Great Value from a 6 region blend, deep Ruby with aromas of dark red fruits, spice, dried herbal and floral notes. On the palate flavors of blueberry and blackberry with licorice, pepper, floral and oak. Fine soft tannins, lively acidity, medium(+) finish ending with fruit, subtle oak and savory spice. Nice!!
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2017 MerSoleil Silver Chardonnay 2017 Emmolo Napa Merlot 2017 MerSoleil Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir In 1971 Charlie Wagner and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner asked their son Charles (Chuck) Wagner, who had just graduated from high school, if he would be interested in joining them in starting up a winery. If Chuck declined the offer, Charlie and Lorna were planning to sell out of their ranch in Napa Valley and move to Australia. Chuck accepted his parents’ offer to launch the winery, Caymus Vineyards. The Wagners produced their first vintage in 1972, consisting of 240 cases of…
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Roald Wine Company GSM Blend 2016 Roald Wine Company was formed by Greg Nelson who has a real passion for wine and he was inspired by his father, Roald David Nelson, who was a guru in supply chain management. Greg Nelson, after receiving a PhD in Biology at UC San Diego, became interested in biology and the process of winemaking which brought him to Sonoma County where he worked at several wineries, including Ramey and Martinelli, before starting Roald Wine Company. Greg has an affinity for journeys, jazz and American novelist Jack Kerouac. Roald has a “Wine Club” which offer some tremendous values on small production wines that can only…
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Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel 2015 Recently I went to a tasting event and was able to try a selection of Frank Family Vineyards Fine Wines. A full selection is only available at the winery. Frank Family Vineyards first constructed as the Larkmead Winery in 1884, where a train had run through which is now their driveway. The building was refinished with native sandstone from the nearby hills in 1906 and still stands tall today, and at some point the original stone building was remolded. Richard (Rich) Frank started the winery as a hobby; and named it “Frank Family” to promote a Family atmosphere. The winery is believed to…
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Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 The winery was founded by Charlie R. Woods on five and a half acres of prime Oakville soil. In the 1970s, he built a geodesic dome there to store barreled wine, and he concentrated on making reds, in particular Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery changed hands a number of times before being purchased in 1996 by Koerner Rombauer and Rich Frank. A decade later, the Trinchero family was looking for a winery property that would capture the essence of Napa. Napa Cellars, with its ideal Oakville location and fame for luscious Chardonnay and authentic Napa reds, was the obvious choice. Winemaker Joe Shirley came…
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Angeline Reserve Pinot Noir 2015 Courtney Benham acquired the historic Martini & Prati winery in July 2003, which is now Martin Ray Winery with a Tasting Room, the structure, dates back to the 1900’s, and was used to serve as a stable and bunkhouse where Italian immigrants stayed during harvest and crush. Established in 1881 as the Twin Fir Winery, the historic site is distinguished as the oldest winery in continuous operation in Sonoma County and one of the oldest wineries in California. The winery was able to stay in operation during prohibition by selling sacramental wines by train to Rabbis through a winery in New York. Ruby red with…
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19 Crimes The Warden 2015 Nineteen Crimes turned criminals into Colonists. Upon conviction, British rogues, guilty of at least one of the 19 Crimes, were sentenced to live in Australia, rather than death. This punishment by “transportation” began in 1788, and many of the lawless died at sea. For the rough-hewn prisoners who made it to shore, a new world awaited. As pioneers in a frontier penal colony, they forged a new country and new lives, brick by brick. This 19 Crimes wine celebrates the rules they broke and they culture they built. The Warden is a Shiraz-based red blend (can’t find the rest of the blend, even the US…
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Pico Maccario Lavignone Barbera d’Asti 2012 The Pico Maccario Winery was founded in 1997 in Mombaruzzo, Piedmont with 70 hectares of vineyards in one piece of property in the heart of the Barbera d’Asti DOCG appellation. From the beginning, brothers Pico and Vitaliano Maccario have chosen modern methods to manage their vineyards and produce wine, due in equal parts to their personal taste and young age of their winery. The rose has always been a symbol of the winery. 4500 rose plants of the same cloned variety have the duel function of marking the start of each vineyard row, and – a traditional use – of signaling vine-threatening diseases before…
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Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery 2013 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Sebastiani’s first century in Sonoma winemaking began when Samuele emigrated from the Tuscany region of Italy in 1895 and started Sebastiani nine years later. A stonemason by trade, he quarry-mined the Sonoma hills for cobblestones that were used to build the streets of San Francisco. He worked long hours and saved carefully to buy land in Sonoma County, from which he would make wine for the Sonoma community and San Francisco’s restaurants. The winery was the only one in Sonoma County to continue operations through Prohibition, making a small amount of sacramental and medicinal wines. It has been joked, and perhaps…
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Two Hands 2013 Gnarly Dudes Shiraz In the last posting I mentioned that I recently went to a private wine tasting where one of the Founders of Two Hands Wines, Michael Twelftree opened four of his wines and provided some in depth commentary on his wines and his winery. I already reviewed two of his wines and today I will talk about Gnarly Dudes. In a few days I comment on his last I wine tasted. Two Hands Wines was founded in early 1999 by Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz. Michael’s hand, on the logo, is the one on the left. From the outset, Two Hands set out to be…