Expert articles and wine tasting videos profiling wines from California, California wine regions, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, & more.
This seems to be at or close to peak at this point. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis, cedar, slight char and a slight earthiness. On the palate, this is soft with thin tannins. Cassis layered with earthiness and spice. Nice finish. Showing a very nice complexity. Worked well with food. This was a huge wine in its youth that has developed beautifully.
As to be expected, this is quite young and tight. Yet, the nose is so precise it should develop beautifully. Black raspberries, black pepper, roasted meats and violets. On the palate, this took some time to open. Vigorous tannins. Black raspberry fruit tightly packed. Deep. Long finish. Don't open for a few years without a long decant.
My favorite of the 12, 13 and 14 trio of these wines (though all are good). This also seems to be the one with the most upside potential. Inky purple in color. The nose is dusty with black raspberries, black pepper and slightly roasted meats. On the palate this is flat out delicious. Deep with black raspberries, black cherries, juicy acidity and some chocolate. Long finish. Tightly packed it explodes in the glass. Great wine.
Inky purple in color. The nose has cedar, black raspberries and black pepper. On the palate, jammy black raspberries with some black cherries and chocolate. Good acidity. This is a very rich and open Syrah but still quite young. it will be interesting to see how these develop with ten or twenty years on them. I think they will be just fine and not too dissimilar from the better Northern Rhone reds. Time will tell.
Gorgeous wine. Still drinking quite youthfully, this has decades left. Inky purple in color, magenta at the rim. Great nose with cassis, blueberries, cedar and violets. On the palate this has such a luxurious texture. Lush with cassis. Also some charred earth. Tight layers that expand in glass. Great precision. Long finish. This may yet improve a bit and will certainly gain in complexity. Year n and out, one the best Cabs offered anywhere.
Ruby/purple in color. The nose has cherries, slightly sour and sandalwood. On the palate, sour cherries with slight root beer note. This is a big wine and ageing pretty slowly. There is still a ton of fruit and the alcohol is in check, so I suspect this will continue to develop. It will be interesting to see how much complexity it gains. Like many wines that lean far to one style, if you didn't like this young, you probably won't like it old (and visa-versa). There is some slight heat on the finish but that settled down with some air.
This has really improved in the last 6 months. This has some oak on it which may be a question for some, but if you like this style, it is impressive. Deep golden in color. The nose has vanilla and lemon cream. Slight fesh lumber. On the palate, there is a lovely oily texture. Very lemony with a bit of sawdust as well as vanilla. Very nice acidity. Worked just find with some cheeses. Still on the young side and plenty of fruit to hold up as the oak integrates. It is delicious right now.
Great example of a cooler climaate northern California Syrah. This is tight and young and has a couple of decades left, so if opening now, give it some air. Purple in color. The nose has boysenberries and black cherries with black pepper, violets and charred meat. On the palate, there is plenty of boysenberry fruit and a nice underlying earthy note. Great sinewy tannins with plenty of structure. Good finish. Very enjoyable.
I love this bottling and vintage. The oak treatment is perfect for the fruit. Golden in color. The nose is clean with peach and slight ginger. Creamy texture. On the palate, apples, peaches and just a bit sweetness. Deep and complex. Long finish. Great acidity. Worked great with food but was delicious on its own. Very impressive.
This is such a tremendous value. Around $30. Purple in color. The nose is great with raspberries, dark cherries, spice, bramble and char. On the palate, what a great texture. Juicy and full. Lots of fruit, mostly raspberries, blackberries but also some sandalwood notes. Great balance. DELICIOUS. Long finish. I think these will age for a decade if only I could keep my hands off of them.
