by Ray Johnson | Jun 7, 2011 | California, Russian River Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County
Hanna, Russian River Valley, Estate Grown, Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Notes back through the 2004 vintage show a consistent thread of bright citrus and high acidity. The latest release, 2010, couples the citrus with freshly cut grass as in the ’09. A bit of...
by Ray Johnson | May 25, 2011 | California, Sauvignon Blanc, South Coast, Sparkling Dry, Temecula
The team at VESTA joined today’s tasting of wines from Southern California. Ray’s sense of time zones (or lack of sense) led to us beginning at 4:00 p.m. Central Time, giving us the jump on the group tasting in Temecula. Here’s a preview of two of...
by Ray Johnson | May 10, 2011 | California, Lake County, Riesling
Shooting Star, Lake County, Riesling 2009 The new vintage gives a reprise performance of the ’08: the nose features plenty of peaches with sweet floral notes while in the mouth the stone fruit is complemented by a moderate amount of residual sugar. Produced and...
by Ray Johnson | May 10, 2011 | California, Clear Lake, Lake County, Muscat
Ceago Vinegarden, Clear Lake, Del Lago, Estate Grown, Muscat Canelli 2009 The nose features fresh flowers, especially if you give it 15 minutes in the glass to open up – then you’ll find an explosion of orange blossoms and a true sense of Moscato d’Asti. In the mouth...
by Ray Johnson | May 10, 2011 | California, High Valley, Lake County, Pinot Noir
Brassfield, High Valley Appellation, High Serenity Ranch Vineyard, Pinot Noir The nose sports fresh cherries and strawberries. In the mouth it is light-bodied, equally showy with red fruit and silky smooth – nice. Estate Grown, produced and bottled in Clearlake Oaks...
by Ray Johnson | Apr 21, 2011 | Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Zinfandel
Clif Family Winery, California, The Climber, Red Wine 2009 This is abundantly fruity, with a profound sense of blackberries, plums and I’m not sure what else. This recalls a recent discussion among with a group of colleagues who write and teach about wine....
