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4 days ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
Hooray for serious Merlot! Winemaker Kimberlee Nicholls shows why there needs to be more serious producers of this noble grape in California with a ripe red fruit profile that is still folding in its oak load. Not to fear – it will do so easily in a few years. But don’t let me dissuade you from jumping right in if you like a bit of youthful wood influence showing. Pair this with red meats of all kinds, or drink as a high-end cocktail. 93 Rich Cook
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1 week ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
The winery has several vineyard designated bottlings, but don’t think that this is a simple blend of the leftovers from each different site. I find that most often, winemakers try to make their “macro AVA” bottling be something delicious that speaks of the region’s best aspects.
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1 week ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
Tongue Dancer’s 2022 Putnam Vineyard Pinot Noir is a stellar bottling — and that is saying something when they seem to wow me just about every time I taste one of their wines.
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1 week ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
Here is a macro-AVA wine that certainly is not just a blend of the excess grapes from the winery’s single vineyard offerings. James MacPhail is a master of site selection, preferring to really get to know a site and thus be able to coax out all that it has to offer. Blending those offerings must be one of the most fun parts of his day, and the fun shows here with bold cherry cola and oak spice aromas and flavors that deliver on the promise of the nose and linger long.
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2 weeks ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
As a born and bred Californian, I came to the wines of Italy’s Piedmont region somewhat late in my wine journey. Though I’d had opportunities to taste wines from the area now and then along the way, it wasn’t until 2022 that I got a chance to take a deeper dive into Barolo and Barbaresco with a look at the wines from 2018 and 2019 when the annual “Barolo and Barbaresco World Opening” took place in Los Angeles.
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2 weeks ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
The Soberanes Vineyard is known for frequently being ensconced in fog that keeps acidity high and allows for a long ripening season. Mark Pisoni’s meticulous vineyard management allows for minimal intervention by brother Jeff in the winery and makes a pure sense of place expression possible. This Pinot Noir is rich and deep, with bright edges that keep the black cherry and damp earthy notes coming through the long finish. It is a true taste of Santa Lucia Highlands at its best. 95 Rich Cook
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1 month ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
This blend is very well integrated and achieves true Tuscan style. The fruit and the winemaking are shown in layers, with rich earth tones sidling up to the cherry and berry fruit without smothering the fruit in the finish. It is dry, long and elegant, and in a great place right now. Contains 44% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Sangiovese, 5% Petit Verdot and 7% “other reds.”94 Rich Cook
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1 month ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
You might think that having a room full of judges tasting through several hundred wines and sending the best of those wines to your table for review purposes would be a fun job to have, and you’d be right about that. It’s especially fun when that group of judges deeming wines worthy of a top Platinum award are experts at making wine. Their abilities are honed on a near-daily basis, and they are particularly adept at recognizing a wine’s current status and potential for development.
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2 months ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
It was a real treat to taste three Calera Pinot Noirs (Selleck, Mills and Ryan vineyards) side by side and blind. All were made from the same vintage and same clones, by the same winemaker, using the same regimen of whole cluster fermentation, native yeast and 18 months in 30% new French oak, with only the specific vineyard as a variable. The Selleck Vineyard brings a plush entry that is silky and mouth filling, featuring black cherry, damp earth and brown spice.
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2 months ago | 
winereviewonline.com | Rich Cook
The Mills Vineyard iteration of Calera’s 2021 Pinot Noir is a little lighter on its feet than the Selleck Vineyard from that vintage (three 2021 Calera Pinot Noirs from different vineyards were tasted blind at the same time), showing more red cherry, hints of cardamom, dry earth brown spice and a little more evident oak at present. Not to worry — this will resolve into championship middleweight as the oak folds in. 93 Rich Cook
