Mission Estate Hawke’s Bay was a truly delightful New Zealand Syrah. A lighter style, this wine is soft, round and more food friendly than most Syrahs. Well balanced and fruit forward with flavors of blackberry and spice. A great wine to enjoy with friends and conversation. At $13 retail it’s a deal. Beware of big restaurant mark-ups on this wine.
Fun is the word that comes to mind. This Wine Guerrilla Old Vine Zinfandel is a big fruit forward, jammy delicious sip. So well balanced with integrated tannins and fruit, the 16% alcohol goes unnoticed. Lot’s of blackberry goodness with a hint of root beer and minerality. A touch of Petite Sirah, Carigan and Alacante in the blend adds depth. Twist the screw top and let the fun begin. BTW…The wine paired sinfully well with dark chocolate.
Dendor Patton Wisdom is a uniquely well-balanced and food friendly Zinfandel. Not as big and jammy as some from Sonoma, this beautiful medium-bodied Zin from Mendocino has a lovely nose of blueberry and briar with soft tannins and enough spice and oak to add character. The blend includes 7.5% Petite Sirah which adds to and compliments the structure.
Maybe the best Chardonnay for under $10 we have found. Nicely balanced oak & butter make Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay a real winner. The price makes it a great go-to Chardonnay. I’ll pour this Chardonnay at my patio party any time.
The flavors of St. Rose Pinot Noir are subtly rich with a hint of the smoky fog that often covers the vineyard. Not as fruity or fleshy as some from Russian River, St. Rose has a unique presence in the glass and on the palate. Fred and Wendy Nunes of Nunes Vineyards hold back just enough of their grapes to make fewer than 200 cases of their own St. Rose Pinot. Other wineries consistently reach 90+ scores with these single vineyard designated grapes. This is a unique Pinot worth ordering.
