California

Country: US / Variety: Graciano California Winery: Metate Hill Vineyards / Calaveras County This is quite a nice find: an excellent wine from a rare Spanish grape variety. The aromas are fascinating, like ripe black cherry and red roses. The flavors are fresh, concentrated, grapy and jammy, but the wine stays dry and well balanced. […]

Country: US / Variety: Pinot Noir California Winery: La Follette / North Coast This wine has an almost sweet aroma of ripe plums and cherries, followed by a vivid fruity flavor that’s fresh, dry and accented with black pepper and clove. Showing great balance from fine tannins and good acidity and vibrant but not heavy […]

Country: US / India Ink Variety: Red Blend California Winery: Kuleto Estate / Napa Valley Made from a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine also contains a hearty amount of Syrah, along with smaller additions of Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. Medium bodied, it’s smoky, shy in tannins that build on the […]

Country: US / Variety: Petite Sirah California Winery: Klinker Brick / Lodi This wine pumps up the jammy fruit flavors of the grape variety. It packs in the typical thick but fine tannins, and also contributes spicy complexities like cardamom and black pepper that lend it an extra dimension. The oak flavors seem very intense […]

Country: US / Estate Variety: Pinot Noir California Winery: Isabel Mondavi / Carneros Medium in build and high in minerality, this fruity, dark-cherry wine is tethered by sizable oak and tannin. It finds its balance midway through, before offering a substantial finish.

Country: US / On Point Variety: Pinot Noir California Winery: Fulcrum / Sonoma Coast Sourced from the Sangiacomo and Gap’s Crown vineyards within the Petaluma Gap area of the appellation, this is a tight, tangy wine. Full of citrus, cranberry and dried herb, it finishes savory in sage and forest floor accents. The acidity is […]

Country: US / Annapolis Variety: Pinot Noir California Winery: Wild Ridge / Sonoma Coast A new offering from the West Burgundy Wine Group within Jackson Family Wines, this wine hails from the wilds of Annapolis, an extreme outpost of the Sonoma Coast. Spicy cardamom marks the entry, along with plum, dark cherry, cedar and even […]

Country: US / Sonoma Stage Vineyard Blanc de Noirs Variety: Sparkling Blend California Winery: Foundry / Sonoma Coast Copper-pink in color, this Méthode Champenoise Blanc de Noirs from a specific vineyard site offers well-developed flavors of strawberry cream and fennel around a medium tier of acidity. The spicy finish ends well.

Country: US / Variety: Zinfandel California Winery: Terra d’Oro / Amador County This big-boned wine has smoke and brown-sugar aromas, ample and delicious raspberry and blackberry flavors, firm tannins, supportive acidity and a lingering finish. While full bodied, it’s well balanced and will taste great with big proteins.

Country: US / Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon California Winery: Sterling / Diamond Mountain District This wine is velvety-smooth and full bodied in cedar, black licorice and blackberry jam, and is an approachable wine given its mountain beginnings. Compact and concentrated, it ends with length and plenty of toasted oak.

Country: US / Variety: Syrah California Winery: Matchbook / Dunnigan Hills A perfectly serviceable Syrah with 9% Cabernet Sauvignon blended in, almost black in color with savory meat and red berries on the nose and palate and soft edges all around. A good price for a good wine from a part of California’s Sacramento Valley […]

Country: US / Drake Estate Vineyard Blanc de Noir Variety: Sparkling Blend California Winery: Williams Selyem / Russian River Valley Sparkling wine from Williams Selyem? Yes, in tiny quantities, in this case only 100 cases. The wine is dry and rich in lime, raspberry, mineral and yeast flavors, but a little rough, lacking the finesse […]