Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Winemaker Joseph J. Wagner is a 4th generation winemaker from a family with farming and winemaking roots in the Napa Valley since 1906. Met Joe several times. Deep Ruby with red berry fruit aromas and sweet spice notes. The palate shows raspberry and jammy blackberry with sweet oak, cacao and espresso notes. Soft tannins and acidity, well balanced, with mineral tones on a long spicy finish. Nice! — 9 days ago

Frank Kuo

9.2

Color is clear dark burgundy. Nose is nice with refined and concentrated aldehyde, dried strawberry, vanilla, a bit oaky, a bit cherry, a bit crayon, and a bit milk chocolate. Taste is a bit sweet and following the nose, with addition of ripe grapes and zesty note. Low in tannins and sweeter than expected. And a bit coke and savory spice flavor. Aftertaste of a bit more peppery and bittersweet note . Clean and good flavors, just a bit too light in taste. — a day ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose of blueberries, black currants, plums, oak, licorice, earth, spices, peppercorn, leather, tobacco, barnyard and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, vegetables, tobacco, wood, wet leaves, herbs, black pepper, spices and dark coffee.

This is a very nice Grenache from Ballard Canyon in California. This 6 years old is drinking very nicely now.

Needs 2 hours to open up properly. Way different than right out of the bottle, although very drinkable, but it's worth the wait. Showing a smooth mouthfeel with nice complexity. Very interesting and tasty.

Good by itself and good with food. I paired it with a double cream Brie cheese with truffles that was ripened in Riesling wine.

14.3% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$35. — 5 days ago

Kirk F

9.0

After a long walk and cleaning out the garage, we deserved some refreshment. Floral and aromatic, this is very tasty and goes down easy at 12% abv. Give it 20 minutes out of the fridge to let the fruit do it’s thing. — a day ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.2

Ripe, round, juicy...nice early drinking blend. Zoom virtual tasting with Rowdy Wallace. The on-line Wine Berserker society comes together weekly on Saturday’s for wine, jazz, and community. The wines are worthy, the community is becoming part of the new “normal”. Thank you Rowdy... for your wines and your passion! Stay safe my brothers and sisters. This too shall pass and we shall be stronger. — 2 days ago

Bill Bender

9.3

The 2nd WNH Zoom tasting on 3/29 with a “open any white” theme. The On The Lam is eleven years old and is reminiscent of the Backwards and Forwards at this point in its development. I had a Backwards & Forwards in 2017 that had a ridiculously delicious array of secondary characteristics that were just outstanding in their funky goodness. This bottle reminds me more of that wine at age 10. It has transformed from youthful to mature but displays no adolescent awkwardness. Honeyed melon, marzipan, candied pear and burnt marshmallow envelop a firm backbone of acidity. It’s adding weight but ever so slowly. Right now it’s still lithe and pushy and a changeling in the glass that warrants frequent check ins because a night of drinking will deliver 4 or 5 different wines for your drinking pleasure. — 8 days ago

"Odedi"

9.1

This is a delicious Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills in California. Showing nice complexity with a great mouthfeel. Well-balanced with lots of fruits and oak notes.

Full bodied, buttery and bold, with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with lemons, limes, yellow apples, oak, vanilla, spices, herbs and minerals.

Nice finish with spices and almonds.

Better when not very cold, that's when the complexity comes out. Not too oaky even for me.

I had this vintage a year ago, and it is drinking much nicer now.

A good wine to have all by itself, and a good sipping wine. Delicious.

I paired it with cheeses and olives.

13.9% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$35. — 3 days ago

Sharon B

9.2

I am officially on staycation for the next week. I plan on trying lots of new wines, eating good food, reading, napping and hanging by the pool. My brother just retired from the State Department and is pretty much homeless at this time so it will be nice to catch up since he’s been at the Embassy in Bahrain for the last few years. Cheers! 🍷😘🌴🌞⛱ — 10 days ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

Tonight’s actual quaranwine! If you aren’t wearing the same shirt you have all week/haven’t gained five stress-baking pounds you aren’t doing quarantine right. Also, ignoring this particular wine would be silly as it is reliable (needed in these times), scrumptious (needed always because yummy things make happy people) and yeah, I am a fan of Talbott’s work. You know those black and white pictures you see that if you look at one moment you see one thing and the next moment another? I feel like this wine is if paying attention to fruit—rich and heady! Then you think of acid, tannins and body and see something else. And all of that keeps you going through the glass. I’ve been lucky enough to have Talbott wines sent to me (yes this was a free sample but if you saw how many samples DIDN’T get written about...) and I feel lucky to be able to say both this and their Chardonnay have been dependably punching above their weight, price-wise. Yum. C’est tout. Ce soir. — 15 days ago

"Odedi"

9.0

F2 Wines TBO Cabernet Sauvignon Great Oaks Vineyard Los Olivos District 2016, California

Supporting small wineries today.

It's time to get my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a nice Cabernet from California.

Dark ruby in color with a brick/ reddish rim.

Interesting nose with overwhelming spices like thyme, eucalyptus, tarragon, cinnamon, light wood, licorice, earth, light vegetables, blue and black fruits, black pepper, light alcohol, pencil lead and mint. So interesting.

Full-bodied, bold and smooth, with medium plus acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blueberries, cherries, strawberries, light oak, spices, earth, dark coffee, wet leaves, vegetables, vinaigrette, tobacco, dried herbs and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and pomegranates.

This is a very unique wine from Los Olivos District in California. Showing unique flavors that I have not encountered in a California Cabernet, yet very interesting.

This Single Vineyard Cabernet is showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel, and really unique. I don't remember the last time I was stomped with a California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Good by itself or with food, and needs time to open up properly. I gave it 3 hours.

I paired it with cheeses, nuts and olives. Very tasty.

A blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with some (less than 10%) Cabernet Franc. Aged for 30 months in 25% New French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$55. — 10 days ago