Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is dusty with cassis, slight tobacco and slight cocoa. A bit drying on the palate. Nice cassis fruit. Some depth, there may be some upside to cellaring this wine for a few years. Light tannins. Not a huge wine at all. Will work with a wide variety of foods. Available at Nakedwines.com.
Purple/ruby in color. The nose has cassis, dust and a bit of spice. On the palate, this has firm tannins. Slightly tart acidity. Plenty of cassis fruit with an underlying grittiness which is interesting. It is a big and easy to drink Napa Cab but should have some upside over the next few years. Plenty of fruit and not over ripe. Will work with medium and heavier bodied foods. Available at Nakedwines.com.
Screw capped. Pale silvery/green/gold in color. The nose is a mythical combination of New Zealand and old school California. That is to say, lots of tropical fruits (guava and pineapple) and also a grassiness to it. Very pleasant and easy. On the palate, this is medium bodied. The tropical fruit carries thru. Nice acidity to counter. Dry. Slightly oily texture (a good thing). Long finish. This is an easy drinking wine, but has some depth. Works with lighter and medium bodied foods. It probably won't get better but should drink well for a few years. Available at Nakedwines.com.
Golden in color. The nose is classic Rhys and gorgeous. Lemon cream and vanilla with an underlying rocky minerality. On the palate, this is almost seamless in a creamy texture. Lemon and vanilla notes. Bright fruit. It is not as big as some vintages but this is not reticent either. Delicious. Still youthful. It opens in the glass and improves in the bottle. So good right now it might not be worth risking holding, but it should still get better. One of the best California Chardonnays I have had.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with black raspberries and some roasted meats. On the palate, this has sweet black raspberry fruit. It approaches cloying but not quite. Also some blueberries. This is a big jammy fruit filled wine. It will probably a difficult food match but drinks easy and great on its own. Hard to say how long it will age but drinking in the next five years should be safe.
This is a $10 bottle of Zinfandel. It is just about exactly what one would expect (in a good way). Purple/ruby in color. The nose has cherries with some alcohol. Slightly candied. On the palate, cherries with some heat. A bit dusty. No complexity but nothing really off either. This would make a nice choice at a large party.
Deep ruby in color. The nose has cherries, slight bramble, and a bit of pepper. On the palate, this is lighter in style. Cherry fruit. Some warmth. It doesn't seem like this will improve but it makes for enjoyable drinking. Works better especially well with spicy Indian food. Probably should be drink in the next few years.
This was surprisingly open and drinking well if still youthful. Purple in color. The nose has boysenberries, char, and black pepper. On the palate, this has a nice texture. Boysenberry fruit with some pepper. Nice complexity. Good finish. This should improve for the next five years. Needs big food.
Purple in color. The nose is great with black raspberries, roasted meats, some black pepper and hints of violets. On the palate, this has a great texture. Lush and almost seamless. Black raspberries layered with spice and slight roasted meats. Good balance. Nice finish. This would work great with heartier foods or spicy ones too. Drinking quite well though not yet at peak. It might have some more upside as it continues to develop. A real crowd pleaser but if drinking soon, give it some air. Probably will peak in five years and be good for a decade or more after that.
Purple in color. The nose is nice with black raspberries, some char and a bit of leather. On the palate, this is nice with black raspberry fruit. Some complexity. It doesn't seem like this will improve. It is a very good wine but, this is from perhaps the best Syrah vineyard in California. The expectations were high and this did not meet up to those expectations. That may be unfair, but there it is. This sold for around $50 on release.
