napa including Kapcsandy but was sadly killed in a car crash in 2017. This wine is certainly a tribute to his skills. Purple in color. The nose has cassis, slight cherries, spice with slight tarragon note. On the palate, this is has a nice structure. Pinpoint fruit hanging with tannins. The fruit has cassis and cherry and while ripe, not over done. This drinks well now but consumed over a couple days, it was better on Day 2 suggesting its best days are still ahead. Nic
This is a GSM blend. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and a hint of herbal notes. On the palate, this carries thru. The green note is a bit distracting. One dimensional. Easy drinking. Its a fine wine but for $52, I find it a bit lacking. Maybe with age? I don't think so, but who knows.
From a 375ml. This is a nice bottle to have when you want something easy and not too expensive for a couple of glasses. Purple in color. Cherries and slight raspberries on the nose. Some bramble and spice. Easy drinking. Not too complex. Enjoyable. Around $15.
40% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 21% Grenache and 9% Counoise. Tablas Creek is making some of the best Rhone varietal wines anywhere and they have been for 20 years. Purple in color. The nose is nice, deep and has a nice complexity. Plums, dark cherries, slight char, black pepper and spice. With air, purple fruits come to the forefront. On the palate, this is young and still not yet at peak IMO. Plums, black raspberries layered with char and spice. A hint of muskiness as well. Lovely mouthfeel. Great texture. Nice finish. These wines are built to age and while the 2012 is more open tha
Sherries are to a particular taste. Very Old Rare Sherries may even be more so due to the cost. Personally, I love them. This bottle was consumed over three days. It was at its best on day 3 (wine was corked and stored on the counter). Gorgeous color of shimmering light brown/gold/orange. Clear and bright in the glass. On the nose, this is so complex. Caramel, tootsie rolls, some alcohol, camphor/iodine, and minerals. Complex. On day 2 and 3, the alcohol is less noticeable. It is oxidized but doesn't offend (me). On the palate, it feels like there will be a bit from either the a
This vineyard now belongs to Jadot USA but prior to that, Sineann made some of the best Oregon Pinot Noir from it. At ten years from vintage this is still young. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has black cherries and some spice. On the palate, this is deep and complex. Black cherry and cherry fruit, layered with damp forest floor. Great lush texture. Lots of energy. Long finish. Worked great with food. At least a decade more of development until peak. Certainly a couple points of upside possible.
Purple in color. The nose has cherries and a bit of celery. On the palate, this lacks ripeness. Some cherries but a mean green streak. Not sure if this is the house style or a vintage characteristic. Food helps, but I would prefer some fruit and less green notes. It seems well made but perhaps the fruit was picked too early (at least for my tastes).
Light ruby in color. The nose has cherries and some celery. On the palate, this has tart cherries. A bit weedy. The acidity is nice but a bit under ripe. Worked better with food. Still, overall, this is a good wine but not for everyone.
