San Joaquin County, Central Valley

Williams Selyem

Vista Verde Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020

All about the nose on this. Compact, deep core of raspberry and pomegranate. Finish hangs — a day ago

Familia Nueva

Liberté San Luis Obispo County Pinot Noir 2017

Pale ruby color. Aromas of strawberry, watermelon and a hint of cream candy. Cherry cola and black tea finish. — 3 months ago

Tom, Ed and 7 others liked this

Talley Vineyards

Bishop's Peak San Luis Obispo County Pinot Noir 2022

Appropriate accompaniment to ham and rosemary white bean, onion, tomato dish. ($22) — 6 months ago

Rob Murray Vineyards

Force of Nature Red Blend 2020

Recommend to me as a cheap crowd pleaser and it sure holds up. Full of fruit and fairly sweet—great for a movie night with friends but would be disappointing alone. — 9 months ago

Derby Wine Estates

Derbyshire Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022

A most interesting wine. Needs 30 minutes.

Nose: soft cherries. Library dust. Gorgeous cherry flowers. Like a 9.5 nose.

Palate: silky texture. Lovely early season cherries. A touch of vegetal notes. These go away with air. Juicy. Cherry spice. Delicious in an elegant way. A hint of savoriness. Texture is elite. Pure silk.

Psycho finish. You get that lingering elegant spice.
— 6 days ago

Bishop's Peak

Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir 2022

OH SO good. And for a very reasonable price in the 20’s. A spicy rendition, showing clove, white pepper and black tea on the nose (on top of to-be-expected-but-not-unwanted) of ripe red cherry. The palate brings in more green notes, contrasting the ripe fruit and fruitcake spices, but the acid is vibrant, and the tannins are scarcely there—this is a smooth, smooth glass of goodness. — 4 months ago

Tom, Bob and 2 others liked this

Land of Saints

San Luis Obispo County Pinot Noir 2021

Big juicy fruit aromas with underlying herbs (oregano and others... I need to work on my herb aromas), tart and juicy black cherry and herbs on the palate, with a bit of body for a Pinot. Will be perfect with tritip off the Traeger tonight! And pork tenderloin on Monday. But 13.6%, yikes! Too easily drunk for that. — 8 months ago

Laura and MICHAEL liked this

Dirty & Rowdy

Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre

Punchy nose. Great backbone. Need to find more CA mouvedre — 2 months ago

Ed, Andrew and 1 other liked this

Williams Selyem

Limestone Ridge at Vista Verde Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2022

At first I found this medium bodied, slightly creamy, with prominent stone fruits, white peach and cumquat, with a prominent minerality and slight notes of cheesecake on the nose. Now it’s emerging much more dry with air, still a long, mineral driven palate, still medium bodied, but beautifully balanced and definitely a contract to many California white wines when it comes to complexity and nuance. — 3 months ago

Williams Selyem

Vista Verde Vineyard Grüner Veltliner 2022

Pale yellow with flecks of green in the depths, light bodied, with a dry and mineral tinted nose, with hints of yellow apple, white florals, fresh cantaloupe and (according to Tiva) cardamom. Palate is light medium, dry, with apple, white stone fruit, straw, with a long mineral driven finish. — 7 months ago