Tasting Note: “Prune and mocha on the nose, then dried plum, anise, and black pepper on the palate. It’s medium-bodied with big tannins on the finish, and it leaves chocolate malt and persimmon behind. Serve it slightly chilled; it’s built for tomato dishes like spaghetti, ravioli, or pizza, and it’s surprisingly good with steamer clams.”
Blackberry, violet, and black pepper. Big and structured, the kind of red built to age. Give it air or a few years.
Plum, spice, vanilla, and leather. Silky and polished, drinking well right now. A blend built from seven vineyards, which is where the depth comes from.
A savory Syrah with black plum, raspberry, black olive and earthy truffle. Bright acidity keeps it lively, and the long finish ends on white pepper and a stony edge. Give it a good long smell before you sip; there’s a lot going on in the glass.
This is the wine our guests argue about.
Half the room falls for it on the first sip. The other half tilts their head, takes a second pour, and starts asking questions. Then comes back the next visit looking for the bottle.
Carménère doesn't apologize. It's gamey, peppery, threaded with dried herbs and a savory edge most Washington reds won't go near. There's a reason this grape was nearly lost to history before it resurfaced in Chile, and a reason it's still rare in Columbia Valley. It asks you to meet it.
The SF Chronicle judges met it. So did the gold medal.
What you get in the glass: black cherry and wild blackberry up front, green peppercorn and dried herb in the middle, cocoa and warm spice on the back end. Tannins are soft but the wine has spine. Finishes long, savory, a little smoky around the edges.
Pair it with lamb, mushroom risotto, aged Manchego, or anything that can hold its own at the table. Drink it tonight or hold it five to ten years+ and let it deepen into tobacco leaf, cedar, and dried fruit.
I tasted 39 different Dolcettos before I made this one. None of them were the bottle I'd had on a Piedmont table years earlier, drinkable young, better with time, balanced enough for a Tuesday dinner or a Saturday five years from now. This is the one that finally got there.
Winemaker's Notes: Dark fruit and wild herbs up front, fine-grained tannins that keep it smooth with just enough grip, and a savory finish. Give it time in the glass, it keeps opening up. This was bought for a GSM blend, but it drank too good to bury in one, so it got bottled on its own.
The grape that usually works the back of the blend, out front for once.
🏅Double gold at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Huckleberry, rose, and pipe tobacco on the nose. Blackcurrant, plum, and a lift of orange zest on the palate.
Bold and structured, drinking beautifully right now.
