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Another new winery for me.  This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Stage Coach Vineyard.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with cassis, black cherries, baking spices and a dry earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is really concentrated and intense but not a bomb in any way.  Black cherry fruit leads with some cassis notes.  There is a dry rocky, earthy under it all.  Medium tannins.  Nice finish.  This drinks well now but will continue to improve for three to five years.  It will drink well on its own, but will be better with hearty, fatty foods but also ro

A new winery for me.  Wowza!  Of course, this is also a great vintage.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, baking spices, and slight chocolate.  Full bodied with a lovely lush texture.  On the palate, lots of lush fruit without being a fruit bomb.  Medium tannins.  Delicious.  Still young and primary, it is hard to see where it goes, but I suspect it ages beautifully over the next twenty years or more.  While patience will be rewarded, there will be no regrets opening one now.  Probably better on its own now, as it ages it will work great w

This is a blend of 48% Syrah, 32% Grenache, and 20% Mourvedre.  Still young, this is really starting to sing.  Purple, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, plums, some black cherries, spice, black pepper and roasted meats.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Lots of black raspberry and black cherry fruit.  Lovely texture.  Deep but tight layers.  Lots of energy.  Long finish.  This should drink well for the next ten to twelve years.  Great on its own, this will work well with spicy foods off the grill such as wings or ribs.  

This is drinking great and probably at peak.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries with black pepper and some roasted meats and herbs.  Full bodied.  Complex.  Still lots of upfront black raspberry fruit but lots of depth and layering with earthiness, char and black pepper.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This should go another five to ten years but won't get better.  Great on its own, this will work well with roasted meat or veggies.  I last had this in 2009, so it was great to be able to see what happened to all that potential it showed in its youth.  

Great showing for this wine.  Young, but tasty.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, graphite, and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is a big wine.  It is jammy and full of fruit, so make sure you share it with people who like that style.  I did, and they loved it.  Lots of cassis, some blueberries with some spice and graphite as well.  This is still primary with a lovely texture.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This probably drinks better on its own right now but would work with a grilled steak.  Drink over the next ten years or so.  

California Syrah bottled in Oregon by Maggie Harrison.  Some of the best Syrah out there.  I last had this about ten years ago.  At age 16, this was at peak and gorgeous.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted herbs, and a hint of gamey meat.  Full bodied.  Lots of vibrancy and energy.  Great lush texture.  On the palate, still plenty of fruit, light tannins with depth and complexity.  Black raspberries over pepper and gravel.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and is perfect with roasted meats, fowl or veggies.  This prob

This is part of the new lineup of Penfold's wines that are from other than Australia.  This one is from Napa.  I believe it is supposed to be a Napa version of their Bin 407 from Australia.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis and an interesting scent that I have notice rarely in other wines that can best be described as the fat off a fresh corned beef sandwich at a Jewish delicatessen.  There is also a bit of baking spices.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is ripe fruit with a lot of cassis.  Some underlying char/smoke.  Nice finish

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

This is a well endowed, Bordeaux blend from Napa.  It is full throttle and delicious although some may not like that style.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, plums, graphite, cedar, and anise.  Firm tannins.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the black raspberries come thru in spades with some underlying char and graphite.  Great lush texture.  15.6% abv.  Long finish.  No noticeable alcohol on the palate other than the texture.  This drinks better on its own right now, but would work with roasted meats or fowl.  Drink over the next few years to enjoy the

This is a value priced Zinfandel that makes easy drinking.  Darker ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has nice cherries with some spice.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, nice cherry fruit.  This goes down easy.  Ever so slightly sweet.  This should be drunk in the next couple of years.  Nice on its own, this will work well with burgers or ribs.