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)
Barrel 27 Grenache ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ 2009
Flying Goat Pinot Noir Rancho Santa Rosa 2008
SANTA RITA HILLS | CALIFORNIA | $45
Black cherry fruit with Kadoda fig and dark berry notes with flavors of cedar, nutmeg, rhubarb, soil and chalk. Nicely textured with a slight tooth, medium bodied, fairly big for a Pinot, well balanced and complex with soil elements keeping pace with fruit. Bright, easy acidity brings a lively, agile quality. There’s a lot going on here, and one would be remiss to pre-judge this child on girth alone. A very good wine. (Reviewed 1/20/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Pinot Noir
Calera Pinot Noir 2011
CENTRAL COAST | CALIFORNIA | $24
Red cherry with blackberry and plum plus notes of allspice, bay, dill and a hint of smoke. Medium bodied, slightly heavier than it appears, well integrated with some complexity. Heavy-silk mouthfeel — very satisfying. A seven-vineyard blend from four Central Coast counties, mostly (39%) San Felipe Vineyard, Santa Clara County. The team pulls together as one, individualism set aside, yet gathers its strength from each individual’s unique contribution. A very good wine and a value. (Reviewed 1/1/13)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Pinot Noir
La Cartuja 2011
PRIORAT | SPAIN | $18
Bright cherry on the nose yields to more subtle flavors of mature dark plum, blackberry and black currant fruit with notes of rhubarb, earth, cedar, sage and black tea. Complex yet easy drinking, medium bodies with a dry tannin pucker on the finish. Oh, the adolescent — comes on with a flurry of fire, wreaks mischief and secures attention, but tiring easily. This one, fortunately, has just enough stamina to politely bid a pleasant goodby. 70% Garnacha (Grenache), 30% Carinena. A very good wine. (reviewed 2/2/13)
Hansen Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Barrel Select’ 2006
PASO ROBLES | CALIFORNIA | $55
Mature dark berries and roasted plum integrated with subtle spice, bay, caramel, loamy soil, chalk and a hint of cocoa. Robust, forward flavors, a bit rustic, with a firm tannin structure. Aged 3-1/2 years on new French oak. Something of a curmudgeon — he knows more than you, he does things his own way, and there’s no shyness about letting you know. This ain’t your father’s Napa Valley Cab. An excellent wine. (Reviewed 12/30/12)
Filed under $51 to $100, Cabernet Sauvignon, California
Novy Syrah 2006
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $28
Concentrated blackberry fruit with purple plum, black currant, juniper berry and chalk, plus hints of cocoa and citrus pith. Full bodied with some jammy qualities; while not laden on the palate, there’s a satisfying density that, to great joy, belies its 14.1% alcohol. Nice complexity, balanced, smooth satiny texture with a barely present tooth. His girth might suggest sloth, but this fellow is agile, never lumbering. A very good wine. (Reviewed 12/30/12)
Foxen 7200 Sangiovese Guglielmo Grosso 2008
SANTA MARIA VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $32
A complex integration of cherry and blackberry fruit with ginger-spice cookie and candied orange peel, plus notes of raspberry, plum, clove, graphite and tar. There’s a fruit cake-like quality at play here, and this makes for a most interesting wine. Enjoyable, complex, superbly integrated. It’s that garish early-Madonna fashion: many disparate components coming together to create something that works — but no undergarment as outerwear here. A very good wine. (Reviewed 12/30/12)
Filed under $21 to $50, California, Italian Varietals
Piper-Heideieck Brut NV
CHAMPAGNE | FRANCE | $40
Lemon fruit and zest with green apple and young pear, and notes of pineapple, stone minerals, vanilla, chervil and green tea. Focused, pleasantly dry with satisfying acidity and classic effervescence. This bright and bubbly child enlivens the soirée with her look-at-me performance — attention-intent, but less than over the top — and yet there’s sufficient talent to deliver a sublime, entertaining choreography; best of all, the child eventually leaves allowing the adults to carry on. 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier and 15% Chardonnay. Among Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2012. Commonly available at $30 to $36. A very good wine. (Reviewed 1/1/13).
Filed under $21 to $50, France, Sparkling Wine
Beckmen Syrah Purisima Mountain 2007
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $42
A full basket of ripe dark berries and mission fig with notes of woody spices, graphite, coffee, cocoa and earth. Full bodied with big fruit, balanced by a robust savory structure. A velvety mouth feel brings luxury, and the finish is long and satisfying. A very interesting wine: a plus-size, well-proportioned with forward fruit, yet multi-faceted. It’s a complex life, this — and here’s a wine to match. A very good wine. (Reviewed 12/9/12)
Argiano ‘Non Confunditur’ Rosso Toscano 2009
TUSCANY | ITALY | $20
Concentrated blackberry and dried cherry with a savory earthy structure and notes of graphite, rosemary and citrus pith. Medium bodied and easy drinking, nicely integrated and reasonably complex with a smooth texture and a dry, tannic finish. Lean, dark and well-tailored, he moves easily and confidently through narrow, rustic streets — nothing to worry, always in the now. A Super Tuscan blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot 20% Syrah, 20% Sangiovese. A very good wine. (reviewed 12/23/12)
Filed under $20 and less, Cabernet Sauvignon, Italian Varietals, Italy
