Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Piccolo Cru’ – Red Blend – Vintage 2021
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
An Italian-inspired Bordeaux blend crafted under the steady hand of winemaker Gabriella Gazano, who has guided the estate for over 25 years. This cuvée unites 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a wine that marries the structural power of Bordeaux varietals with Mediterranean elegance and Napa Valley ripeness.

Aromas & Flavors
Vibrant layers of dark cherries, cassis, and ripe blackberry, supported by graphite, cocoa, and a whisper of dried herbs. Hints of cedar, vanilla, and warm spice from the oak complete the aromatic tapestry.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied yet graceful. Firm, polished tannins give structure while a velvety mid-palate carries richness and depth. The finish is persistent, balancing dark fruit with savory spice.

Food Pairings
Made for hearty and soulful fare: osso buco, braised short ribs, Tuscan ribollita, or grilled ribeye. A natural partner for Italian-inspired dishes that emphasize flavor and tradition.

Verdict
Piccolo Cru’ is a harmonious bridge between Old World refinement and New World power. Structured, soulful, and deeply satisfying, it captures both the strength of Napa terroir and the finesse of Italian winemaking artistry.

Did You Know?
Calistoga, the northernmost tip of Napa Valley, is famed for its volcanic soils and hot days cooled by evening breezes. These extremes allow Bordeaux varietals to develop ripeness and structure in equal measure, ideal for blends like Piccolo Cru’.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
This bottle sings of duality: a Tuscan heart wrapped in Napa muscle. It’s soulful, elegant, and powerful, a wine I’d revisit for its depth, story, and sense of place. — 9 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 2011 | House sparkling. Not photographed with a steady hand… 😏. Happy New Year to the Delectable hedonists. — 5 years ago

Philip Patston

9.6

Superb beer. 4.8% alcohol. “Real ale” of course, meaning hand pumped, not carbonated. Very English beer. Not driven by excess hoppiness. — 6 years ago

Evan Bienstock

9.2

Hand pulled bitters in London. Room temperature beer rocks!
— 8 years ago

Mitchell Mulder

9.5

Very solid IPA, this celebrates the one year anniversary partnership between Green Flash and Alpine, of course if you still want Alpine beer, you will have to go to their brewery, good news is, this lends more to the Alpine style of IPA's then Green Flash, using the proprietary Alpine yeast strain, a very good start, hope they continue to be as good and better in future brews, big hop profile, Mosaic, Citra, Simco and El Dorado hops, 7% ABV, 55 IBU's feels and taste bigger, big wow factor for me, only paid $1.99 for this bomber — 10 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.6

Color: Golden Yellow
Nose/Smell: Not sure how long this was open for but at least a few hours.  Lots of perfume and flowers such as acacia, lavender,  elderberry and honeysuckle.  Additional contained sweet honey.
Palate/Taste: A little bit of heat at the end of the palate.  No where close to as much as the 2009 last month. Thick body and syrupy like honey consistency.  Long finish that lingers and sweetness stays steady.
Opinion: Noted a few interesting things. If you are a big fan of Vin de Constance, Napoleon's wine,  you might have noticed that the was no 2010 vintage.  While the 2011 is still over 85% from 2011 it is blended with the very small yield from 2010. Each grape is hand picked for this wine and is not pressed.  This is made entirely of free run juice. Additionally this was agreed on 60% new french oak. This can easily be cellared until 2035+. Great structure and power. — 11 years ago

with Sean and India

Norman

9.0

Samakkee Lager. This beer is described as a crisp, sessionable lager, and its name, "Samakkee", embodies the Thai value of "harmony".
Thai lager. Liking the IPA a lot better. This is a Singha (also had with it) without the umph. Btw I also prefer Singha in a bottle versus can. May be bs but I think there’s a difference. Need to blind test it but cold bottle in hand brings back too many memories. Listening to SZN4 (they picked the wrong song) — a year ago

David Kline

9.6

Jumping spider eye bubbles mass in a parabola foam while smaller bubble sheens fill the bursting absences, until the whole becomes an espresso foam, and equally oiled. Unction lacings lean Hebraic but ultimately are the dream fonts writ by the hand of G-d. Mene Mene Tekel Parsin they seem to say before fluttering away as constellations on a starling’s back. Fair warning as this is a heavy purse to carry. Six years in and taking stock. Figs, dates, treacle, raisins, carob, caramel, vanilla bean, sweet potato casserole, bacon fat, mincemeat. Rich on the palate with milk chocolate, molasses, Turkish coffee, gingerbread, candied date, and espresso-tobacco finish. Gloriously integrated and complex complexions.



#oldstockale #oldstock #2016 #northcoastbrewing #bièredegarde #agedbeer #bier #beer #birra #biere #cerveza #northcoast — 3 years ago

Mark Howard

9.6

Old school Napa Cabernet showing place and wine maker. Delicious fruit with integrated tannins. Quintessential Rutherford dust, eucalyptus with the wind and floral characters under a calm hand. Big, bold, fruit characteristics, yet a refined finish from a steady hand. Shows the trademark of Chuck all the way through. — 7 years ago

with Elizabeth

TheSkip

9.2

This wine made me think of all the different reasons we buy wine. Especially to buy in some quantity and especially "blind" not ever tasted it.

This hit a lot of the marks for me:
- visceral appeal based on my previous (and maybe current love) for the Elephant Six collective. I suppose that there is wine in homage to this makes me officially old.
- inaugural vintage. I love to get in on the ground floor of things
- recommendation of a trusted friend. @Greg Ballington is a steady hand in his thoughts and writings. His scores mean something. So a solid 9.2 was reason to act! Far better than my ramblings which are more fit for the back of the napkin to be tossed at the end of the eve.
- label. Yes. I do judge by the label. This is totally in my style.

This is a very nice wine! In the glass, there was the tell tale purple rim. Explosively fragrant with a melange of cedar and blackberry. I found the palate not exceptionally complex, but the blackberry and blueberry notes came through nicely.

Sometimes Syrah can finish quite sharply in a bitter sense. This finished quite beautifully and is my major reason for the score.

I am excited to try the big brother shortly. — 9 years ago

dmoore61

8.9

Closing in on a weekend, erstwhile beer drinker seeking stable relationship with a wine that demonstrates a steady hand, robust taste but not complex. Enough depth for a lasting relationship. This will do. A go to partner when a stable relationship is what you seek. — 11 years ago

Tom Inners

9.3

Finally a beer drinker's cider with the purposeful attention and finesse of a winemaker's slight hand. Highly aromatic. This cider's quality and intrigue is amplified by its bottle conditioning and lees contact. One of my favorite North Coast ciders to date. Great work Horse & Plow — 11 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.6

Wow!
N:Mushrooms and cherries anyone. Root beer, cedar, glorious !
P: When you taste this, it explodes and fills your entire mouth. Browns, reds, oranges, a multicolored experience. No heaviness here.
Sassafras again ( root beer) cedar, spice, meat,
This is alpine Nebbiolo that’s gone to heaven. At least 50 yr old vines at 450m southern exposure, picked and carried by hand. At least 6 yrs combined big wood and bottle before release.
Thanks@FassSelections
Oh My! — 3 years ago

Daron Watson

9.3

New Anthem Beer Project : Clapback (Strata Triple Dry Hopped)

hand select Citra in the kettle, whirlpool, and then twice in a very generous double dry hop ~ THEN dry hopped a final time w Strata

honeydew and cantaloupe, then passion fruit and mango, w hints of citrus (grapefruit and maybe orange julius) — 4 years ago

Danielle

9.2

This peanut butter stout is so tasty, with creamy peanut butter and hints of chocolate it’s really like a peanut butter cup beer. Just enough sweetness. — 6 years ago

Ross Fulton

9.1

Please hand me my vitamin — 7 years ago

Dakota Hewlett

9.4

A classic taste, a steady choice. — 10 years ago

Ted Germosen

9.0

Dark toasty caramel and coffee bean #LeftHandBrewing #MilkStoutNitro #Stout
#beer #beerculture #somm #sommlife
#sommelier #beverage #Sundaychillin #yum — 10 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

10

The FSB from Freewheel is as good as it gets. They draw their growlers from the hand pumped cask, and five days later it is still on top form. Nutty & bracing, a special bitter in more than name. In a world full of "craft" beer full of marshmallows and fermented in Islay barrels, this stands out. This doesn't reinvent the wheel, it is a better wheel. — 11 years ago

Andrej Simcenko

8.9

Jordan hand-crafter beer - what else? — 11 years ago