| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
|---|---|---|
| Red |
2010 Cowan Cellars Syrah Moaveni VineyardBennett Valley more |
8/17/2023 - ssouth Likes this wine: 94 points2010 Cowan Cellars Bennett Valley Syrah |
| White |
2014 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon BlancBig Valley Lake County more |
1/11/2023 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 91 pointsBright apricot fruit and lovely purity, an excellent new world SB with a lot of life remaining. |
| Red |
2016 Cowan Cellars SyrahBennett Valley more |
7/6/2022 - 559Cheers Likes this wine: 92 pointsA surprise. Bennett Valley Sonoma Valley bottle.1st night. Opens up on the nose and palette with a buttery (diacetyl) baked potato, nice fruit and tame acidity. Very pleasant. At a good spot. |
| White |
2011 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
5/27/2022 - timewithwine Does not like this wine: NRWhile I have enjoyed some bottles of Jim's Isa and not others - bottle variation being one of the defining aspects of this cuvee - this bottle falls to the "not others" category. Nothing "wrong" here, but nothing to enjoy either. The wine is a bit "hard" offering little to like. Not a lot of fruit, but some fig notes. No length to the finish. Little changes as the wine warms. Without food as we kickoff the holiday weekend on the terrace. |
| White |
2015 Cowan Cellars Ribolla GiallaRussian River Valley more |
10/20/2021 - lockestep wrote: 86 pointsCertainly ready to drink, has picked up some oxidized notes. |
| Red |
2012 Cowan Cellars SyrahBennett Valley more |
12/5/2021 - James Kim Likes this wine: 92 pointsStood up for several weeks. Decanted but really difficult to see the wine and any flowing sediment through the neck of the bottle as the sediment had completely crusted the side of the bottle to the neck. Now 3h after decant. Aromas of savory roasted meats, black olives, herbs, accented by just ripe blackberries. Palate w just ripe blackberries mixed w roasted meats, herbs, black olives, and earth. Full bodied w med tannins and nice, almost juicy acids. Juicy finish w earth, blackberries, and roasted meats. Aromas are more N. Rhone. The palate w more fruit that nods to CA but w all the savory elements of N. Rhone syrah that undergird the fruit. Still has plenty of life and I suspect will continue to evolve. Will open the last bottle in 5-10 yrs. |
| White |
2008 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Silver Pines VineyardSonoma Mountain more |
7/6/2013 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis is a happily strange wine. Tinged with distinctions of bronze on the rim, the chalky dry profile hangs on the framework of tart acidity that is reined in just as it approaches the edge on the finish of the wine. An interesting wine, but not particularly within the variety’s mainstream. 13.3% alc. With grilled shrimp. Guardedly ranking as Recommended with reservations, but anticipate it being more. |
| White |
2008 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Silver Pines VineyardSonoma Mountain more |
6/19/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis wine has started to come around; a 5.5 year old SB has finally started to come around. The acidity has softened a bit ...or integrated more ... I’m really not sure. Much more quince and mineral with more mown grass. The quince, cut grass and mineral come through more on the palate with lime and something else I just can’t quite describe, but something tropical. While still an odd little wine, it provides more pleasure than 6 months ago. No idea where this will go since it was my last bottle. 13.3% alc. With tomato tarts topped with Parmesan and goat cheese. PMB seems to like it. Recommended. |
| White |
2008 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Silver Pines VineyardSonoma Mountain more |
12/29/2013 - timewithwine wrote: NRThe color of bronze. The nose is little more than quince and chalk. The palate is all quince, cut grass (that hasn’t been raked in between mowings), mineral and slate. There is almost a gym-shoe aspect on the finish. This continues to be an odd little wine with no length or depth. But damned if it doesn’t compliment the crab and stinky cheese. 13.3% alc. With ginger-carrot soup, “pica” goat cheese, baked crab and bread. Recommended with reservations. |
| Rosé |
2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir RoséNapa / Sonoma more |
4/11/2015 - timewithwine wrote: NRA year makes such a difference with quality rosés like this Cowan Cellars all Pinot Noir rosé. Crisp and clean with the ability to provide enjoyment by itself or with food, this a versatile rosé. With Spring finally (!) here, it’s time to pull a pink. Strawberry and some cream on the attack with strawberry carrying through to the finish where it is joined by the anise-like qualities of basil and melon. The finish is clean and light. 13.9% alc. With shrimp, chevre, gouda, crackers and crusty bread. With the Washburns. Recommended. |
| Rosé |
2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir RoséNapa / Sonoma more |
7/13/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRWhile watching the New Hampshire race with Kite and Matt at Steve’s girlfriend’s house. Loads of strawberry on the nose and palate. Decent minerality. A pleasure to drink. Consumed both by itself and with wings and hot dogs; performed just fine all around. |
| Rosé |
2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir RoséNapa / Sonoma more |
5/25/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRAny other time, this is a welcome rosé: clean, refreshing, light and versatile. But following the Fouques la Londe, it is simply outclassed. A beautiful pink color and cold enough to pull some condensation in the glass, it proudly announces, “Summertime!” The nose is strawberry, melon and pear with some pleasing herbal aspects. The acidity strikes a touch hard on the finish which ends with a bit of a bitter note. 13.9% alc. With pimento cheese and crackers. Memorial Day. Recommended. |
| Red |
2010 Cowan Cellars Syrah Moaveni VineyardBennett Valley more |
12/12/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRNeeding something lighter and easy drinking, this seemed to be the standout choice. The profile projects blackberry, molasses, brown sugar and a finish of green olives. Well made and clean. The wine is decidedly lighter for and food friendly. The wine is somewhat linear at this point. With no experience with Bennett Valley or Moaveni Vineyard, I have no idea if this will plump up or continue on its existing track. Nevertheless, it hit the spot this night. 13.2% alc. With flank steak, cheeses and crusty bread. Recommended. |
| Red |
2010 Cowan Cellars Syrah Moaveni VineyardBennett Valley more |
1/3/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRClean and rather lightweight for a California Syrah. Pleasing notes of blackberry, plum, some spice (cloves?) green olives and smoke. The wine lacks depth; somewhat linear. Yet it has a goodish long finish. Nevertheless, tasting it, I don’t really get a sense of place. (Not posting this note because it is my first taste of this wine and I don’t know much about Bennett Valley to know if this wine reflects its venue. 13.2% alc. With the Smileys over ham biscuits, blue goat cheese, black olives (best pairing) and crusty bread. Recommended, but leaning toward Recommended with reservations. |
| Red |
2010 Cowan Cellars Syrah Moaveni VineyardBennett Valley more |
2/22/2015 - timewithwine wrote: NRWith the Daytona 500 kicking off the NASCAR season and the Redneck & Red Rhone crew hunkered down keeping warm in various parts of the US, I needed something to help fuel the afternoon and deliver some redneck cred even if it didn’t smell of burnt rubber. If you can’t hold R&RR, then pull a wine made by one of the charter members: A Cowan Bennett Valley Syrah. The profile of bottles past is morphing. While blackberry leads the attack, molasses takes a back seat and gone is any hint of brown sugar. Green olives picks up on the mid-palate and carries to the finish where the finish is more coffee. This is a clean and well made wine. This is a wine that remains on track and shows no signs of going sideways. 13.2% alc. With (beef) chili while watching the season opener Daytona 500 and Little Joey win his first 500. Recommended. |
| White |
2011 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
5/30/2015 - timewithwine wrote: NR“Skin fermented white wine” but we have it on good authority that this is 100% Sauvignon Blanc. The color is somewhere between salmon and bronze making for a captivating view in the glass. While the wine is interesting because I have such difficulty pegging it, it rarely seems to bring me the pleasure I look for in a wine. Hard and austere, the wine delivers some fig and white grapefruit on the attack but quickly becomes a cocktail of dissolved cement powder in a repetitively linear way that removes all sensory pleasure leaving only the intellectual interest of the wine to carry it. 12.5% alc. With shrimp. Not Recommended. |
| White |
2011 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
12/26/2016 - timewithwine wrote: NRLemon, lime and concrete dust. Nothing complex about this wine at all. Short, bitter and unwelcoming. The bitterness is a good counterpoint to the ham’s sweetness. That’s all I got to say about that. 12.5% alc. With country ham (some in and some not in its glaze) and with shrimp scampi (that doesn’t work at all, no way, no how). Not Recommended. |
| White |
2011 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
7/15/2016 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis is such a different wine from its older sister, vintage 2010. About the only similarity it has with that sister is that you won’t find boxwood, gooseberry or even white grapefruit on the nose, but you won’t find any of the qualities that made the 2010 so inviting last March. While it definitely shows a bit of mineral, it shows little else. The mouthfeel is fine but the length of flavor is so limited, the time to find any flavor is the shortest of windows. But this wine is known to surprise. Maybe some time is warranted. 12.5% alc. With chevre and other cheeses and salumi. Recommended with Reservations (because this wine can be surprising). |
| White |
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
3/19/2016 - timewithwine wrote: NRPatience rewards. This wine has come into its own. Or maybe I’m finally wrapping my head around it. Or maybe, I simply got lucky. No doubt, this “orange” (read: skin fermented) white wine is a different sort of critter. The color is unlike any Sauvignon Blanc what with its shade somewhere between bronze and saffron. On the nose, you won’t find boxwood, gooseberry or even white grapefruit. But what you do find is a curiosity worth a moment of your time; a moment to reflect, search and enjoy. How does a Sauvignon Blanc produce notes of strawberry? Mineral, smoke and anise, yes, we expect those, and they are delivered in clear, clean abundance. But strawberry? Yes, it’s here too. And what is that floral scent ... hibiscus? And the palate is a deeper, fuller expression of the nose. On entry, the cut is clean and pure and yet by the mid-palate it’s fencing with itself as it morphs into a creamy finish. The finish isn’t long, but if you allow it the opportunity, the wine shows layers. Is it the saffron in the dish that pulls the wine together with the meal? I’ve not a clue. But the funkiness of saffron plays well with the funkiness of the wine. They don’t just work well. They pair incredibly well; like lost soul-mates finally united. 13.1% alc. With cioppino (shrimp, cod, mussels, bay scallops) in a wonderful tomato broth; an excellent pairing. On the last day of winter with a surprise snowfall. Recommended. |
| White |
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
6/14/2013 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis is one of Jim’s skin fermented wines, but it’s not at all “orange”. It’s an oddity to say the least. The flavor and nose have an odd earthy element. No lymon; no apricot; no cream corn. Some minerality. What to do with this thing. Not at all sure. 13.1% alc. With apps of cheeses (St. Andre, chevre and something crottin-like), crusty bread, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella. This is a wine that needs food, but this pairing was not successful. With G. Rodney Young, DDB and PMB. No one took to this wine. Withholding any recommendation just now. |
| White |
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc IsaLake County more |
10/4/2013 - timewithwine wrote: NRWhat a difference four months can make. This has certainly come around ... or perhaps I simply understand it better. An odd copper color that isn’t quite copper. It’s an oddity to say the least, but in a good way. While it shows some creaminess, it’s more angular with chalky minerality and off beat fruit and lime flavors. The odd earthy-mushroomy element is excellent with the Californian salumi “Toscano.” 13.1% alc. A wine that needs food. With assorted cheeses and Toscano salumi, an excellent pairing. |
| White |
2012 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon BlancBig Valley Lake County more |
12/20/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis wine appears as a bright and clean morning-sunlight-on-straw gold in color. The nose shows fruit of fig and pear; something herbal like cut grass and that mineral/limestone smell of wet concrete. The fig is big on the palate, but some quince fruit slides in also. The finish is mostly mineral and concrete. This is not the flinty, wet limestone of a Sancerre, but the more pungent smell of quik-crete or the smell of a new basement after rain has penetrated the block walls. This is not a bad thing; I’m just trying to distinguish it from other mineral driven associations. |
| White |
2012 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon BlancBig Valley Lake County more |
6/14/2014 - timewithwine wrote: NRGift to Charlie and Pat Chadwick. |
| White |
2012 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon BlancBig Valley Lake County more |
7/30/2015 - timewithwine wrote: NREnjoyed this as a second wine after mysteriously chugging a bottle of Thomas La Crele Sancerre. Fig, white grapefruit and and lemon cream notes. An ok wine. With crabcakes. The wine doesn’t work as well as the Sacerre. Recommended. |
| Red |
2010 Cowan Cellars Pinot NoirSonoma Coast more |
6/2/2015 - timewithwine wrote: NRThis Pinot never seems to fail with either the crowd or the food. Balanced, food friendly, but not requiring food, the medium leaning light mouthfeel is juicy with black cherries on the attack and then broadens to a finish of cola and black olives. 13.9% alc. No sediment. With seared tuna in a deconstructed Nicoise salad. Recommended. |
Search Results for "Cowan Cellars" - Save This Search
- Tasting notes: 249 notes on 36 wines
