Looking at the flagship estate Viognier, the 2021 Viognier Estate boasts a vibrant, medium to full-bodied, incredibly focused and mineral-driven profile that reminds me of a Condrieu from pure granite soils. Tangerine oil, honeyed... Read More
The 2019 EABA (end all be all) is a blend of 61% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 13% Grenache and 2% Viognier and was made with 65% whole clusters. Fruit comes from several vineyards in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties,... Read More
The 2019 Grenache is blended with 11% Mourvèdre, 6% Syrah and 4% Graciano and was made using 65% whole clusters. Fruit comes from the Slide Hill Vineyard in Edna Valley, and the Alta Mesa Vineyard, Larner Vineyard and Harrison-Clarke... Read More
This is a very beautiful red with currant and berry character. Very fine and polished tannins, too. The impact is just so polished and focused. Linear and exciting. A barrel sample but should be great.
Boasts abundant zesty, energetic, and bramble-laced mulberry, plum, and açaí berry flavors, while hints of melted licorice, chaparral, and apple wood fill in through the finish. Broad, rich, and defined, with a flurry... Read More
This Burgundian-minded blend of 50% Pinot Gris, 45% Pinot Blanc and 5% Aligote is exciting to try each vintage. This year's is rich yet zesty, starting with aggressive aromas of lemon juice, baked apricot, cream and toast... Read More
This is a rich and satisfying expression of Pinot Noir by Adam Lee. Candied black-cherry and buttery cinnamon roll aromas lead the nose into a tighter palate, where ripe red-cherry and pomegranate flavors are spiced by cracked... Read More
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez Valley) captures all the intensity of Cabernet from this part of Santa Barbara County in a cooler vintage that yielded wines built more on savory intensity rather than volume. Elegant and... Read More
The 2022 Zinfandel Old Vine is an absolute delight. Fresh, floral and fruity, the Old Vine is a terrific wine to drink now and over the next handful of years, while the fruit remains vibrant. Dollops of Carignan, Petite Sirah,... Read More
The 2020 Syrah Hudson Vineyard T Block is a dense, brooding wine. Black fruit, spice, gravel, menthol and dried herbs add to an impression of gravitas. There is plenty of depth, obviously, but the 2020 is not especially refined... Read More
Bernard Magrez's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is gorgeous. It is made in a much more restrained style than the wines of the past. There is plenty of natural Napa Valley richness, but not the heaviness that marked some earlier vintages.... Read More
Another brilliant value that readers will love, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Silencieux,is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, all of which spent 22 months in 50% new oak. This medium to full-bodied,... Read More
Rocking aromatics of spiced cherries, spring flowers, forest floor, and sagebrush all emerge from the 2020 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard, a pure, medium-bodied, elegant, gorgeous, balanced Pinot Noir from a cooler valley floor... Read More
The 2019 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County brings more up-front fruit, with lots of ripe framboise and strawberry notes as well as flowers and spice. Pure, up-front, wonderfully balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has nicely... Read More
Rich and velvety like devil's food cake, this deep, delicious and full-bodied wine tastes like chocolate, cloves and cinnamon and feels plush in texture. Soft tannins and superripe black cherries and blueberries make it easy... Read More
This superrich and mouthcoating wine is also silky in texture and has a light, lifting acidity to give it great balance. Poached pears, marzipan and a touch of butter give it full flavors to pair with sauteed fish, broiled shellfish... Read More
A juicy, plump style, laden with dark cherry and mulled blackberry notes and infused with dark tea and singed anise. The toasty finish seems aimed at the hedonist crowd. Drink now through 2026. 1,029 cases made.
This special bottling from the Foley family packs a lot of complexity into the nose, offering aromas of bay leaf, toasted wood, light cannabis and brisk pomegranate. The palate is firm in texture and covers a wide range of fruit,... Read More
The 2019 Syrah Estate Vineyard is an elegant, supremely classy wine. Sage, tobacco, mint, black pepper and lavender lead into a core of beautifully layered dark blue/purplish fruit. Silky and polished, the Estate Syrah is an absolute... Read More
A semi-opaque red, the 2021 Pinot Noir Estate offers lots of ripe mixed berry and blue fruits as well as notes of candied flowers, loads of graphite and dark stone, and well-balanced spice. Full-bodied on the palate, with ripe,... Read More
The 2021 Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard shows the darker side of Anderson Valley. Black fruit, leather, gravel, incense, cloves and mocha all saturate the palate. This ample, full-bodied Pinot has a ton to offer. There is a lot... Read More
There are an impressive 50,000 cases of Faust's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Featuring upfront notes of Ribena-like cassis fruit accented by hints of cedar and vanilla, it's a full-bodied, generous effort that is softly dusty,... Read More
Lean aromas of lemon pith and plaster of paris are tight on the nose of this countywide cuvée. Wet-clay aromas are cut by lemon peel on the brisk palate.
Rugged aromas of sagebrush, scorched earth, bittersweet cocoa and dried elderberry make for a layered nose on this bottling. The palate shows a riper side, offering strawberry, bay leaf and oregano, with the kick of green peppercorn... Read More
Very ripe, very deep and moderately tannic, this potent and full-bodied wine oozes dried cherries, dried plums and black-fig flavors over ample, oaky, vanilla and nutmeg notes. — Jim Gordon