Fair Play, Sierra Foothills
Clos Saron
Home Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010
This bottle brings me right back to the beginning where I fell in love with Gideon’s work. Highly concentrated, intense, sappy texture that sticks to your gums.
Juicy ripe black summer plum, black cherry, blood orange, fresh fennel, pomegranate, purple flowers, tomato leaf, black pepper. Extremely complex and extremely delicious.
Still a strong backbone of acid and fruit persisting through the long finish. Tannins are fully resolved. Completely clean after a couple minutes to air out the bit of Brett and VA (which I expect and embrace with these wines).
I was ready to start popping all my remaining Clos Saron bottles thinking they were starting to decline, but a bottle like this could go forever. There is definite bottle variation at play, and the off bottles can be a bit muddy and dull. But when they hit (which they usually do) there’s really nothing like it. — 2 years ago
Casto Oaks
Port Zinfandel 2015
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.
Fruity nose of mint, cherries, blueberries, dried figs, raisins, spices, eucalyptus, cloves, coffee, chocolates, tobacco, peppermint, licorice and black pepper.
Full-bodied with high acidity and great legs.
Sweet on the palate with blueberries, sweet cherries, black currants, spices, licorice, oak, mint, earth, leather, pencil lead and peppercorn.
Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a nice surprise. A great Vintage Port, made out of Zinfandel grapes from California.
Well-balanced with nice complexity and a great mouthfeel. Feels like a red Zinfandel, but sweet. Good all by itself, as a dessert.
Good right out of the bottle and better after 30 minutes of airtime, when nice tannins come in to play. I really enjoyed the tannins and the mouthfeel on this port. Very unique.
I paired it with sweet desserts.
Aged for 18 months in neutral American oak barrels.
18% alcohol by volume.
94 points.
$19. — 4 years ago
Szabo Vineyards
Reserve Sierra Fothills Syrah 2014
Cute three tree (or shrub) label. Dark color. High alcohol (14.7%). Smells rich and robust. Maybe a bit of wet leaves in the garden. Berries too. Flavors are deep and intense. Violets and black cherry syrup. Coffee and something licorice-y. Plenty of fir branch and pine cones on the fire in there too. This is a nice Syrah. Hint extra on the fruit front, but balanced and complex. Label says boysenberries a roasted beets. I’d say yeah, beets, sure. It could age a fair bit longer too. It’s just getting started 6 years on. — 2 years ago
Mediterranean Vineyards
Fair Play Estate Grown Nebbiolo 2017
Nice label. Kinda a passport vibe. Dark and ruby colored. Smells intoxicating. Apple pulp, fresh cut pine, cut black walnut leaves, nutmeg, black fruits. Flavors are more complexity. Black pepper, roasted red peppers, chocolate, coffee, and dried black cherry. Also hint of mint, basil, oregano. Herb basket. This is a great example of young drinkable Nebbiolo. Complex, balanced, forceful, and a joy to drink. After a bit of air it’s got lots of cigar, pot smoke and cedar shakes. Funk is in town as well. It’s gonna evolve as it ages. Nice now though. — 2 years ago
Wise Villa Winery
Sangiovese
2015 Bronze winner @ CA State Fair comp but underrated IMO. Red fruit, spice, earth. Good stuff. — 4 years ago
Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)
La Sirena Rosato 2019: Medium-light bodied. Well balanced. Light acidity. Nice minerality. Strawberry & citrus flavors with a bright & clean finish. Made from Primitivo grapes sourced from Amador County in the foothills of California, this is the perfect “fun to drink” or “easy to love” rosé wine. Let’s not forget this rosé comes from the talented winemaking skills of Heidi Peterson Barrett 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 All in all, a perfect selection as schools out & summer’s here! Let the summer camps & play dates begin! Make it a unique & magical day! Cheers ☀️🧜♀️🍷 — 14 days ago