Siduri Wine Equals Pinot For All
The Russian River wine had some dark fruit as well, but also had cranberry, more red cherry, mushroom, and herbs. It also had a touch more body.

Siduri Wine Equals Pinot For All
The Anderson Valley wine (which I incorrectly guessed to be the Santa Barbara wine) was my personal fave. At least on this day! I loved the combo of fruit and savory characteristics. Black plum, black cherry, baking spice, and forest floor.

A meld of 3 blocks, strewn with lighter silts, screes of ironstone and clay loams. Hand picked, cold soaked; pumped over in open-top fermenters. A minimum of 21 days on skins before élévage in French wood (50% new) for just over a year. As always, an immensely classy and richly flavoured wine, shaped as much by a curl of juicy, precise and beautifully alloyed tannins, as it is by the sheath of blueberry, currant, sage, graphite and dried herbs. The frame of cedar oak, all class. The finish is tenacious, ferrous and densely packed with a nascent energy auguring for much more to come. Bury this.

Sourced from a propitiously sited single plot, where sand meets ironstone. Sorted abstemiously following hand picking. Wild fermented on skins for 16 days. Élévage in a combination of new and older French puncheons, in addition to a 25L foudre following a barrel cull and blending. Density and pliancy, the calling cards. All offset by the juiciest red cherry-skinned tannins flecked with violet, blueberry, rose petal and spice, directing the fray. Tactile barely describes this, so moreish and conducive to the next glass, as it draws the saliva in preparation.

Giant Steps continues to produce benchmark single-vineyard Yarra Valley chardonnay and this is a stellar example. Pale straw, bright and youthful in the glass. Complex and lifted aromas of grilled nuts, nougat, nectarine, green melon, wet stone and white flowers. Pinpoint and precise on the palate, really fine and focused flavours of just-ripe white peach, mineral, grapefruit pith and some nuttiness. Zesty and crunchy acidity brings cut and drive and there’s a touch of phenolics bringing savouriness and texture. Top notch Aussie chardonnay.

This is softer and easier perhaps, than in the recent past. Lilac, chilli, blueberry and a sapid thrust of red fruit, vanilla-pod oak and cedar oak, applied impeccably. Beautifully done. Polished, plush and certainly not devoid of personality. Australia meets Napa. Milk-chocolate layering. Bury this and believe.

Plus the wine inside is delicious and rather elegantly presented. It pours a medium straw in the glass and has citrus fruit and pear aromas; in the mouth are flavors of orange, apricot and peach; it’s super crisp in the finish.
This is just a nice, light and clean Sauvignon Blanc that we think will appeal to a lot of people. Another winner from La Crema at a super fair Costco price.

2020 Siduri Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, California — slightly darker ruby, but still translucent with aromas of blackberries, dark cherries and earth. Flavors lead with blackberries and dark cherries with earthy notes in the background and lively acidity. Tannins are a bit firmer, but still fine and slightly drying. The body is medium.
The flavor profile, texture and weight of this Pinot is a bit more substantial than either the Willamette Valley or the Anderson Valley, which is the most delicate of the three.

2020 Siduri Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, California — translucent ruby with subtle fruity aromas of raspberries, blackberries and hints of cedar. Flavors are predominantly fruit with raspberries, red cherries and blackberries. Earthy flavors in the background add interest. Lively acidity and fine tannins are present in a barely medium body.
Although aromas are subtle, the flavor profile is full of mixed red fruit flavors with nice acidity and structure. This is an elegant Pinot Noir.

2020 Siduri Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon — translucent ruby with generous aromas of blackberries, berry bramble, mushrooms and earth. Aromas lead with blackberries, raspberries earth and mushrooms with hints of smokiness in the background. The flavors are supported by lively acidity and very smooth tannins in a barely-medium body.
The aromas announce this wine as Pinot Noir and the flavors are a delicious blend of fruit and earthy berry bramble that I love in Pinot Noir. An excellent wine at this price.

Power but with subtlety, generous fruit is laced with delicate spices. This is another brilliant Ironheart Shiraz.
It's concentrated and focused yet shows great width and persistence. Over a few days it held its shape impeccably. Baking spices spiral around purple and blue fruits. Some bramble and cola provide layers of intrigue too. Generous in its delivery, you get a sense it's painted across the tongue. The class here is evident. Persistent on a long and engaging finish, the spices cling on for a moreish ride. Sublime and then some.
Certified organic and biodynamic.
Drink to ten years+

My 7 Favorite Wineries In California To Sip Chardonnay
To no one’s surprise, my favorite wine here was the 2018 Estate Chardonnay, but cab lovers will be equally as happy.

We enjoyed the pure fruit character of this wine from the Yamill-Carlton AVA. It’s so different from most California chardonnays with its mineral, honeysuckle, citrus and some tropical fruit notes. Rich on the palate, the oak is restrained.

Deep ruby color. Beautiful nose of tangy strawberries with warm raspberry jam, topped in complex tones of mint, pepper, anise, rhubarb, just a lot going on here. The tannins are chalky but structured, balanced nicely with zippy acidity, and the red cherry and strawberry fruit is juicy and fresh. The complexities of black tea, pepper, sage, oregano, cola and rhubarb go on and on and offer a lot to contemplate and enjoy. Pretty, balanced, with a very long finish. This could use at least two or three years, but what a beaut.

Medium yellow color. The aromas are so fresh, with kiwi, yellow apples, topped in chalk, stony minerals, saline, some bread crumbs and honey. The palate is full of precise acidity and deep texture, with flavors of lemons and limes and crunchy yellow apples. Some floral perfume and saline tones blend well with biscuits, bread dough and some honey. A very clear and focused Chardonnay that should age nicely. Really surprising and delicious stuff.

Medium ruby color. The aromas are so juicy and fresh, with raspberries and fresh cherries, along with rhubarb and cola, rose petals and some earthy, clay tones. The palate shows suave tannins and crisp acidity, with tangy, fresh raspberries, cherries and red plums. The fruit is blended well with notes of rose petals, pepper, cola, some tobacco. Lots to unpack with air and time; this is delightful.

The folks at Tenuta Arceno (aka Jackon Family Wines, who bought the property in 1994) sent along their Chianti Classico Riserva, which is brimming with the bright cherry fruit, smoky earth, and herbs that you want from a good Chianti. This one includes 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, which melds quite nicely with the Sangiovese. Aged in neutral oak, this wine has a very nice savory, umami note in the finish.

Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is very tight, but with air it shows cassis, blueberries, spice and slight mocha notes. full bodied. Firm tannins. Very concentrated. On the palate, black cherries, cassis, blueberries and mocha. A bit of menthol on the finish. Long finish. This needs time or a few hours in a decanter but it is quite good. Maybe another three to five years of cellaring and drink for fifteen to twenty after that. Great on its own, it will need big, fatty foods such as prime rib.

National Red Wine Day: Our Top Picks to Celebrate
A tried and true classic, you can never go wrong with opening a bottle of Murphy-Goode California Merlot especially for National Red Wine Day.
This Merlot is crafted in a big, confident, style, with intense dark fruit, cherry, plum, herb, vanilla, chocolate and spicy oak.
This versatile wine pairs well with anything, from ribs, burgers and steak to turkey dinners and meat & cheese boards.

National Red Wine Day: Our Top Picks to Celebrate
This Cabernet Sauvignon from Kendall-Jackson has aromas of lush, bright black cherry while blackberry and cassis draw you in.
It has round, rich, seamless tannins that provide a robust backbone and supple mid-palate.
Notes of cedar, vanilla, and a hint of mocha linger on the finish.
Pair with veal chops, rosemary lamb, barbecued ribs in sauce, or chicken cacciatore as smoky flavours tend to balance well with fruiter notes from the wine.

Smart. Considered. Just ace. Another outstanding High Sands Grenache release.
Planted in 1946, these certified organic/biodynamic bush vines sit in pure silica sand that runs six metres deep. The wine was kept on lees for 21 days (50% whole berries were destemmed) and then saw time in seasoned French oak and ceramic egg for eleven months. This 2019 sees the RRP leap $50 - that's up $90 in total across the last two vintages.
Gloriously finely spiced, this is a delight to drink. Soft char and blackberries plus black cherries, it's tight and tense. Even after a couple of days of tasting juicy raspberries rise up and build some momentum through the mouth. I keep coming back to the purple flowers and purple fruit perfume - stunning. The juicy fruit then snaps to dry as fine, firm tannins ride throughout. Those tannins are just gravitating and draw you closer. Already three years young, it has a long future ahead if you've got the patience.

The 2021 Château Lassegue is impressive and has plenty of heft and richness, while still showing the finesse and elegance, as well as freshness, that are the hallmarks of the vintage. Ripe blackberries, cherries, scorched earth, and graphite define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a beautiful mid-palate, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It's well worth seeking out, and I suspect I'd be a happy buyer.

Blending nine vineyard sites throughout Sonoma County, Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc highlights the best of the region with a lively, clean, approachable offering. Each lot is vinified individually and blended after fermentation to ensure the most balanced expression of the wine is revealed. The wine is also very briefly aged in French oak (just 27 days) to round out the expressive palate. The wine opens with bright aromatic notes of white flowers and citrus blossom, followed by a juicy, ripe palate of golden citrus, nectarine and peach stone fruit, honeydew melon, ripe mango, and guava wrapped around a mineral core. An easy wine to enjoy on its own, pair with fresh seafood or shellfish.

This ruby colored Pinot Noir from Oregon opens with a black raspberry and craisin bouquet with hints of oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with pleasant medium acidity. The flavor profile is a tasty boysenberry and black raspberry crumble pie with notes of oak and black licorice. I also detected hints black pepper, craisin and black tea. The finish is dry, and its dusty tannins and fruit flavors linger and last for a very long time. This impressive Pinot would pair well with veal tenderloin medallions with a brown butter sauce and mushrooms.

I also found a number of California good values. These generally are ebullient, spry with the focus on varietal fruit, but all display the grape’s trademark refreshing character.
2021 Matanzas Creek Sonoma County, fresh, ripe, herbal.