Knights Valley

This is a great value in California Cabernets.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose is very nice with cassis, baking spices, slight figs and slight fresh oak.  On the palate, this drinks easily but also has some structure to it.  Cassis flavors wrapped with spice and char.  Medium tannins.  This drinks well on its own now but will continue to mature and likely improve slightly over the next ten years.  This will work well with grilled and roasted meats or fowls.  

This is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet France, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot.  This is a gorgeous wine but it will need some time to reach maturity.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Cassis, black cherries, dark chocolate, char and baking spice on the nose.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the cassis and black cherries carry thru though concentrated.  Firm tannins.  An underlying char.  Long finish.  This needs about five to ten years until peak and will be good for ten to twenty years after that.  It drinks well on its own and will work with bigger foods especially roasts

From Magnum.  This bottle was opened and allowed to breather for six hours prior to serving.  It needed every bit of that and more.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, roasted herbs, slight earthiness and slight floral qualities.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, lot of black raspberry fruit with a bit of roasted meats and black pepper.  Though there is a lot of fruit, this is not over ripe at all.  Juicy acidity works well with the food.  This is still young and will likely improve over the next five years.  The wine has already improved since t

From Magnum.  Wonderful aged Syrah but it is starting to show it's age.  Purple in color.  The nose has black olives, boysenberries, slight black pepper and a hint of bacon fat.  On the palate, this has a nice backbone of acidity.  Layers of black raspberry fruit with some earthiness, some black olives and a bit of pepper.  Long finish.  Worked well with a wide variety of foods.  This probably should be drunk up in the next five years or so.  

Silvery green in color.  Very nice nose with chalk, minerals, tarragon and slight lemon notes.  Decidedly more mineral driven than fruit.  On the palate, the lemon comes out a bit more along with a bit of peach.  Plenty of minerals as well.  A very nice oily texture.  Great balance and acidity.  Long finish.  This is a energetic and persistent wine that is lean and goes great with food.  It has depth and complexity as well and probably be drinking just fine in ten years, but the energy will be gone, so it is best enjoyed in the next few.  

Sadly, this vineyard was burned in 2017 in the fires of Sonoma and Napa.  It is being replanted which is good news as this was the star of the Donelan line-up.  This was tasted from Magnum.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, and some grilled meats.  With air a nice floral note emerges.  On the palate, this has a softer accessible side which is nice, but don't mistake that for a lack of structure.  Black raspberry fruit with underlying char.  It is classic Sonoma Syrah that should last a couple of decades more and continue to improve along the w