Category Archives: California Wines – Reviewed

Carte Blanche Wines | Building On A Storied Legacy

Carte Blanche Wines | Building On Storied Legacy

Carte Blanche

Nicholas Allen, the founder and proprietor of Carte Blanche Wines, is no stranger to the world of fine wine. His great grandfather, Clarence Dillon, was a wildly-successful financier of discerning taste whose penchant for the worlds best wines flourished alongside his career.

So he did what we all wish we could do – he bought his favorite winery in 1935, or in this case, his favorite Chateau. But this wasn’t just any Chateau, it is now one of the worlds most illustrious wine estates and one of only five of Bordeaux’s classified First Growths known as Chateau Haut-Brion.

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Galerie Wines | Winemaking Meets Artistic Expression

Galerie Wines | Winemaking Meets Artistic Expression

Galerie

As an artist, your first exhibition is your debut to the world. As exciting as it must be unnerving to gauge your reception, it is the invaluable opportunity to express your artistic talents in an uninhibited, open environment. But in this case, you needn’t visit a gallery to soak in this artists hard work, you need only to uncork a bottle of Galerie Wine.

Galerie Wines is an exciting and unique new project by Winemaker Laura Diaz Munoz which seeks to showcase the contrast in terroir between Knights Valley and Napa Valley. The road leading up to her inaugural Galerie Wines release has been a long and windy one.

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Frisson Wines | Checking in on New Releases!

Frisson Wines | Checking in on New Releases!

Frisson Chardonnay

Last spring I reviewed the 2011 Frisson Wines Cabernet Sauvignon and was really impressed. Despite the well publicized challenges of the 2011 vintage throughout Napa Valley, this boutique producer managed to produce a really distinctive, frisson-worthy Cabernet.

Just a few months after my post, Frisson Wines got some much deserved recognition when that same wine was awarded Double Gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition! Not too shabby…

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Rombauer Vineyards | More Than Just Chardonnay!

Rombauer Vineyards & Winery | More Than Just Chardonnay!

Rombauer Vineyards

Sometimes the best surprises happen where you least expect them, right? That was certainly the case on my most recent visit to Napa Valley. After visiting over 10 wineries (it was a long trip), Rombauer Vineyards managed to make a lasting impression. You might be as surprised as I was to discover why.

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Viluko Vineyards Cabernet | Unearthing a Sonoma Gem

Viluko Vineyards Cabernet | Unearthing a Sonoma Gem

Viluko Vineyards Cabernet

I prefer not to play favorites, but if you were to ask me what my favorite winery was right now? For its uncompromising devotion to quality, value and relative obscurity, Viluko Vineyards boasts an unusually compelling combination of superlatives that’s begging to be discovered.

I first learned of the Viluko Vineyards when John Rimmerman of Garagiste compared the 2011 Viluko Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon to those produced by the revered Mayacamas Vineyards. Mayacamas is quietly very well-reputed for producing age-worthy, balanced and terroir-driven mountain Cabernet’s.

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Regusci Winery Merlot | Best Merlot Under $20?

Regusci Winery Stags Leap District Merlot Review | Best Merlot Under $20?

Regusci Winery

The 2011 growing season in Napa yielded a bounty of challenges for grape growers and winemakers alike. The cold and wet conditions made it tough to achieve full ripeness, and significant portions of the crop were lost to mold and rot.

Only making matters worse? The resulting widespread consumer perception that all of the 2011 wines out of Napa are awful. While there are quite a few poor wines, many good to excellent wines were made in 2011.

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Mithra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 | Mithra Wine Review

Mithra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 | Mithra Wine Review

Mithra Wine

Before Christianity swept through the Roman Empire, its inhabitants worshiped Mithra, the God of the Sun. When making an offering of wine to Mithra, they would say “Soli Invicto Mithrae”. Meaning “To the Sun, Invincible Mithra.”, it’s an inscription that can be found from Scotland to India on Mithraic Temples, and on those bottles of Mithra wine in the cellars of a lucky few.

The Mithra Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the “it” wines of the moment, seducing luxury Cabernet collectors with an alluring combination of refined richness and exclusivity. I had never heard of the Mithra wine until a recent visit to 750 Wines in St. Helena, a top-notch purveyor of hard to find bottles.

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Wise Acre Cabernet | Napa’s Most Exclusive Cabernet?

Wise Acre Cabernet Sauvignon | Napa’s Most Exclusive Cabernet?

Wise Acre

I believe there’s a lot of significance in a name, and in my opinion Wise Acre Vineyard couldn’t be a more appropriate namesake for what is arguably Napa Valley’s smallest commercial winery. Measuring in at a mere 1/2 acre, there isn’t much room for error, is there?

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Cairdean Estate Winery | The Complete Package in Napa?

Cairdean Estate Winery | The Complete Package in Napa?

Cairdean Winery

I have driven past the Cairdean Estate Winery several times yet never fully appreciated the scale and quality of the project. The modern structure that’s visible appears relatively understated and unassuming from Highway 29. Simply passing by you would never guess that newly completed Cairdean Estate Winery is actually a fairly expansive compound replete with one of the more complete, all-encompassing visitor experiences in Napa Valley.

Sure, you could come just to taste their award-winning estate-grown Cabernet Franc, or to grab a gourmet coffee (or bloody mary for that matter) at Butterscots Cafe, where the warm, welcoming aesthetic draws inspiration from a European kitchen. You could also do your best to resist the carefully curated, luxurious, checkbook-draining temptations on display at the Redolent Mercantile.

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Seavey Caravina Cabernet | Second Wine, First Rate Quality

Seavey Caravina Cabernet | Second Wine, First Rate Quality

Seavey Caravina Cabernet

My adoration for the wines produced by Seavey Vineyard began years ago when I tasted their 2000 Estate Cabernet. Despite being considered a relatively weak vintage by Napa standards, Seavey managed to produce a distinctive wine that was still showing incredibly well at over 10 years old.

Their family-run, boutique winery emphasizes quality over quantity and the wines impress for their power, structure and refinement in their youth as well as their graceful evolution in the cellar. My fondness for Seavey Vineyard was cemented when I visited the estate in the fall of 2013.

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