This opens with very nice dark fruit aromas on the nose. Blackberry, with hints of cedar and eucalyptus, lead on the palate, turning to jammy fruit with black pepper on the mid-palate. Complexity is interesting, acid zippy. There is an underlying mocha throughout, showing most on the finish. It is
Combining the pleasantly mineral and grippy character of Carignane with rounder notes from five other grape varieties, this inexpensive offering from Bonny Doon is rather easy-going, despite the contrarian attitude implied in the name (which also refers to Contra Costa County, where most of the grapes come from). That contradictory
The bottle says 14.5% alcohol. My nose and eyeballs suspect if might be well north of 15%. This is a big wine, with brawny red fruits, a bowl of mixed cherries ranging from barely ripe to nearly black and strawberries-read more-
A mouthful of wine, this Zin is a moderate (by today's standards) 14.8% alcohol, but has loads of black fruit, cocoa, and coffee. The nose is slightly vegetal, suggesting perhaps some whole cluster fermentation. Blackberries on attack are followed by-read more-
California hardly conjures up an image of a wine region struggling with an identity crisis. But there are areas of the Golden State that have never fully defined a winemaking niche. A consortium of Mendocino County winemakers are counting on-read more-
This Zinfandel-based blend is upper medium depth garnet in color with a medium opacity, becoming ruby at the rim. Rich plum and berry aromas up front. Pleasantly piney notes soon emerge, backed by hints of sweet oak. More time in-read more-
My late grandfather spent the last decade of his life solving crosswords and drinking wine. It’s been 15 years since he was with us. But I can still vividly recall his passion for both words and a bicchiere of dark-read more-
This is simple, one-dimensional, jammy, and oaken. It is also cloudy, not something you see as often in these days of high-quality winemaking. The fruit is slightly peppery, sour cherry and raspberry. The oak is not integrated, but seems to-read more-