Attractive toffee and caramel notes on the nose with pear tart, apple crumble, praline, chalk and nougat. Rich, creamy and delicious with soft and rounded bubbles. Well integrated. Caressing and delicious finish. Chardonnay from... Read More
The star of the show is the 2012 Hermitage Les Bessards. Coming from the pure granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit, on the western edge of the appellation, it's made from 100% Syrah and spent 16 months in 70% new French... Read More
The 2012 Futo is just as impressive as it has always been. One of the darker, more brooding wines of the vintage, the 2012 exudes radiance and intensity. Dark fleshed fruit, exotic spices, espresso and menthol are some of the... Read More
A perfect wine is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Arc Vineyard from Woodbridge's property on Howell Mountain. This is an amazingly deep, rich, blueberry, blackberry and mulberry scented and flavored wine with skyscraper-like texture,... Read More
The 2012 Latour is a blend of 90.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.6% Merlot and 0.2% Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet colored, the nose slowly, measuredly emerges with notions of preserved Morello cherries, baked blackcurrants and... Read More
The 2012 Tertre-Roteboeuf is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Remarkably vivid for such a big, super-ripe wine, the 2012 boasts superb nuance and delineation from start to finish. Dense, powerful and explosive,... Read More
Bright pale yellow. Complex aromas of peach, pear and dried thyme are complicated by a sulfidey leesy nuance and lifted by a floral topnote. Concentrated and vivacious if a bit youthfully aggressive, with pear, menthol and crushed... Read More
Ripe and jammy aromas emerge from the bouquet of the 2012 Galatrona. This pure expression of Merlot remains sharp and delineated overall, but the extra time in the bottle has given prominence to the wine's inherently fruity... Read More
Coming from a site close to where the Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from, the 2012 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is more structured in 2012, with beautiful balance and focus in its whole cluster-influenced bouquet of Asian... Read More
Coming from Anderson Valley in California's North Coast, the 2012 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is distinctly different than the Santa Cruz Mountain releases. Full, layered and supple, with possibly more mid-palate flesh... Read More
Coming from a former Christmas tree farm turned vineyard, the 2012 Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard is one of the more perfumed, forward and textured releases in the lineup. Coming from clay, sandy soils and an east-facing slope... Read More
A ripe, layered effort that took plenty of air time to come together (I followed all of these wines over two days), the 2012 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard offers gorgeous cherry and raspberry-like notes to go with ample spice-box,... Read More
Another compelling, perfect wine is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard Old Sparky. This is Clone 4 and Clone 6, as well as Clone 337, blended together from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, aged in 100%... Read More
The riveting 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard boasts an opaque purple color along with aromas of smoky barbecue, vanillin, creme de cassis, blueberries, black raspberries, graphite and licorice. There are... Read More
The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle is composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Made in the classic, iconic Screaming Eagle style that the original proprietress, Jean Philipps, first... Read More
We finished the tasting with the inky-purple 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape. A cellar selection by Manfred Krankl (of Sine Qua Non) of mostly Mourvedre, yet with a splash of Grenache and even some white varieties, it was aged in two... Read More
A perfect wine any way you look at it, the 2012 Grenache Rattrapante comes all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and spent 33 months in 27% new French oak. My notes start - and end - with "Wow." Giving... Read More
Moving to the Grenache-driven efforts, the 2012 Grenache Stein incorporates 16% Syrah and 8% Mourvedre. Aged 22 months in mostly used oak (various sizes), it offers awesome purity and freshness in its black raspberry, cassis,... Read More
Lastly, the utterly perfect 2012 Syrah Touche reminds me of a great vintage of Guigal's Cote Rotie La Landonne. A blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier, all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita... Read More
The epic 2012 Redigaffi (100% Merlot) shows amazing depth and a great sense of inner energy and seductive charm. The wine is soft and yielding with ripe layers of cherry, blackberry and cassis that slowly morph into savory spice,... Read More