Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Blanc 2016
Tablas Creek has long been one of my favorite Paso Robles producers. From the care they put into their vineyards—biodynamic farming, noisy sheep, a rambunctious trio of winery dogs, and a resident shepherd—the good folks at Tablas turn out elegant wines that are nuanced, superbly balanced and long aging. For the price, they’re just that […]
Vina Robles WHITE 4 2016
A prosaic blend of Viognier 45%, Sauvignon Blanc 27%, Verdelho 17%, and Vermentino 11%, the 2016 Vina Robles WHITE4 opens with soft tones of lemon drop and candied orange peel. There is too a slinky herbal undercurrent—but it’s diffuse and hard to tease out from this wines mineral foundation. Medium bodied, with a burst of […]
Illahe Project 1899 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2014
Illahe’s winemaker Brad Ford is a former English and poetry teacher—tasting his wines it’s impossible to ignore the prose in them. Pinot Noir used in the 1899 is delivered to the winery by a team of horses, and it’s racked by way of a bicycle pump, in short it’s a wine made entirely without electricity. […]
Domaine Nicolas-Jay Pinot Noir 2014
July 07, 2017—I tasted the 2014 Nicolas-Jay Pinot Noir last October and earlier this week with winemaker Tracy Kendall. Since then the tannins are a bit more integrated, it’s softened a bit. As with Jean-Nicolas’ native Côte d’Or Domaine Méo-Camuzet, there is a clear thread of stylistic consistency between the two brands. Both for me […]
Adelaida Cellars HMR Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
Eccentric rings of roasted apple, dried honey, lemon curd, orange blossom, and dried Medajool figs greet the taster. The 2016 Adelaida Cellars HMR Estate Vineyard Chardonnay is flatout sexy, silkily textured, with a center of gravity that’s nicely balanced against a backdrop of light toast. That classic Paso Robles calcareous vein emerges on the finish—one […]
Reustle Prayer Rock Winemaker’s Reserve Tempranillo 2014
Precise as all Stephen Reustle’s wines are—the 2014 Winemaker’s Reserve Tempranillo is opaque quinacridone violet in the glass, with a swirl one can coax from it classic varietal aromas of earthy sun-warmed terra cotta tile, aged leather and dried herbs, all neatly folded into a background of black cherries and plums. It’s softly textured on […]
Rock Wall Wine Co. Jack’s Dry Creek Petite Sirah 2014
Baritone and lush, the 2014 Rock Wall Jack’s Dry Creek Petite Sirah is a spicy melange of juicy black cherries, plums, cedar, and bay leaf. Inky and dark in the glass, this Sonoma County Petite Syrah is equally hedonistic on the palate, a riot of black fruit and ripe tannins pierced by a jaunty vein […]
Chateau Ste. Michelle Artist Series Red 2013
Chateau Ste. Michelle’s 2013 Artist Series Red is an elegant composition of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 3% Malbec, and 3% Cab Franc, with 85% of the fruit sourced from Cold Creek Vineyard. This is also winemaker Bob Bertheau’s favorite wine to blend, one where he’s given free reign. Freshly turned earth, black currants, cassis, […]
W.T. Vintners Stoney Vine Vineyard Syrah 2014
The 2014 W.T. Stony Vine Vineyards Syrah reverberates with abundant blackberry and black cherry notes couched in a complex melange of green hay, black licorice, Chinese 5-Spice, sassafras, roasted meat, and green peppercorn. Medium weight, very Rhône-like in its countenance. Fresh and vivid, nicely balanced, and graced with a minerally vein that suspends itself over […]
Terra Blanca ONYX Red Mountain 2009
Another lovely showing from a lineup of wines sampled at Terra Blanca. The 2009 Onyx is drinking beautifully—an elegant Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, all from the winery’s Red Mountain estate. Generous, layered aromas of blackberries, cassis, ripe plum, bay leaf, and cedar lead into a wine that […]