2019 Cromavera Albariño San Luis Obispo County
Cromavera’s varietal Albariño is fermented and aged in a mix of stainless steel and neutral oak barrels. It’s fragrant of sharp citrus, especially lime…
California
2020 Birichino Grenache Pétillant Naturel Besson Vineyard Santa Clara Valley
This 2020 vintage pét-nat contains a small amount of the winery’s “Hommage à Georges Besson,” which is a multi-vintage assemblage in the appassimento tradition….
2019 Gundlach Bundschu Estate Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
This Chardonnay is grown on the Gundlach Bundschu estate in a zone cooled by the Petaluma Gap. The average vine age is 30 years,…
2013 AXR Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
I received this sample in November, 2017, as part of a large, unsolicited shipment of California Cabernets made by consulting enologist Jean Hoefliger. The…
2019 Breaking Bread Grenache Redwood Valley Mendocino County
Winemaker Erik Miller sources Grenache from grower Alvin Tollini in Redwood Valley. The gravelly site, planted in 2002, is dry-farmed. At the winery, the…
2020 Birichino Vermentino Mahoney Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley
Birichino’s Vermentino, sourced from Mahoney Ranch in Los Carneros, is shiny yellow with a quiet perfume of laurel, grass, and lime peel (this melange…
2019 Flowers Vineyards and Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
The Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot noir is fermented with ambient cultures, and the wine spends ten months in French oak, 18 percent new, before…
2019 Flowers Vineyards and Winery Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Flowers’s Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is sourced from a mix of vineyards, including the estate’s own Camp Meeting Ridge. The wine spends 11 Months French…
2019 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Tablas Rouge Paso Robles
Esprit de Tablas is the winery’s flagship red, a Rhône-inspired blend that balances Mourvèdre and Grenache with a dose of Syrah and Counoise. Farming…
2019 Tablas Creek Vineyard Mourvèdre Paso Robles
This is not your grandmother’s Mourvèdre. Tablas Creek’s bottling is light-colored, light-textured, and juicy, quite different from the chewier examples from warm reaches of…
2020 Tablas Creek Vineyard Grenache Blanc Paso Robles
The majority of Tablas Creek’s estate Grenache blanc goes into their white Rhône-style blends, but they also make about 1,000 cases into a varietal…
2017 Centralas Wine Cabernet Sauvignon I, Nomad Mendocino
The Centralas Cabernet is fermented with ambient cultures, and the wine spends three years in French barriques, about one-fifth new. The winery admirably discloses…