California

• Amador County
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• Sonoma County
  • Alexander Valley
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One of my favorite whites from Napa.  This is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc with the rest Malvasia and Chardonnay.  Pale golden in color with a touch of light green hues, clear and bright.  The nose is lovely with a slight grassy note along with peach, Granny Smith apples.  Medium bodied.  Polished texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is refreshing with peach, green apples and nice minerality.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is very nice on its own and will work well with all but the heaviest foods.  It went wonderfully with Dal and Spinach Paneer dishes.  Drink over the next fi

Chappellet has been growing Cabernet Franc for 35 years, planted at a time when Franc was merely considered a blending grape. Comprised of 78% Cabernet Franc (there are small amounts of four other grapes), Chappellet had a made bold choice to produce a stand-alone wine from this grape. Sure, Franc has been made in the U.S. as a stand-alone, and the Loire Valley is ripe with iterations of Franc - most notably in Chinon and St. Dennis. But Franc in California and Franc in France are quite different. That difference aside, Chappellet does an admirable job crafting a very enjoyable wine.

A moody Pinot Noir, this offers deeper expressive fruit, easy drinkability and makes for a solid food companion (I had this with pesto pasta but the suggestions are quite extensive – game, duck, salmon, hearty vegetarian, etc.). This presents black cherry, blackberry, plum, and light rhubarb with back notes of dried tealeaf, wildflowers, cola and sandalwood. The specific use of Pommard clones gives this some darker fruit elements.

Chappellet has long been devoted to its Chenin Blanc, even when it wasn’t really in favor. This iteration - frankly the best in years - offers lovely aromatics and a soft mouth feel, a white wine that doesn’t want to be aggressive, but one that seduces you. There are notes of light resin, lemon peel, lime kefir, hints of apricot, tangerine and orange zest. The acidity is what really supports this wine, allowing it to be a food companion for a variety of diverse foods, or even a stand-alone cocktail wine with a cheese platter.

This is really a classic California Pinot Noir, offering bright expressive fruit, easy drinkability and a good food companion. Black cherry, rhubarb, cherry compote, blackberry jam, dominate and there are back notes of light floral, vanilla, and cherry cream pie. This is not a difficult Pinot to grapple with, it is straightforward enjoyment that makes your day better. An array of oak was used - only 11 months in total - with a variety of new and older barrels, which allows the wine to retain its brightness and liveliness while having structure and light tannins. Enjoy now through 2026.

Cline makes some great value wines and this is one of them.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, raspberries, briar patch, and black pepper.  Medium bodied.  Slight tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is a bit short of jammy but in that direction.  Flavors of Cherries, Black cherries, and Raspberries.  Good finish.  This is more than an easy drinker, but it does go down smoothly.  Nice on its own, this will work great with a lot of foods.  A nice choice with ribs or a burger off the grill.  

One of  the best Grenache wines made in the USA but it does have a very different profile.  Served blind to a group of experienced tasters, no one guessed Grenache although there were some Syrah guesses.

What’s unusual about this iteration of Pinot from Kosta Browne is that it really straddles the line between an earthy mineral driven Pinot noir, and a more traditional California style of bright strawberry and bright red fruits. Perhaps that’s no surprise as the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has enough diverse soils to produce intriguing fruit and diurnal swings due to its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. This Pinot works and works very well.

Jonata makes some great wines, and while they can be a bit pricey, they would likely be a lot more if they were from Napa and not Santa Barbara. This is a blend of 88% Cabernet Franc, 10% cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color with some garnet hues, mostly opaque and bright.  Great nose.  Black cherries, tobacco, leather and slight spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is ripe (no green bell peppers) but not overblown at all.  Depth.

It was great to try this wine.  I was a buyer of this wine for a long time, but, it kind of fell off my radar (there are only so many high end bottles I can buy), but this is one to revisit.  It is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.  purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar, blueberries, cloves, baking spices and slight char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is young but delicious.  Great texture.  Flavors of cassis, blueberries and black cherries with some cedar and spice.  Long finish.  This is deep a