PASO ROBLES | CALIFORNIA | $45
Black cherry with boysenberry and purple plum, plus deep savory notes of cinnamon, molasses, dry earth, cocoa and licorice. Full bodied, yet pleasantly just 14% alcohol. A bit tight initially, benefitting from decanting or patience in the glass that opens up a beautifully complex storyline. Finishes with a nice, light tannin pucker. A very good wine. (Reviewed 4/13/13)
Category Archives: California
Steinbeck Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Filed under $21 to $50, Cabernet Sauvignon, California
W.H. Smith Pinot Noir Umino Vineyard 2007
SONOMA COAST | CALIFORNIA | $48
Black cherry fruit integrated with rhubarb, allspice, bay and citrus pith. Medium bodied — big for a Sonoma Pinot — and full in the mouth with a suede-like texture, smooth with a slight grain. Not a Pinot for everyone; some might crave more lightness, more acidity, more freshness. Focused and brooding, she bears lament on what she is not, or perhaps on what she is too much, and yet she is herself, wonderful, purposeful, beautiful. A very good wine. (Reviewed 3/16/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Pinot Noir
Jaffurs Syrah 2008
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY | CALIFORNIA | $25
Blackberry and purple plum integrated with organic flavors of loamy soil, bay, rosemary, miso and bacon. A supremely enjoyable wine with great balance, a silky smooth texture and a long finish. Full bodied yet not enormous — its powerful 15.5% alcohol undetectable. Fruit and organic notes join as one, nearly indistinguishable as individual elements. A forest, not trees. An excellent wine. (Reviewed 2/2/13)
Lucia Pinot Noir 2010
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS | CALIFORNIA | $40
Raspberry, cherry and strawberry fruit beautifully integrated with complex savory notes of redwood, leather, bay, allspice and a hint of clove. Superbly crafted with each taste a new and wonderful discovery. On the light side of medium bodied, yet there’s a fullness of flavor on the palate and a rich velvety texture. A blend of fruit from the Garys’ and Pisoni Vineyards. An excellent wine. (Reviewed 2/10/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Pinot Noir
Foxen 7200 ‘Little Bird’ 2010
HAPPY CANYON OF SANTA BARBARA | CALIFORNIA | $42
A blueberry and boysenberry crush, with notes of cocoa, graphite, tarragon and orange zest. Medium to full bodied, well integrated and, to a small degree, gamey, with a satiny, slightly laden mouth feel and a lingering, satisfying finish. Rather agile, and surprisingly so, as the initial encounter conveys a weightiness that portends clumsiness — and yet this image rapidly vanishes revealing a complex, sublime soul. Merlin Olsen. 60% Merlot, 40% Petit Verdot. A very good wine. (Reviewed 2/2/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Uncategorized
Duckhorn Merlot 2009
NAPA VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $52
Mature black cherry with currant and boysenberry, plus complex flavors of licorice, mocha, stone minerals, camphor and orange zest. A medium- to full-bodied wine showing a velvet-smooth texture with a little chew, a slightly laden mouthfeel and firm, present tannins. Very well integrated with excellent fruit-savory balance. In a word, sublime. A thoughtful read, a warm spring-day breeze and a comfortable lounge on the veranda — and the time to be there all day and another. A very good, near excellent wine. (Reviewed 2/9/13)
Filed under $51 to $100, California, Merlot
Foxen Syrah Tinaquaic Vineyard 2006
SANTA MARIA VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $46
Mature black cherry, plum and dark berries with notes of bay and sumac, and a hit of citrus pith on the finish. Medium bodied — much lighter than one would expect from a 15.7% alcohol wine — and nicely integrated with a good balance of fruit and savory flavors. Velvet smooth texture with a slight grain. This chap draws you in, easygoing and ready with polite praise, and the auspicious encounter portends a great friendship. A very good wine. (Reviewed 1/27/13)
Tensley Syrah 2011
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY | CALIFORNIA | $25
Full-bodied blackberry and cherry fruit accented with chalk, cedar, bay and anise. Very approachable, focused and easy to like. Nicely weighty, filling the palate completely with fruit flavors and finishing slightly tannic. This youthful guitar shredder wails away impressively for hours on end, turning many heads; Guitar Center, however, is a store, not a stage. A good wine. (Reviewed 2/2/13)
Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
NAPA VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $42
Well-integrated flavors of raspberry, red plum and dried cherry with cocoa, epazote, camphor, bay and allspice. Subtle fruit interweaves with complex savory notes, creating a wonderful “something else” that makes wine, well, wine. Medium bodied with a firm tannin structure. The palate detects the 14.9% alcohol heat that stretches the limit. An upright citizen, properly attired, out for a Sunday stroll, bidding a good day to all. A very good wine, excellent without the noticeable alcohol. (Reviewed 2/3/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, Cabernet Sauvignon, California
Barrel 27 Grenache ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ 2009
PASO ROBLES | CALIFORNIA | $18
Concentrated blackberry fruit with black cherry and raspberry, and notes of violets, chalk, tar and orange peel. Moderately complex and a little gamey with pleasantly unrestrained flavors and a slightly grainy texture. He arrives from a long day working the herd, nearly a hundred head, exhaustion revealed as latent lines of sweat and dust pushed together by a near constant grimace and now by a broad smile. A good to very good wine and a good value. (Reviewed 1/7/13)
