Santa Maria Valley

A very nice Syrah from Santa Maria in southern California.  Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted meats, and slight violets.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has bold fruit.  Flavors of black raspberries with some black pepper and char.  Great texture.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now if still youthful.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  It's great on its own and will work nicely with Roasted vegetable.  

Santa Barbara is Pinot Noir country, and the range of expressions in this county are varied. One of the stalwarts, having first started in 1975, is Lucas & Lewellen. For an inexpensive Pinot Noir, L&L does an admirable job of crafting a tightly wound Pinot with excellent fruit, good acidity, and oak influence (a mere 10 months in oak, only a small portion of which was new French) which doesn’t break the bank.

My first time trying this and what a delightful wine.  11.7% abv.  Light yellow/silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with minerality and slight citrus.  light bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is about minerality.  A Californian version of Muscadet.  Good finish.  This drinks well on its own and would be great with oysters or other shellfish.  Drink over the next few years.

Honestly, I love Viognier from the Rhone Valley, but less so the full throttle Viogniers from California (usually with high alcohol).  Despite that disclaimer, I really enjoyed this.  Unique and different as it is.  Golden in color with green swirls.  The nose has green apples, slight floral notes and just a hint of peach.  Nice acidity.  Oily texture.  Light to medium tannins.  On the palate, the apples are present with a light minerality.  Long finish.  This drinks easy on its own and will work with some lighter foods.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

The is 100% Grenache from California's Central Coast.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cherries, herbal notes and moist forest floor.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, nice black cherry and cherry fruit with underlying earthiness.  Seems to be fully mature and at peak.  Tannins all resolved.  Nice finish.  This is a food friendly wine that went well with Pasta Primavera with summer vegetables.  Drink over the next few years.  

From Magnum.  Garnet/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, dust, some black cherries and spice.  medium bodied.  Light tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nice black raspberry fruit.  Good finish.  Drinking well right now.  Drink over the next five years.  Nice on its own, this will work well with roasted or grilled meats and/or veggies.  

This is a very nice Syrah from California's Central Coast.  It is a big, fruit forward Syrah.  Alc. 15%  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black pepper, roasted meats and herbs.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is is juicy with big black raspberry fruit.  Delicious.  Some depth and complexity.  Long finish.  It could use a few more years to sort itself out, but is very tasty right now.  This drinks great on its own and will work great with chili, stews or a burger.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.