I don’t know if any of you have noticed but over the past 5 or so years the standard of Sauvignon Blanc’s coming out of California, and Napa have been impressive, to say the least. Full-bodied wines with wonderful mouthfeels, and exceptional balance that will age out 5 plus years. I recently shared a bottleContinue reading “Three Great White Wines to Match the Perfect Weather.”
Category Archives: American Wines
Paso Does It Again, and Something special from Italy.
41 Highlands Black Granite Red Blend 2020 This was Wine Enthusiast #1 Top 100 Best Buys and I have to agree, it’s great drinking and exceptional value- rare these days!! This is a blend of 45% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 15% Malbec, 10% Syrah, 10% Merlot and reflects in the glass. This is what IContinue reading “Paso Does It Again, and Something special from Italy.”
Hartford Court Winery- one of Sonoma’s Best- shines again.
Four Hearts Vineyards Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2020 This Chardonnay is a cuvée, which really means it’s a blend of, in this case, 4 different field selections, which are fermented separately with only the best barrels selected for final blending to produce this impressive Chardonnay. This is a big rich Chardonnay without being overly-oaked, orContinue reading “Hartford Court Winery- one of Sonoma’s Best- shines again.”
Ashes and Diamonds- is aimed squarely at Millennials and the young at heart.
Ashes and Diamonds is the creation of Kashy Khaledi, his background is in the music business – Capitol Records, and is the son of Darioush Khaledi -Darioush Winery. He brought together Dan Petroski -Larkmead (until the 2015 harvest) when Diana Snowden-Seysses- Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, and Snowden Vineyards took over, and Steve Matthiasson- Stag’s Leap andContinue reading “Ashes and Diamonds- is aimed squarely at Millennials and the young at heart.”
A Red Wine for All Seasons- a Beckstoffer, a Rutherford and a Blackbird Arises.
Blackbird Vineyards ‘Arise’ Red Blend 2018 Named in dedication to the Paul McCartney/Beatles song. Unmistakable Napa on the nose with rich dark fruits and floral notes rising from the glass. A delightful richness on the palate will assuredly put a smile on your face. There is an abundance of black fruits and chocolate with secondaryContinue reading “A Red Wine for All Seasons- a Beckstoffer, a Rutherford and a Blackbird Arises.”
Kuleto Wines- great names and great blends. Perfect for Cook Outs.
Kuleto ‘Frog Prince’ Red Blend 2021 Situated on the eastern side of Napa in the hills above Rutherford, drawing in the spirit of Burgundy and Tuscany. The palate carries an Old-World attitude with a Napa mouthfeel- soft and approachable with an unexpected, but impressive middle palate silky smoothness. Great balance with acidity and tannins inContinue reading “Kuleto Wines- great names and great blends. Perfect for Cook Outs.”
What do you get from a Cabernet sourced just outside the Napa boundary that displays, Napa swagger and high-elevation elegance at under $20?
Clay Shannon Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Without the cache of Napa, pricing for grapes per ton is about a third of what Napa Cabernet fetches. The upside to this is you get great Napa-style wines at a much-reduced price point. Lake County is high elevation, Estate Grown fruit, and is just adjacent to Napa, to theContinue reading “What do you get from a Cabernet sourced just outside the Napa boundary that displays, Napa swagger and high-elevation elegance at under $20? “
From the Cellar … Rhys Estate Vineyards
The driving force behind Rhys Estate is to make Pinots and Chardonnays that are unique and expressive of the chosen vineyard sites. All of the sites are selected for their distinctive soil and the growing climate spanning 6 different sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains region and 1 in Anderson Valley. Their Skyline Vineyard hasContinue reading “From the Cellar … Rhys Estate Vineyards”
An Oakville Gem with a Bordeaux influence- Patria ‘Avoyelles’ Red Blend 2018
This is an impressive wine from the start, but it does need some time to open. I suggest 4 – 6 hours but then: spectacular. Big bold rich fruits hit the nose and the palate with elegance and finesse. This is a Bordeaux blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit VerdotContinue reading “An Oakville Gem with a Bordeaux influence- Patria ‘Avoyelles’ Red Blend 2018”
From the Cellar … Coquerel Cabernet Franc Napa Valley 2013
January is a quiet month in the wine business so I’ve taken the opportunity to have some time off work, hence some ‘From the Cellar’ articles reflecting on the longevity/cellar ability of some wines. WOOOW, this is holding up and drinking so well! If anyone has bottles in their cellar, I’d crack one open now,Continue reading “From the Cellar … Coquerel Cabernet Franc Napa Valley 2013”
Vine to Table 