The 2014 Joseph Swan Vineyards, “Bastoni Vineyards” Petite Sirah from Sonoma County is a wine that’s firing on all cylinders. Wine lovers know how easy it is to find great wine in Sonoma County, but finding a great wine that also delivers great value, and comes from a legendary producer,
Cakebread Cellars is a second-generation Napa Valley winery known for its Chardonnays and Cabernets. Jack and Dolores Cakebread became stitched into the fabric of Napa Valley’s 1970s Renaissance when they purchased a small plot of land on a whim and turned it into something magical.
We don’t give a lot of wines a near-perfect score, but wow. Just wow. This 2018 Nicolas Catena Zapata Bordeaux blend is pretty close to a perfect wine. We had this at dinner with friends and the entire table was blown away.
There’s not much malbec grown in California, and there’s even less malbec grown in Carmel Valley, but Jack Galante’s interpretation of this French grape via his 2018 Galante Vineyards’ Malbec, is right up there with the best of the best from Mendoza.
2018 was a good year for wine in Napa Valley, and this bottle of 2018 Gandona ‘Meia’ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley, is a testament to that. The spring weather was superb, temperatures were in that sweet spot of not too hot and not too cold, and the grape clusters enjoyed
Silver Oak, along with a handful of other Napa Valley wineries is part of Napa Valley’s Cabernet Class of 1972. This milestone marks more than just fifty years in business, the Class of 72’ represents the highest concentration in consequential wineries ever to be created in a single year in
Right out of the gate, this Cabernet had a bit too much alcohol. Decanting the wine for about 30 minutes helped it open up, and the alcohol was less overpowering. After an hour in the decanter, the wine really started to reveal its flavor profile and structure.
This single-vineyard wine is a classic chardonnay with a gorgeous gold-yellow color and medium legs. On the nose, we picked up hints of lemon, apple, a little peach, honeydew, and very slight stoniness. On the palate, we get hints of green apple, lemon, pink grapefruit, and honeydew, and Brett swears
Today, there is a trend toward drinking Gamay that is young, acidic, bright, fresh, and, perhaps the buzziest Gamay tasting note of all, ‘crunchy’. These are wines that were intended to be enjoyed young, and not cellared.
We will say that this wine does get better as it opens up. But even with that being said, at $45, there isn’t enough time in the world for this to be as good as the price. It drinks more like a $25 bottle, but even then, not a good
This is a really nice blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. In the glass, the wine is a deep garnet-ruby color. Our initial impression was that Quartet is a bold wine, but extremely approachable.
But, what many wine drinkers don’t realize is that Beajolais also produces a small amount of Chardonnay – we’re talking between 1 – 2% of the region. For comparison’s sake, its sister region, Burgundy, produces roughly 60% white wine, 34% red wine, and 6% cremant.
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