Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Ruby in color. The nose has nice cherries with some floral notes. A bit of spice. On the palate, this has some depth. Bright cherry fruit with an underlying mineral/char. Still young but opens nicely. Good finish. Not a huge Pinot but certainly no wall flower either. Should go with a good amount of foods. Drink over the next ten years or so.
A very nice example of a cooler climate Syrah. At age 10, this is just sort of chugging along on its way, but not yet, at maturity. Purple in color. The nose is black raspberries with some black olives and slight bacon fat. Very much a Northern Rhone profile. On the palate, there is a grilled black raspberry fruit quality to this. Slightly sour fruit. Some slight heat on the finish. Overall, very solid and enjoyable. Food friendly. Perhaps still some upside to go.
Sean Thackrey is one of the world's great winemakers who hangs out in Bolinas California. This is basically a field blend of what doesn't make his top Cuvees. Although it is non-vintage, each Cuvee carries a Roman Numeral designate. This is XI, but the current release is XXV. This wine is approximately 16 years old and was really made to be drunk in the first few years. Sometime, however, wines hide in the cellar only to provide a pleasant surprise later on. It was originally claimed to be a blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Carignan, and Barbera, however, DNA testi
There are a lot of people who would love this wine for $20. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has sweet cassis with slight coffee. On the palate, the sweet cassis continues. Slight tannins. To some, this wine will be delicious, slightly sweet and great on the back deck. For others, this will be goopy and cloying and not a wine made for cellaring. Both sides are probably correct.
This is another label from Cathy Corison who is known for making old school Napa Cabs and other wines. Despite the coolness of the vintage, this wine manages to not show under ripe qualities and yet be consistent with the Corison style. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has black cherries, cherries, cigar tobacco and slight dustiness. On the palate, this has a nice complexity. Drinks a bit older than it is but that is more profile than age. Dust, tobacco, dried and fresh cherries. Good balance. Food friendly. Nice finish. $53. This is a nice change of pace for Napa and easily has an
This had some odd label and I am not sure if we ever properly unwrapped it. In any event, this is one of the best 2011's from Sonoma and indeed, California that I have had. Deep magenta in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has black cherries, cedar, and graphite. There are firm tannins still. A supple texture. 14.1% alcohol. Cassis and very concentrated on the palate. Delicious and no ripeness issues. Long finish. Worked well with eharty foods and some pungent cheeses. There are always new wineries emerging on the scene but this is one to watch.
Really great showing for this wine. Purple in color, slight line of ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis, coffee, and cedar. Complex. On the palate, this is awesome. It is a big wine but with a nice elegance at this point. Cassis layered with coffee and earth. Long finish. This is delicious and while it is the kind of wine that borders on excessive, as it matures it has calmed down and is integrating nicely. Still young, this needs another decade until maturity and has a couple more at the top after that. It is delicious now and worked quite well with an assortment of cheeses (an
This is the basic Syrah from Carlisle. It sells for around $30 and is a great value. The bottle comes screw capped which is a good thing. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black olives, slight grilled meats and pepper. On the palate, this is young but with some depth. Drinking easily right now. Black raspberries. Good balance. Plenty of fruit but not flamboyant. Nice finish. This often gets drunk early to allow the single vineyard Carlisles to age and that is a bit unfair as this will age just fine too.
Another stunning Chardonnay from Rhys. Light golden in color with some green hues. The nose has a vanilla scented lemon chiffon that is distinctive for Rhys. Gorgeous. There is also an underlying mineral component. It is understandable why so many compare this to Meursault. On the palate, this is still young but almost seamless. The vanilla/lemon chiffon carries thru as does the minerality. Great balance. This would work with a wide variety of foods. Its tht texture though that keeps being so striking. Long finish. There is some upside on this depending on how you like Chardonna
Very classic Sonoma Chardonnay. This sees 30% new oak, but there is a fair amount of oak showing. Whether that is good or bad is a matter of personal taste. Light golden in color with slight green hue. The nose has nice lemons along with slight vanilla and nutmeg. On the palate, the nose carries thru but also a bit of fresh cut timber. Towards the mid-palate and finish, some tropical fruit notes emerge. There is a lovely creamy softness to the texture. Good depth. Very nice acidity. Still drinking youthfully, this should continue to develop and presumably for the oak to continue t
