Russian River Valley, Sonoma County
Arista Winery
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir UV Lucky Well Vineyard 2016
Monthly WTF wine group meet up. Theme was “bring something good”. All wines (minus the bubbles and SB) were tasted blind.
This was super intense and perfumed. Young. Feel like there may be some use of whole cluster here? Massive amount of ripe black cherries, cola, potpourri and sandalwood. Acidic, with very compact fruit alongside some herbal/stemmy? notes. Thanks, @Weston Eidson . — 7 days ago
Jordan Vineyard & Winery
Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2016
Golden straw with aromas of stone and citrus fruits. The palate had flavors of apple, pear, lemon zest and melon, complex, mineral tones with soft creamy oak and sweet spice. The wine was fresh, a bit creamy, with vibrant crisp acidity, well balanced on a long finish. Not a typical CA Chard, with some mid-term aging potential. Outstanding! — 12 days ago
Limerick Lane
Russian River Valley Syrah Rosé 2018
Strawberries and cream was pretty much about 90% of this one. I thought there would have been some funk or darker influence given that the primary grape was syrah. It did have very sharp acidity, and also had a tiny hint of minerality. This one made me go out and buy a pint of Blue Bell Strawberries and Homemade Vanilla, and that pairing was just about everything I thought it could be. I give the pairing a 9.6 :) Good poolside sippin wine! — 3 days ago
Donum
Year of the Monkey Single Vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir 2016
Weekend in San Jose for the Queen concert!! Enjoying a pinot and the pool! Pop and pour (young...would of loved a few more years on the bottle). A fascinating dark ruby red. On the nose: red fruit, plum, vanilla, olives. Taste: bright red cherry, spice, herbs, some chocolate...nice concentration and finish with a little tannic kick. — 5 days ago
Carlisle Winery & Vineyards
Two Acres Russian River Valley Red Blend 2011
A field blend of a whole buncha stuff. This wine is black cherry tart and cola. Gets darker to the finish where a lot of black pie spice and pepper comes out. I thought this was going to lighter red fruit dominated. Blend of Mouvedre, PS, syrah, carignane, Alicante bouschet, and peloursin. — 12 days ago
Martinelli
Jackass Vineyard Zinfandel 2016
Monthly WTF wine group meet up. Theme was “bring something good”. All wines (minus the bubbles and SB) were tasted blind.
Crazy young, but fun to see the potential here. Quite spicy, nimble, yet the core of this wine has intense layers. Black peppercorn, rhubarb tart pie and underripe raspberries dominate the nose. Cedar, candied black cherries and blackberry fig on the palate. I called this Sonoma Zinfandel. Thanks, @Bill Makens . — 7 days ago
Hess Family Wine Estates
Panthera Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2016
From the Hess Collection, their inaugural vintage shows aromas of stone fruits with light wafts of oak and spice. On the palate rich ripe apple and pear with a touch of tropical fruits, a bit creamy, with vanilla oak notes. Nice mouthfeel, vivid acidity, medium finish ending with spicy oak character. — 9 days ago
Mark Flesher
Funky for the first 20 minutes. But, then this one turned the corner and hit the throttle. This wine has an incredible nose: violets, spice cake, black fruit, raisins, cinnamon. Entry was full of black pepper, sweet plum, fruitcake, hint of candied bacon. Middle gains a dark chocolate, mocha, baking spice. Finishes dark, black pepper, sweet, still very youthful, full throttle, excellent acidity. I almost opened this a few hundred times but did manage to finally bury it in the collection until I actually sought it out and brought it home. I dare say that this one has a good 7 years left in it. Don't drink this one as a pop and pour. Decant at least 30 minutes and then enjoy it! I think it's in a really good spot right now, but I do believe that 1-2 years of additional bottle age will do this well. — 6 days ago