Willow Creek

This is quite young but still delicious.  It is a blend of 64% Grenache, 16% Mataro, 14% Syrah, 6% Carignan.  Deep purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, slight blueberries, some black licorice, floral notes and spice.  Full bodied.  Vibrant with lots of energy.  On the palate, loads of black raspberries and black cherries with medium tannins.  It takes some time to open in the glass but then shows a nice minerality.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This needs another seven to ten years to hits its peak but is delicious today

This is a blend of 50% Syrah, 34% Grenache, 16% Mourvedre checking in at 15.7% ABV.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, plums, black pepper, slight roasted herbs and meats and a bit of violets.  Full bodied.  Great lush texture but with lively acidity.  So easy to drink with no noticeable alcohol on the nose or palate.  Black raspberries over roasted earth with some herbs.  Long finish.  This is young but accessible.  It should continue to improve over the next three to seven years and drink well for another ten to fifteen after that.  It dri

This is 100% Mourvedre according to the back label.  Gorgeous wine but I am very partial to Mourvedre wines.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, slight plums, spice, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this needs some air to open fully.  Lots of black raspberry fruit over and earthy and smoky base.  Great liveliness.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit but no harm drinking now and over the next twelve to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would work well with Indian foods or most stews.  

This is 57% Syrah, 29% Grenache, and 14% Mourvedre.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper, slight roasted meats and herbs, and spice.  Full bodied.  Fruit forward.  Quite tasty.  This is drinking well if still young.  Lots of jammy black raspberry fruit over char and some black pepper.  Maybe a bit of black cherries.  This is a real crowd pleaser.  It should continue to evolve over the next ten to twelve years.  it drinks great on its own and will work well with roasted veggies or meats.  

For those who like full throttle, hedonistic wines, Torrin should be at the top of your list.  This one is made from 100% Grenache.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is big with black cherries, cherry pie, char, spice and slight dark chocolate.  Full bodied.  Lush and jammy.  On the palate, juicy black cherry pie filling with some underlying gravel.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This probably  drinks better on its own right now, but with some maturity it will settle down.  This should make great drinking for the next ten to twelve years.  

From Magnum.  This is a blend of 30% Mourvedre, 22% Zinfandel, 13% Syrah, 13% Tempranillo, 12% Grenache, and 10% Petite Sirah.  The bottle was opened for air for around 24 hours prior to serving.  Drank over two nights, it was consistent both nights.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, plums, black raspberries, cherries, gravel, black pepper and floral notes.  Crazy good and complex.  Full bodied and full throttle.  On the palate, all of those purple and red fruits seem to come out with underlying minerality and gravel.  Juicy acidity.  15.9% ABV but no s

My first time trying this wine.  It is 55% Grenache Blanc, 32% Roussanne, 8% Chenin Blanc, and 5% Petit Menseng.  It is fantastic.  Golden in color with just the slightest ruby coloring to it.  The nose is tight at first but opens up nicely in the glass.  Aromas of caramelized pears, orange peel, wax, and chalk.  Full bodied.  It is a big wine but deep with complex layers of pears, oranges, spice and smoke.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This drinks great on its own and will work well with bigger foods.  Roasted fowl would be a good match.  This is drinking great now and should continue for ten

This is drinking very well these days.  It is a blend of 82% Syrah and 18% Mourvèdre.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, roasted meats, slight violets and a bit of earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has a lush structure.  Juicy black raspberry fruit over a bit of smoke and earth.  Nice energy.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit.  It will make great drinking over the next ten to twelve years.  A nice match for ribs on the grill or roasted veggies.  

I had never heard of this wine before although I enjoy the winery very much.  It is a blend of 79% Syrah, 21% Grenache Blanc from the Paderweski Vineyard.  It is 17% ABV but not fortified.  Bottled only in 375ml bottles.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, chocolate and crème brûlée.  On the palate, this is sweet and does border on cloying.  The right food brings it back under control - something chocolaty but not too sweet.  The black raspberries and dark chocolate notes carry thru.  Not a lot of acidity.  A little goes a long way.  I suspect this lasts a lon

Torrin makes some of the best Rhone styled wines anywhere.  This is 30% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Tannat, so not completely a Rhone styled wine.  Close enough.  There wines are big and generally need at least five years to start to be approachable for my tastes.  This one is just getting there.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, plums, slight black cherries, blueberries, slight dust and spice.  It's great.  On the palate, this is big and wide.  Great texture.  Loads of black raspberry fruit with some blueberries and a bit of black cherries.  It's d