David Shaw

9.2

Ruby red, excellent clarity. Red and black fruit and brambles on nose, strawberry and cherry in mouth. Good acid, not quite tart. Strawberry and raspberry finish. After an hour, candied cherry flavor dominates with an undercurrent of seed bitterness. A sharp, insistent, subdued but consistent acidity recurs throughout the taste. After two hours, some skin astringency emerges in the finish. An interesting wine to nurse through an evening, seemingly simple but layered in expression. — 6 days ago

Austin Hohnke

9.0

Peachy aromatics. Chenin-esque texture. Little hot at 13.6%. A far cry from Santorini but an interesting wine nonetheless. First time trying this producer. ≈$30 on the shelf. — 2 months ago

Amy

9.1

had at river house- light delicious — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This is the last time that Tegan will offer this Mencía from the MacIntyre Estate in Sonoma; he only made it once before. No other details have been shared so I’m not really certain as to why. The wine, however, is quite lovely and very much the Mencía as I have come to know from my countless experiences with Raul Pérez and Palacios from Bierzo.

Popped and poured. This was enjoyed over the course of two days; marginally better on Day 2. The 2022 Mencía pours a deep ruby/purple color with a transparent core and a magenta rim; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is youthful with fresh, tart blackberries, granite, purple flowers, teriyaki and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium; lean and loaded with minerals. Drink now through 2032. — 4 months ago

David Shaw

9.2

Ruby red, moderate to high pigment extraction. Red fruit aromas, cherry flavor mostly, strawberry and floral finish with light seed tannins, on the tactile side. After 15 minutes, big tannic backbone emerges, seeds and skin contact. Needs time to open and worthy of longer cellaring than I gave it. Sad, that. — 5 hours ago

David Shaw

9.3

Intense ruby red with brilliant clarity, moderate-to-high pigment extraction. Bramble, raspberry, cedar/baking spice aromas. Raspberry Pez flavor with some seed tannin bitterness and red fruit/black currant finish with real length. Light acidity and body, some puckering of inner sides of back of the mouth cavity. After 30 minutes, menthol, mint and spearmint emerge in the finish along with fine grained tannins and slight skin astringency. — a month ago

David Shaw

9.0

Last bottle of vintage — 2 months ago

David Shaw

9.3

Black currant and raspberry aromas, flavors with depth. Info on internet suggest it’s a blend of equal parts Cinsault, Carignane and Zinfandel with flavors of black tea and leather (which I would support) as well as licorice (a hint, later more substantial) violet and black cherry (disagree, at least on initial pour). Spice leather aftertaste. Solid acid with smooth tannin backbone, some skin astringency in aftertaste. — 12 days ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2022 Contra Costa County pours, a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with bright notes of fresh and tart, brambles and plums with licorice, flowers, and hot tarmac. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, enhanced with a touch of black pepper. The finish is medium+; grippy and zippy. Yet another very lovely Mataro from Sandlands. Drink now to enjoy the freshness of youth and through 2037. Only 5 barrels produced. — a month ago

Jake Perez

9.2

Beautiful expression of Chenin! Yellow apple, lemon and waxy texture! — 3 months ago