The 2007 vintage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the inaugural wine from Guarachi Family Vineyards. Great choice. The wine showcases what a great winemaker, Paul Hobbs, can do in one of Napa's best years. The color is opaque, nearly black. The eighteen months it spent in new French oak show
The color is very pale yellow with a caramel tinge, bubbles are small and moderately active. The nose is lovely, deep with an underlying umami richness beneath fresh pears and apples. On the palate tart apples take the lead, driven as much by bright acids as apple flavors. The apple
Very pale in color, with a slight gold-green tint, and a tiny splash of bubbles that disappear immediately. The nose is a bit shy, as if two blocks away somebody cut the front yard and caught half a lemon in the mower blades. On the palate it is all citrus
The nose is very deep, rich with figs and espresso, with a background of cedar. The nose was only a hint of the depth of the palate. It opens with blackberries and black pepper, then opens broadly to add licorice, coffee, unsweetened chocolate, and sweeter blueberry. The wine is well-structured,
Dark cherries and a touch of mesquite smoke on the nose. Cherries are fresher, more tart, on the palate. Smoke and cola come through on the mid-palate. Acids really drive this wine, searching for a rich fats or gravy to challenge. Drink with bacon-wrapped figs or duck with gravy. Recommended.
The nose is very pretty, magnolia flowers and baked apples with a sprinkle of cardamom. Apples and just-fresh white peaches lead on the palate, barely sprinkled with cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg. Light acidity comes in the flavor of sweet Meyer lemon. Off-dry and creamy, this would contrast beautifully with
The nose is full and sweet, with blackberries, boysenberry, and a drop of caramel. The palate is filled with a melange of dark fruit, from deep mulberry to crisp blackberries. A hint of smoke peeks out on the palate, blossoming into a bite of espresso and unsweetened chocolate on the
A true low-alcohol Bourgogne for half the price of a tooth-staining California pinot, this shows true balance and minerality. Strawberries, some raspberries, and damp black earth shoveled over hot coals show on the nose. On the palate the fruit is more muted, hinting at a resting phase calling for a