Winery - Stephen Ross
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This Zin has lots of alcohol, nearly 16%, but you’d never know it because it’s so balanced. It’s rich, harmonious, fruity and very dry, with that wild, savage quality that marks this variety. In its own way, it’s classic Sonoma Zin, and from a great vineyard.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Has that magical Pinot Noir quality that combines weight and power with an effortless silkiness. The result is a super-drinkable wine. It shows red, blue and stone fruits with a coating of ripe, sweet tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Not one of the winery’s successes, this ’05 Zin is not quite ripe. There’s a vegetal, asparagus taste, alongside blackberry and cherry flavors, that suggests unevenly ripened berries, with the green ones not fully sorted out before crushing.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very ripe, it display raisiny aromas riding over wild berry and spice. There's heat and tannins in the mouth, and acids, too, resulting in a certain austerity or angularity. It's not a hedonistic Zin, although rich, oily foods will coax out the underlying sweet berry flavors.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A deliciously complex Chardonnay, nearly as good as the winery’s single-vineyard wines, which makes it a great value. Smooth and clean, it shows vanilla cream, pineapple tart, Key lime pie and buttered toast flavors. Vibrant acidity keeps it all uplifted and bright.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very fine, showing the class of this vineyard, at a great price. Although the wine is thoroughly dry, it’s vast in pineapple and lime fruit, with a minerally tang from the terroir and rich, sweet buttered toast and vanilla notes from oak barrel aging. The minerality reprises throughout, giving the wine a steely authority.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lots to like in this Chardonnay. It’s enormously rich in pineapple, mango and lemon meringue pie flavors, with vanilla and buttered toast from oak. Shows the smooth dryness and crisp acidity of Bien Nacido. A rich, savory wine to drink now.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Classic South Coast Pinot. The aromas and flavors veer towards herbal and vegetative: tomatoes, sage, hard spices and rich, black earth. It's a smooth wine, with peppery tannins that hide a core of dark stone-fruit.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a new vineyard, co-owned by Talley. The vines are young but enormously promising, and this wine already shows the fruit purity and crisp acidity of Edna Valley Pinot. The vibrant black cherry, cola, mint and dusty spice flavors are supported by a silky smooth mouthfeel and a rich, long finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a somewhat heavy and enormously concentrated wine. It reminds me of Calera’s Mount Harlan wines. It has a lot of extracted cherry jam flavor and tannins you can feel. A little ponderous in youth, it seems likely to improve.
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