At 100% Merlot, the 2013 Merlot Roberta's Reserve is off the charts and could easily eclipse a great vintage of Pétrus in a blind tasting. Fabulous notes of sweet cocoa and chocolate intermixed with black cherry and blackberry... Read More
From a large vineyard (Gap's Crown is roughly 130 acres), the 2013 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard comes from a smaller 37-acre parcel owned by Kosta Browne, which lies at an elevation of 1,000 feet above sea level. Harvest... Read More
One of the more tight and backwards efforts from this vineyard, the 2013 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard was mostly destemmed (19% whole clusters) and aged 16 months in 46% new French oak. Medium-bodied, focused and downright racy... Read More
The last vineyard harvested, the 2013 Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard, wasn't brought in until between the 8th and 11th of October. Mostly destemmed and aged 16 months in just under 40% new French oak, it has a cool, fresh, perfumed... Read More
A classic representation of this first rate site, the 2013 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard offers a pretty, perfumed style in its black raspberry, rose petal, violets and floral bouquet. Tight, reserved and slightly backwards,... Read More
Much more upfront and ready to go than the Santa Lucia Highlands releases, the deep ruby colored 2013 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley offers tons of juicy berry fruits, spice, underbrush and floral characteristics in its medium... Read More
Harvest between September 6th and October 2nd, the 2013 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands is a flat out gorgeous Pinot Noir that offers tons of black raspberries, crushed flowers and spice-like characteristics on the nose. Seeing... Read More
A 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc blend from the Plateau of Pomerol near the church, the wine has an inky/purple color, a sweet kiss of mulberry and black cherry liqueurs, interwoven with licorice, truffle, a hint of melted... Read More
The 2013 l'Evangile shows a slightly deeper color as well as more noticeable ripe raspberry and black cherry fruit intermixed with notions of licorice and incense. Again, there is no hint of herbaceousness or tannic astringency... Read More
The 2013 Lafleur was one of my favorite wines from barrel because, as Baptiste Guinaudeau remarked when I visited the property, he did not try to make a Pomerol beyond what it could be. The nose might not possess the complexity... Read More
Good deep red-ruby. Wild aromas of roasted red fruits, violet and minerals, plus a whiff of nutty oak. Broad and supple but juicy too, with red fruit, ink, earth and leather flavors saturating the palate. Firm acidity really lifts... Read More
The top wine in 2013 is the 2013 LC Red Rising Tides Proprietary Red. Made from 40% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 18% Mourvedre and a splash of Cinsault, it offers a gorgeously sweet nose of black fruits, bouquet garni, pepper and plenty... Read More
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain comes from several parcels, most notably the Wallis vineyard. The wine has an opaque, black-as-a-moonless-night color and an incredible nose of volcanic ash and charcoal interwoven... Read More
A wine offering notes of grilled steak, steak tartare, beef blood, blueberries and blackberries galore is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder. Everything here emerges from the Jackson-owned Veeder Peak Vineyard. Chris Carpenter... Read More
Fruity, light-bodied, pleasant, lush and charming, Lynch Bages' winemaking team was hesitant to push for any kind of extraction or density because of the pressures from rot. However, they have avoided any harshness in the... Read More