vintage wine estates. jeff palmer/ major brands

Cosentino The Chard Lodi 2011... creamy and yet good acidity... true california style

Cosentino The Novelist Napa 2011... white bordeaux blend of sauv blanc and semillon soft with a touch of oak

the franc lodi 2011.. juicy dark and smoky.. a touch vegetal on the end but not enough to undermine.

the zin lodi 2011  briary nose, a bit of coffee and mocha on the finish.. pretty long aftertaste

the poet napa valley 2009  a bordeaux blend with more cab franc.. oak well integrated tannins.. and very supple

Rays Station Merlot California 2009  a little bitter and tannic

Rays Station Cabernet California 2009  some bing cherry.. a soft and dull cab.. uneventful

La Tarasque Cotes du Rhone 2010  tarasque is the dragon that ate people in the south of france.. good acidity with my type of finish.. coffee and mocha

craig rohner/major crush..

Chasseur has a second label Vrai Cote

Vrai Cote Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2011  huge oaky mouthfeel.. lots of cedar and not even that much butter...

Vrai Cote Vine Gris Sonoma Coast 2012.. light pink in color.. dirty, earthy  with a strange fish aftertaste

Vrai Cote Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2010... dark fruits long finish.. very nice, especially compared to the first two... light in body and color but nice on the palate

Domaine de Servans Cotes du(r) Rhone 2011... hope this isnt a sign of things to come with the 11 cdr... dark walnut husk on the nose, earthy.. not a lot of fruit showing...

Charles Smith wines with Pinnacle

Vino Pinot Grigio 2012 Washington State... lots of upper notes of bright fruit and mineral but not much depth..

Eve Chardonnay Washington 2011 some pleasant depth and creaminess but after the acidic bomb the Grigio was its hard to find a bearing on this

Velvet Devil merlot 2011.. a bordeaux style merlot.. good tannin not a fruit bomb

Boom Boom Syrah 2012.. very young and juvenille.. needs time

Chateau Smith Cabernet 2011... dark fruit nose with lots of juicy fruit tannin on the finish

Reverly Red Blend 2010  cedar and more cedar..  large amount of cab franc with the tobacco and violet aromas...

Patz & Hall with Lynda Barnes/ A bommarito

paul hobbs worked with mondavi and opus before going to simi and then starting his eponymous winery in the mid 90's... and thank goodness for spell check


Crossbarn Chardonnay 2012 Sonoma Coast  neutral oak and yet surprisingly woody..a little more herbacious than expected

Hobbs Russian River Chardonnay 2011.. not afraid of the oak and yet not over drawn with it either.. very pretty aromas of toast and soft caramel.. nice creamy mouthfeel and long finish. Would never be accused of being french but not over the top

Crossbarn Pinot Noir 2011 pretty color in the glass a touch vegetal on the palate.. cola and tea

Hobbs Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2011 juicy and full bodied.. great mouthfeel and some tar/tobacco earthy notes on the finish.

Cline/Domaine and Estates/ Glazer

Cline Viognier California 2012,.. very fresh and soft.. slightly creamy but done in stainless. great summer time wine

Cline Pinot Noir Cool Climate Sonoma 2011  dried fruit nose, some nice body but not overly exciting

Cline Cashmere California 2011  juicy bright fruit with just a hint of green at the finish but good food wine overall

Cline Syrah Cool Climate Sonoma Coast 2011... more about the bright fruit than the white pepper that I was expecting.. pretty if not complex

Jacuzzi Chardonnay Unoaked Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2010 some tropical fruit... easy drinking with nice enough flavors but  another Chard at that price point.... really

Jacuzzi Pinot Noir Carneros 2010  dark fruit.. very smoky and seductive.. long fruit finish... very nice.

Jacuzzi, yes that Jacuzzi, was the family that owns Cline vineyards.

Burgundys

A big Burgundy tasting that unfortunately was not well attended by many, including myself. Bernie brought a few around to try. 6 out of 30 ish

Domaine des Rochers Macon Reserve Chardonnay 2012... clean and crisp but from the cold could have been any chard from anywhere

Domaine Henri Darnat Puligny Montrachet 2011.. wow.. delicate and a touch tropical and a touch oaky vanilla.. very pretty.. ordered a 6pk

domaine Cofferent Duvernay Fairended Chassagne Montrachet 2010 a little heavy on the palate but not in an interesting way.. blown away by the Darnat

Domaine Antonin Guyon Gevrey Chambertain Justices 2010.. from a region where people were executed.. not sure if by guillotine or not.. but there was a beautiful flowery aroma with strong tannins and long finish.. bought a 6 pk

Domaine Bertagna Vosne Romanee Beauxmont 2010.. very exotic and floral and way cheaper than a DRC Vosne Romanee.. but liked the Justices better and a little less expensive than this offering

Hall vineyards/Major Brands

Hall Vineyards in Napa has made a name for themselves with Cabernet. The upper end wine named Kathryn Hall was the number 2 wine from Wine Spectator last year,

Sauvignon Blanc Napa 2011.. lots of high notes but missing in the middle... nice enough but a little pricy.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. lots of spice box and tannin.. hoping to see more fruit, maybe as it settles down

Merlot 2009  Napa   100^% varietal..lots of fruit tannin and then good fruit on the end.. lots going on in the nose also.. much more interesting than the Cab and served after the cab which is unusual