Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
Purple/ruby in color. The nose has dark cherries and spice. On the palate, the dark cherries follow. Cooler climate Cab in style. A bit under ripe. Some heat on the finish. Overall, it is a decent but not great cab. Around $45.
Light yellow in color. The nose is gorgeous with lemon cream notes. Slightly oily texture. Young but already showing a deep complexity. Lemon cream notes with an interesting slight mint note on the finish. There is some oak here, but it is integrated beautifully. This should age well for a decade, probably two. There is some upside potential.
Nice value here. This drinks cooler climate in style. Purple in color. The nose has nice cherries and dark cherries with baking spices and sandalwood. On the palate, this has decent acidity. The cherry flavors carry thru along with some cola notes. At under $20 per bottle, this is easy to gift or drink at a party and yet, interesting. I would like to taste this in a warmer vintage to see how it compares.
Torrin has quickly become one of my favorite Rhone blends anywhere. I urge people to get on their mailing list before it fills up (if it hasn't already). 2011 was a difficult vintage for many in paso, but Torrin handled it quite well. This one is a unique Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat blend. Gorgeous wine that was delicious if still young. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, graphite, some black cherries and an underlying char. Full bodied. These are big wines. The black raspberry carries thru to the palate as does the underlying char. A great minerality as well.
A nice throwback wine. Consumed at 20 years from vintage. Purple in color moving to ruby/orange at the rim. Black raspberries and black cherries on the nose which follow thru to the palate. Also some warm earth and dust. This is soft with no tannins. While it seems past prime, there is still fruit left and it drinks nicely. Not as complex as I might have thought but some. Clipped finish. All in all a nice showing at this point.
Inky purple in color. This is very tight (pop and pour). Unlike a lot of 2012's, this needs some air or cellar time. The nose is nice with cassis, graphite, vanilla and spice. Full bodied. Lush and big. On the palate, black currants, black pepper, sandal wood and slight earthy forest floor notes. Good balance. Long finish. Kept improving. Great now, but with upside. Probably anothe 10 years to peak and good for a couple more decades. Prodigious wine.
Pop and pour. This needs air or cellar time. Inky purple in color. The nose has great black raspberries with black pepper and some roasted meats. Very young. Firm tannins. Great black raspberry fruit. Plenty of depth but hard to see the bottom. It opens slightly in the glass. The last sip three hours later is the best. Plenty of upside for this wine. It is delicious but if drinking it now, open it 12 hours in advance to breathe.
Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has dark cherries, coffee and dust. On the palate, sweet dark fruit. Cassis with a toffee/coffee note. Nice finish. Not showing a lot right now so it is a bit confusing whether its shut down or not. Given its pedigree, one would think so. It is good, but I would have expected great. So, probably hold for now or give it lots of air.
OK. First, this was served to me totally blind. Second, read this review with a grain of salt as I am the winemaker/co-proprietor of the winery. Purple in color. The nose has nice black raspberry fruit and a bit of coffee. On the palate, black raspberry fruit with medium to firm tannins. Some oak showing itself as coffee and spice. Slightly sweet but it might just be ripe fruit. Nice finish. Blind, it seemed like it saw sunshine but I didn't pick California. I thought perhaps a Portugese wine. I liked it and scored it 92 points. Once its identify was revealed, it (of course) mad
Inky purple in color. The nose is very tight. Black raspberries. spice/oak. Primary. On the palate, this is lush with a great texture. Black raspberry fruit. Seems deep but impenetrable. Firm tannins. Doesn't budge much with air. Plenty of upside on this but it needs a decade to sort itself out and open up. For now, its enjoyable but seems like the better course is to show patience.
