Sonoma County

• Alexander Valley
• Bennett Valley
• Best of Sonoma
• Dry Creek Valley
• Fort Ross/Seaview
• Moon Mountain
• Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak
• Russian River Valley
• Sonoma Coast
• Sonoma Mountain
• Sonoma Valley
• Knights Valley

This is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, and 1% Petite Sirah.  It is a nice value in California Cabernet.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with cassis and a bit of coffee.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, black cherries, some cherry pie filling, but also some tart cherries.  With air, some dark chocolate and spices.  There is oak on this but that will integrate with time.  Nice finish.  This drinks great on its own and will work with bolder foods.  As it ages, it will be more

This took some time to open and showed a better on day 2.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with smoke, minerals butterscotch, and a touch of grapefruits.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, the minerality comes thru along with some citrus.  Very clean finish.  This drinks nicely on its own but much better with some food to bring out the subtleties.  Salmon or heavier seafood dishes would work well.  Drink over the next three to five years.  There is an upside to cellaring.  

One of the great values in Zinfandel.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, spice and bramble.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has lots of energy.  Black cherries, some blueberries, spice and smoke.  Great acidity.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  This will probably drink well for ten to twelve years, but I always seem to drink these young.  No regrets about that.  Great on its own, this will be great with roasted veggies or a garden (or meat) burger.  

I am a big fan of the RM Chardonnays.  This is the "generic" non-single vineyard offering.  It might be a hair less than those others but it is also less expensive and an outstanding wine on its own.  Light gold with some green swirls, shimmering bright.  The nose is classic with lemons, vanilla, slight chalk and a hint of mint.  Full bodied but with cut.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious right from the go.  Lemons, vanilla, slight spice with a long finish.  Great texture.  Young, of course, but this should easily do another ten years as it matures.  Might even get better. 

This is a blend of 38% Grenache, 33% Mourvedre, and 29% Syrah.  Purple in color with ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, black raspberries, slight char and a bit of anise.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is nice.  Not over done.  Notes of black cherries, black raspberries and plums with a slight underlying char.  Good energy.  Nice finish.  Drinking well now, it should continue to do so for the next seven to ten years.  A nice wine to have on its own or with a burger or ribs off the grill.  

Although young, this wine is a beauty.  Kistler used to have a lot of oak on its Chardonnays.  Some loved it, some didn't, but this wine seems to have backed off a bit on the oak and upped the acidity.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some pineapple, and lemons.  With air, a lemon candy note comes thru.  There is a fair amount of oak showing too coming thru as caramel and vanilla but it is already integrating.  Full bodied with a lovely viscous, oily texture.  On the palate, this is crisp with nice minerality.  The lemon/lemon candy comes thru.  Long finish.  This drinks ni

Another great showing for this Chardonnay.  There is a deft use of oak that is noticeable here, but well done and well within reason.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon curd, vanilla and hint of grapefruit.  With air a nice minerality emerges.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is still young but drinking well.  It improves in the glass showing lemon curd with slight vanilla and spice.  Nice balance and structure.  Long finish.  This seems like it should easily do another decade or more.  Great on its own, this will work well with duck, salmon or just a s

Opened by a friend after a Lodi Zin tasting as an example that Zins last.  We all wondered if it were alive and, it was.  Purple in color, a bit flat but not really looking like it was 27 years old.  The nose is dusty with a bit of bramble and woodiness left but also some cherry fruit.  On the palate, there is still cherry fruit and some dried fruits.  Good balance.  Now, this was probably better twenty years ago, and I doubt ageing improved it much, but it clearly has lasted (stored in a wine fridge).  A real treat to try now.  

This is a big-ish Zin in style especially for Sonoma.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries and slight bramble.  A bit of pepper, too.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, there is nice black raspberry fruit with some cherries.  Underlying spices.  Pepper on the finish.  It worked well with Thai food but will drink well on its own too.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

This is from grapes that are grown 63% IN Napa and 37% in Sonoma.  It also contains 7% Cabernet Sauvignon.  This was a difficult vintage, yet this is a nice wine.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries and coffee.  Also a hint of clove.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, black cherries and cherries with some underlying spice.  A slight green note on the finish.  Nice acidity.  The fruit is not under ripe but just barely.  This drinks well but will work better with food.  Fried chicken might be nice.  Drink over the next few years.