Winery Of The Little Hills

Sea Smoke

Ten Estate Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2023

Dark garnet color with a ruby core. Aromas of dark berry fruit, forest floor, lavender and smokey vanilla. Flavors of black cherry, blueberry and blackberry fruit with additional flavors of black licorice, baking spices, savory herbs and roasted nuts. That smokey/oaky vanilla flavor extends to the long and silky finish. More weight, heft, power and concentration than your typical Pinot Noir. The bright acidity balances this wine beautifully. Outstanding! Thanks to Kase and Petey for bringing this wine on our 2026 Cape May, NJ vacation. — 15 days ago

Bob, Joel and 4 others liked this

Sandhi Wines

Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay 2022

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a pale straw color with medium viscosity: no signs of sediment/particles or gas. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of green apple, white tree flowers, a hint of freshly struck match, lemon curd and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and full of minerals with a creamy texture. The alcohol is medium.

Initial conclusions: this could be Chardonnay, Albariño or Pinot Gris from France, the US, Spain or Italy. This is giving me Chardonnay vibes and while my first thought was Chablis, this has the markers of a Sashi Morman wine. So I’m going with that. Final conclusion: this is Chardonnay, from the US, Oregon, Eola-Amity Hills, 2022 and because I said it, Evening Land. LOL! Do I get credit for calling the winemaker and not the winery? Scoring points for sure. Tasty stuff in the style I’ve come to expect. Drink now through 2032.
— 3 months ago

Paul, Sagee and 12 others liked this

Liquid Farm

White Hill Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay 2024

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of 90min. The 2024 “White Hill” pours a pale straw color with medium viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with bright notes of star fruit, passion fruit, stone fruits, lemons, a touch of freshly struck matchstick, some white flowers and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and slightly saline. I love the character of these wines. Really tasty stuff. Drink now through 2034+. — 3 months ago

Zach, Tom and 12 others liked this

Domaine Serene

Evenstad Reserve Dundee Hills Chardonnay

The somm at Spago Las Vegas recommended this to go with poached halibut. Nice choice. Minerally, not oaky. A bit of citrus “surprise”. — 4 months ago

J. Rochioli

Little Hill Pinot Noir 2018

We had a vertical tasting of 2018 and 2020 Little Hill Single Vineyard PN. Both have similar bouquets and palates. Black cherry and minerality. 2020 is a little more floral. 2018 has a more darker tone; and that is good. Both have nice mouthfeels with smoothed out tannins. 2018 is a little more velvety. Both very good. It seems these PN need more time in the bottle — 7 months ago

Domaine Drouhin

Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2023

New vintage of this perennial favorite Willamette Pinot. Perfect for our Christmas Eve Fondue. — 9 months ago

Ericsson, Tom and 3 others liked this

Dusky Goose

Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2016

4/2023. Fruit forward without a concentration of cherry. Medium bodied. — 3 years ago

David, Sharon and 1 other liked this

Grgich Hills Estate

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (83%) with some Merlot (11%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petite Verdot (1%) blended in. Dark ruby color. Aromas of black fruit, intense graphite and dried herbs and red/purple flowers. Flavors of black and red berries/currants/plums, dark cocoa, black licorice and woody herbs. Slight touch of vanilla on the long and expressive finish. Bright acidity and smooth tannins. Elegant, nicely structured and quite savory. Medium-plus body and well balanced. Well crafted. Enjoyed at Frescos in Lincoln, RI. — 3 days ago

Bob, Paul and 4 others liked this

Domaine Drouhin

RoseRock Pinot Noir 2024

This was nice, very drinkable, crowd pleaser. Berry fruit, minerals, hint of forest, but overall fruit forward. — 2 months ago

Randy Boesch
with Randy
Matt, Tom and 2 others liked this

Arterberry Maresh

Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2024

Third generation grower Jim Maresh launched his own brand in 2007. Maresh Vineyard was first planted in 1970 by grandparents Jim & Loie. Medium Ruby color with aromas of aa array of red berry fruits with a touch of cooling mint. On the palate cherry and berry fruits, well structured, with a touch of rustic spice. Fine dusty tannins, balanced with acidity, medium-bodied, long finish ending with earthy mineral character. Very Nice! — 3 months ago

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1988

Super clean and still quite youthful, this is a GREAT example of a 1980s CdP from a vintage of little surmaturite, so awesome balance and perfect acidity suggests this vintage will easily last another 5-10 years!! — 4 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Scott@Mister, Tom and 5 others liked this
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

What a triumvirate of CDPs!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Tom Casagrande, another example of a great bottle outperforming critical reviews — of the 3 CdPs, the ratings given years ago would have been higher for the ‘89 Beau and ‘90 Pegau!!

Domaine de la Côte

Bloom's Field Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

12.5% with lots of sediment. The glass was partially clouded with sediment. That doesn’t happen often with Pinot. A beauty. — 8 months ago

Stoller Family Estate

Reserve Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2021

Reminds me of a good Santenay from Burgundy. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister, Tom and 6 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

@Austin Blackwell Good call on the Santenay similarities.

Sea Smoke

Ten California Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2019

Very smooth. Not as big of a Pinot as I would have thought. — 24 days ago

Scott@Mister and Shay liked this

Sea Smoke

Southing Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023

delicious biodynamic Sta Rita pinot. tons of salinity and characteristic terroir. — a month ago

Thomas

Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2023

2023 vintage. FLB jetsam. Decanted and tasted after 30 minutes and 1 hour. Medium/medium-heavy body. Dark color. Round impressions. Pleasant berry escapades on the back end with spritzes of rhubarb. This was waay too young and could definitely use 2-3 years to dump the baby fat and reapply. Nicely made. Just needs more time to reveal all the wonders within. 6.26.26. — 3 months ago

Doug, Ted and 7 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1999

1999 vintage. Nice fill. Used a Durand. Solid cork with approx 50% saturation. Decanted and tasted after two hours. That decided Lynch-Bages medium heavy bod. Has dropped some, not all, of the overt primary fruit load. Pleasant spices and feminine characteristics easily noted and cataloged. Pretty harmonious now tho with a little chunkiness/tannic blessing as more of a fleeting kiss vs a big hug. Could easily go another decade in this ensemble. 6.14.26. — 3 months ago

Daniel, Jeroen and 9 others liked this

Domaine de la Côte

Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2021

Deep Ruby color with aromas of black fruits, cedar, citrus, herbs and floral spice. On the palate flavors of cherry, cranberry and blackberry with floral and sweet herb spice notes. Full-bodied, fine tannins, long finish ending with fruit, slight oak, herbs and a savory earthy mineral character. Nice, will age but Decant now! — 5 months ago

Paul, Andrew and 1 other liked this

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

quite austere. Dark fruit with a bit of sour plum and a savory core of fruit. Black pepper. Constrained and a little under in terms of ripeness and depth. — 8 months ago

Ara Aslanian
with Ara
Tom and Jay liked this

Shaw and Smith

M3 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2019

Pale yellow in colour. A good combination of citrus and stonefruit on nose and palate. Slightly saline at the finish. This Chardonnay is a leading Australian Chardy made at their HQ in the Adelaide Hills. Barb and I first tried the 2019 at a structured tasting at the winery on 31/3/21. We were hugely impressed. This is my last bottle from the home cellar. I restock my cellar most vintages with the M3 Chardonnay. Their Chardonnay from the Lenswood Vineyard is also very good. — a year ago

Jeroen, Somm and 19 others liked this