The best Quality-Price-Ratio (QPR) California Pinot Noir we’ve tasted in years! It’s from one of the Central Coast’s very first Pinot Noir vineyards, Mission Ranch in the Salinas Valley planted in 1961. Fifty-five... Read More
New Zealand native Angela Osborne moved to California in 2006 with a simple dream: to make Grenache. Over the years, she's established herself as one of the few masters of crafting Grenache that's bursting with fruit but... Read More
As the winery writes, Andrew Murray has been singularly and nearly maniacally focused on crafting Syrah for 25 years. His Everyday (in French Syrah “Tous les Jours”) Syrah from Santa Ynez gives you a good idea of how... Read More
Made by Rob Mondavi,Jr (grandson of the Napa legend), this does an outstanding job of balancing Napa's richness with a fine minerality and structure. Plenty of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, a touch of dried herb, a dash... Read More
Easy drinking, check. Sophisticated, check. Wines that hold to the French dogma of site-specific, nuanced wines, check. 80% Pinot Gris and 20% Pinot Blanc, the wines expressive fruit and subtle minerality is a testament to the... Read More
Lower ABV Absurdly delicious cool-climate, California, Syrah that delivers layers of savory complexity, whole cluster (50%) grip, and still has enough fruit to just drink sexy. Double 95 point reviews for the 2019 will be repreated... Read More
Morgan Twain-Peterson crafts this bold, gutsy, California red from a mixture of vines growing in some of the country's most famed old-vine sites. The base is Bedrock Vineyard (planted 1888), Nervo (1896), and Sodini (1905)... Read More
A big snoot- and mouth-ful of crushed berries and cherries with some cocoa dust, a touch of acidic/tannic bite, and a “I dare you to stop drinking me” finish that keeps you coming back for more. Like an Italian Chianti... Read More
Deliciously complex, marrying the intense fruit and concentration you’d expect from 115 year-old vines with balancing earthy/herbal notes. As Wine Enthusiast says in their 94 point rave, “Aromas of amaro-like myrtle... Read More
There aren’t a lot of “great” California Pinot Noirs at this price point; this is one of them. From a vineyard at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains first planted in 1910 and then replanted with cuttings from... Read More
One of the longest-running high-quality “value” Pinots we know of. As Robert Parker said of the 2013 edition: An authentic tasting Pinot Noir that sells for a song. Aromas of sweet red and black cherry fruit intermixed... Read More
From the tenderloin of Alexander Valley, this has plenty of size but also a bit of grace. Lots of blackberry, raspberry and currant fruit with accents of cedar and baking spice. The French oak shows on the trace of vanilla on... Read More
Pinot from Carneros, at the southern end of Napa/Sonoma, gives a distinctive blend of freshness (from the cold bay nearby) and heft (from the clay-rich soils). This is a great example, serving up bold black cherry and blackberry... Read More
From a California Sparkling wine specialist, this is elegant, nicely textured, Chardonnay of fine freshness and length. In 2023, it’s all Russian River fruit from a vineyard next door to Kistler and Ritchie Vineyards and... Read More
Brick & Mortar is really a California sparkling house, meaning they grow a lot of cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. When Pinot gets a bit too ripe for fizz, it’s perfect for elegant, pure, juicy still wines like this... Read More
Winemaker Neil Koch has worked with superstar Philippe Melka at benchmark Napa Cab houses like Seavey Vineyards, Bryant Family and Vineyard 29 and helped make the bold whites and Chardonnays of Lewis Cellars as assistant winemaker... Read More
Stags Leap is the smallest AVA in Napa but has loomed large in wine-lovers’ minds ever since Warren Winiarski’s Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 1973 shocked the wine world by beating out the best of Bordeaux... Read More
Grown just north and east of Napa, most Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon ends up as part of the allowable 20% of non-AVA fruit in “Napa” Cabernet. Here it shines mostly solo as the main component in this delicious, ripe,... Read More
Organic/Bio From the sister winery of Radio-Couteau, County Line wines look to deliver that level of style and quality in a more immediately drinkable (and less expensive) format. Fermented in steel and aged in neutral (meaning... Read More
Lower ABV La terre parle” – the earth speaks. That’s what Francois Peycharud of Bandol’s Dom Tempier said after tasting Steve Edmonds’s wines and what you’ll say too. Here the “earth”... Read More
While brother Tim has gone the artisanal route with his Continuum project, Michael Mondavi has focused more on making plenty of good-drinking, well-made, Napa-typical selections. Like this which showcases plenty of deep Napa Cab... Read More
Look, we’ve yet to find a Zin that was both satisfyingly ripe (i.e., not toughly tannic and herbal) and under 14.5% alcohol. The grape needs hang time and that means alcohol. But it turns out you can make 15% abv Zin that... Read More
These guys make just one wine, a Lodi blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah and Merlot brought in rich and ripe at 13.5% alcohol and given plenty of French oak spice and toast. It’s richer and more ripe than the modest... Read More
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