A delicious Cali blend of an Austrian grape, a Spanish grape, and a Portugese grape (feels like there should be a joke here about these three walking into a bar...). Lively aromas of raw honey and tropical fruits. On the palate, lovely flavors of white pepper and melon. 40% Grüner Veltliner, 30% Albariño, 30% Verdelho. 6/23/22. — 20 days ago
Surprisingly good AFTER a lot of aeration. After 30 months in barrel and years on my rack I thought this would be in a good drinkable place from the cork, which was not unpleasant by the way. The predominant notes of Merlot and PV shown through in all stages, but the big take away was the breath and complexity increased with a couple days of air. (Vac’d plug of course) juicy, harvest fresh berries combined with just enough structure and herbal intrigue to make this delightful with artisan sausage pizza and our house smoky bacon bean soup. I had a chance to get a second bottle but it will be fun for someone else to taste a touch of North Carolina’s better half.  — a month ago
We had the 2016 Vintage on 6/23-24/22. This is a real good Sonoma PN. There were tastes of red current, pomegranate and cranberry. There is a brambly minerality as well. Over the last 18 mo., the tannins smoothed out nicely. A nice mouth feel and finish. — 12 days ago
Father's Day weekend with a deconstructed pizza...
Really nice! Beautiful deep orange pink color, fresh nose, slightly thick legs, balanced flavor. A winner! — 17 days ago
Willie Carter
California Syrah the way I like it. And I do definitely like it. A really pretty deep dark purple with a wide brim and little cherry red flecks. This nose is just plain silly good and exciting. Plums and raspberries abound here. Blackberries with a touch of fennel go a long way. The olive aromas are jumping out of the glass and my goodness it’s special. There’s a rich meaty, fatty aspect to the nose that just blows me away. Stupendous.
Every wine I have from Big Basin is just as good as the next one. All so good and so well crafted. Hailing from the Rattlesnake Rock vineyard in Santa Cruz and definitely fruit forward. At this age, it’s drinking with more refinement than you may expect. Classy and stylish but never forgets about the fun. A lesson in how to make a big and bold Syrah without even coming close to going overboard. Smoke and grilled meat in the mouth to go with the vibrant red and blue fruits. Black pepper and menthol. The finish is long and fulfilling. Don’t listen to me, seriously don’t. Just go taste it. — 7 days ago