Chronicle Pinot Noirs 2006
Chronicle, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir 2006 The nose sports sweet cherry and raspberries, with vanilla and cinnamon. The mouth shows these fruits again in a sleek format, a texture that is silky and ripe - delicious. Think about this Pinot when you...
Prager Noble Companion Tawny Port
Prager, Napa Valley, Noble Companion, Tawny Port You'll find golden raisins, dates, nuttiness and a sense of the spirit in the nose - but more than that. The fruit character is citrussy, like oranges stuck with cloves and drizzled with brandy in...
Napa Valley reds from the 2000 vintage
Conn Creek Winery, Napa Valley, Limited Release, Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 The fruit is flagging in the nose where the sense of spirit has taken over. But the fruit still puts in an appearance when you put the wine in your mouth, with a sense of...
La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
La Jota Vineyard Co., Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 The nose if full of brown spices, cinnamon and cloves with a sense of minerality, candy and a spirituous character. Unfortunately the wine is...
Howell Mountain Cabernet 2004
Atlas Peak, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 The nose features sweet and toasty oak with a sense of brandied berries warmed on the stove. In the mouth the wine is chewy and tart, craving a piece of red meat. Produced and...
Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet 2005
Robert Craig, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 The nose combines the best of California's fruit with Bordeaux's leafiness. There's cherry and vanilla with bay leaves and cigar box. In the mouth it is super dense, with the...
Nickel & Nickel Vogt Cabernet 2005
Nickel & Nickel Winery, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain, Vogt Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 I find an effusive sweetness in the nose, a signature ripe character that I consistently associate with the wines of this estate. There's Cassis and...
Napa Valley Rutherford Reds
Trinchero Winery, Napa Valley, Rutherford, Chicken Ranch Vineyard, Merlot 2005 Give the wine a bit of air for 10 minutes or so to blow off a bit of funk. Then the plummy fruit combines with the wet forest floor and a bit cedar in the nose. In the...
Folie a Deux Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Folie a Deux, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc 2007 This is a Sauvignon that smells quite pretty, blending flowers with citrus fruits. In the mouth the citrus story continues, with some thickness and a little viscosity - nice. The grapes are all...
Domaine Carneros Le Reve 2002
Domaine Carneros, Carneros, Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Le Reve 2002 There is the typical sweetness to this wine with a smokiness and an uncharacteristic herbaceous note. The grapes are Chardonnay with the possibility of some Pinot Blanc and the wine...