Alexander Valley

Love these wines.  They deserve more attention.  A middle of the road Zinfandel in style.  Garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, char, slight bramble and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cherries, some black cherries with underlying char.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This is drinking great now and should continue to for seven to ten more years.  It drinks well on its own and would work great with a burger and roasted corn.  

A nice Cab from California from this old school producer.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, slight saddle leather, baking spices and slight cedar.  Medium to full bodied,  On the palate, cassis, some spice with underlying char and a slight herbal note.  Some depth and complexity.  Medium tannins.  Nice finish.  This will continue to age and mature for another seven to ten years.  Great on its own and will work well with a burger or a steak.  

This was a couple of steps better than the 2017.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, some raspberries, a bit of bramble and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is drinking youthfully but delicious.  Light tannins.  Black cherries and some cherry fruit with a bit of baking spice and a bit of black pepper on the finish.  Great on it own, this would work well with grilled meats or fowl.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  

This is the 54th consecutive vintage of this wine.  It is a blend of 71% Zinfandel, 19% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah, and 3% Alicante Bouschet.  Another job well done!  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is great with raspberries, black raspberries, slight char, plum and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Great texture.  On the palate, plums and black raspberries with some raspberries with underlying char and graphite.  Great liveliness.  Nice finish.  This wine is already drinking well and while it may change a bit, it should continue to do so for another 20 years.  This is pretty food

This is a nice Zin that takes its foot off the gas just a bit in this vintage.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose has raspberries, slight bramble and spice.  Medium bodied.  14.8% ABV.  On the palate, raspberries with some underlying char and a bit of black pepper.  Nice finish.  This is the type of Zin that should age pretty well.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  This is probably better with food; pizza or a burger are nice choices.  

This is a nice, moderately priced California Cabernet.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, bell peppers, cherries and some spice.  Medium bodied with light tannins.  On the palate black cherry fruit with a touch of green bell pepper.  Moderate finish.  This drinks easily and although good on its own, is better with some food.  Chili is a nice match.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is a proprietary red Bordeaux blend from Sonoma.  David Ramey was the consulting winemaker.  At age 16, this is drinking beautifully.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose show cassis, cherries, slight black olives, chocolate and slight spice.  Medium to full bodied.  It is delicious.  Big ripe fruit but also some complexity.  Firm tannins.  Nice depth.  Mostly black cherry fruit but some cassis.  Long finish.  I tasted this with a bunch of Sonoma Cabs, so this may have benefited from being a bit different.  Still, is drinking at peak not but should be at this level for at lea

Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is tight at first but opens with some air.  Cassis and dust.  On the palate, this is more cherry cough drops with some underlying charred wood.  Short finish.  This might be in a bit of a dumb phase as it kept opening up over the evening.  If drinking soon, a three hour (or more) decant would help.  It should hit maturity in another five to seven years and be good for another ten after that.  A nice wine with roasted veggies or meats.  

Another wine from this new producer.  Philippe Melka is the winemaker.  purple in color, opaque and bright.  More of a claret style of Cab than a fruit bomb.  The nose has cassis, graphite, rosemary and slight tobacco.  On the palate, there is cassis, camphor with a slight sour cherry note that is interesting.  Nice acidity.  Good finish.  This seems a bit more restrained and in need of air/time.  It should get better with about five to seven years of cellaring and then drink well for another seven to ten years.  It will work with a wide range of food.  

This was meeting an old friend.  I used to drink this wine quite a bit but had not had it for quite some time.  It just sort of fell out of the rotation for no particular reason and that is a shame.  It is still top notch.  A blend of 68% Zinfandel, 18% Carignan, 12% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet, this is a wine that drinks well young or old but the profile will change depending on which varietals are showing more at that time.  Purple in color with a ruby rim.  The nose is nice with black cherries, slight black raspberries herbal notes and pepper.  Medium to full bodied.  On the pa