Ehlers Estate 2020 Sauvignon Blanc - This beauty's aromas are pretty and exotic yet also delicate: a plethora of floral blooms nest with kumquat, pomelo zest and cardamom. The palate has a pleasantly tactile pithiness that, with its medium-plus acidity, nicely corrals its rather full and creamy body - whatever one might assume from the abv. Minerally and lingering on the finish, this wine has oodles of charisma along with rather profound concentration to allow it to age in bottle well for several years.
Read MoreAs hard as it may be for some to believe, Merlot is a much-loved grape. The Sideways effect on Merlot at this point feels almost as distant as the 60 Minutes effect on red wine in general almost three decades ago. Kids born the year that the movie Sideways hit the indie screens (2004) will be legal drinkers in the USA in just four years. They and many other young sippers don't care that Merlot was sidelined - by a small portion of the drinking population - for a fairly short while. They are going to drink what they like, just like many other drinkers have been all along.
Read MoreBlueberries and mulberries galore! This wine is vividly fruit-driven on the nose. The palate delivers some slate and ashphalt tones, too. The finish offers measured refreshment, which feels nicely integrated despite the 15.2% alcohol.
Read MoreI love to learn new stories in the wine world, especially when those stories sprout from within the web of the older, already established ones. Priest Ranch, set in the eastern Vaca Range, is an example, as the historical property dates back to the 1860s.
And, while this is incredibly cool on its own, what is truly outstanding about the Priest Ranch wines is their sky-high value:quality ratio in a region that favors painfully expensive price points.
Read MoreLast spring I tasted the first vintage of Laura Díaz Muñoz's Sauvignon Blanc from Ehlers Estate. She joined Ehlers just before harvest in 2018, so I was very curious as to how a vintage fully under her watch might turn out. As I predicted, it's incredibly tasty!
Read MoreGamble Family Vineyards 2019 Rosé Napa Valley: Composed of 51% Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon with 43% Napa Valley Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot, all aged 5 months in stainless steel, this wine is ready to be enjoyed. Only 575 cases were made this year, so make haste to pick up some soon!
Read MoreMi Sueño Winery 2016 Syrah Napa Valley: This full-bodied, opaque wine carries its weight with style. This is hardly surprising for a Mi Sueño wine; they typically show very good balance. This Syrah is a textbook example of its Napa origin as well as its single grape variety.
Read MoreI was intrigued to taste this wine when I read on the back label, "Hand-crafting fine wines since 1972." I'd never heard of Sullivan. However, it certainly doesn't lack pedigree: this 26- acre Rutherford estate was planted by James O'Neil Sullivan at the urging of Napa legend-by-way-of-Moscow André Tchelistcheff.
Read MoreFrank Family Vineyards 2016 Zinfandel Napa Valley: Boisterous and youthful, this über everything save heavy. It's the kind of Zinfandel that makes me wish more of us drank more Zin more often. It's tasty and pleasure-giving.
Read MoreGamble Family Vineyard 2018 Sauvignon Blanc: An impressively tropical and pristine clean expression leaps out of this glass of Gamble Family Sauvignon Blanc. Looking at the winemaking technique here, there seemingly is no stone left unturned. In 2018, there were seven different picks within ten days. The native yeast ferments were multiplied in their potential outcomes by three-quarters going into barrels and the rest lodging in stainless steel tank….
Read MoreCliff Lede 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley: This is a succulent and lush Sauvignon Blanc with gooseberry, papaya and nectarine heightened by a scintillating Calvados and Key lime edge…. The judicious use of 10% Sémillon and 3% Sauvignon Vert gives this wine just the verve it needs to set it part from most other Napa Sauvignons. Not only is this a delicious white wine value overall, it is astonishingly well-priced for Napa.
Read MoreGamble Family 2018 Rosé Napa Valley: This is my kind of rosé. It has heft and body yet isn't overly fruit-driven or popping with candied tones. In fact, it's nose is surprisingly mineral….
Read MoreLaura Díaz Muñoz seems to have a way with Sauvignon Blanc. Her purposeful techniques in the vineyard (only removing leaves in contact with grape clusters on the morning sunlight side of rows) and winery (administering micro-doses of oxygen during fermentation then performing weekly lees battonage in stain steel drums for six months of aging) resulted in a fascinating wine. It's an invigorating and textural Sauvignon Blanc that is a welcome change from the usual Napa profile.
Read MoreMi Sueño means “my dream” and reflects on the ambitions of founders/owners Rolando and Lorena Herrera. It was a Carneros Chardonnay that they first made together, marking the start of their Napa Valley adventure.
My proposed question in the title of a different dream or vision comes only from tasting recently two consecutive vintages of the Los Carneros Chardonnay. I was surprised but very interested in the evident differences.
Read MoreThe French have a saying that it takes three generations to see the cycle of a family business: one to build it, one to grow it then one to destroy it. I don’t know what the rest of the Gamble family farming business looks like today, but I can say that the “Gamble” of generations has paid off on the wine front. It seems Tom has started a new cycle, without finishing the first one!
Read MoreFaust 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: This is quintessential Napa Cabernet – in taste and in sourcing. It has a tantalizing succulence corralled by vivacious structure. The tannins are hedonistically velvety and the refreshment is almost electric – perfect for harnessing the richness of the densely textured and generously full-bodied palate.
Read MoreI often think can find the winemaker in the wine, and yet again, that is the case with David Ramey’s 2016 Claret. On paper this bottling looks like a precise, acrobatic exercise in blending…. Yet from the first to the last drop, this fusion radiates harmony, grace and thoughtfulness, just like the man behind the juice.
Read MoreChateau Montelena 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate and Mi Sueño 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Read MoreFinding a Napa Sauvignon Blanc under $40 is remarkable, and finding one this good is even more of a feat. This offers very good value for money when shopping for a Napa name tag!
Read MoreOne of the most impressive attributes of the FEL wines is their consistency at a high quality level. The Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay are especially notable. I always appreciate the FEL wines’ terrific balance and clearly defined varietal character. Year over year, I am entirely confident of what I will get in a bottle of wine from FEL. So, I was excited to taste the Pinot Gris for the first time.
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