by Ray Johnson | Nov 20, 2009 | Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
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 acidity...
by Ray Johnson | Nov 20, 2009 | Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
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 vanilla, toasty...
by Ray Johnson | Nov 20, 2009 | Bordeaux Style Blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Meritage, Merlot, Napa Valley, Rutherford
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 mouth plums and...
by Ray Johnson | Nov 20, 2009 | California, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc
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 Sauvignon and the...
by Ray Johnson | Nov 18, 2009 | California, Carneros, Chardonnay, Sparkling Dry
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 was aged for 6 years,...
by Ray Johnson | Nov 18, 2009 | California, Carneros, Pinot Noir, Sparkling Dry, Sparkling Lightly Sweet
Gloria Ferrer, Carneros, Methode Champenoise, Blanc de Noirs nv This is a newer bottling than that reviewed back in the fall of ’07, with a change of appellation from Sonoma County to Carneros. The sweeter sense of dosage is there as before with citrus fruits, a...
