Atlas Peak, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 In the nose there is caramel and tobacco with red raspberries and vanilla.  In the mouth this wine is quite youthful, with significant grip and acidity. Produced and bottled in Napa 14.5% $85 at the winery, a gift to the class from the SFCWC Atlas [...]

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Terra Valentine, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 There’s a very sweet expression of fruit in the nose. In the mouth the wine is dense, structured but ripe, filled-out with lots of berry and vanilla – very nice. GP&B in St. Helena 14.9% $29.69 at Bottle Barn Terra Valentine

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I’ve long been a fan of the Riesling produced by Smith-Madrone and further an ardent admirer of their willingness to stick with a grape which despite the great wines it can deliver, doesn’t bring home the biggest side of bacon in the Napa Valley.
Their Spring Mountain property above Saint Helena is ruggedly sited, with steepness [...]

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Terra Valentine, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, Yverdon Vineyard, Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 This dense wine sports cedar in the nose, as well as black fruits and cigar box.  In the mouth it is quite dense and structured, built to age, full of fruit and well-balanced – yum. GP&B in St. Helena 14.9% $59.99 at [...]

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Grgich Hills, Napa Valley, Estate Grown, Fume Blanc 2007 This wine is always ripping with acidity, tangy and bright and the same is certainly true today – yes! Sourced from biodynamically grown fruit grown in American Canyon and the Carneros, the wine is fermented and aged in mostly older French oak, with six months of [...]

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Pride Mountain Vineyards, Napa Sonoma, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
In the nose there is a sense of Bordeaux, with cigar box and sweet pipe tobacco to augment the black fruit. In the mouth you find plenty of structure in a ripe way, tannic but not green, approachable now but sure to benefit from 6 or more years [...]

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Paloma, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District, Merlot 2006 Sweet liquer-like fruit fills the glass. In the mouth, the expression of fruit is dynamic and kissed by oak. Also, there is the acidity lacking in many of Merlot’s flabby cousins – a treat. Proprietors Barbara and Jim Richards. P&B in St. Helena 14.8% $54 at Traverso’s [...]

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Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Sonoma Merlot 2001
Unfortunately this wines was corked, which is especially disconcerting at this price. Pride has always delighted with the lush feel of their red wines. This is sourced from their estate on the county line(s). Thus the grapes are 55% Napa and 45% Sonoma. Cellared & Bottled in St. Helena [...]

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