Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Sonoma (and one Napa) Wineries
Healdsburg, CA and Napa, CA
Tasted February 13, 2022 - February 18, 2022 by mattym19 with 158 views
Flight 1 - Marine Layer Tasting Room (5 notes)
Healdsburg, CA
White
2019 Marine Layer Chardonnay Aries
90 points
Nose is beeswax, nutty, slight grassy note, tangerine peel. Palate is slightly rounded, lemony, almonds. Medium body, medium acid, medium finish. Reminds me of a Bourgogne Blanc from a warm vintage. Quite yummy.
White
2019 Marine Layer Chardonnay Marine Layer Estate
89 points
Nose is floral and citrusy, a little leaner than the entry level Chardonnay. Palate is also fuller and oilier, almost buttery, but not too fat. Notes of jasmine, bergamot, slight bitterness on the finish. Good balance but maybe just a bit low on the QPR scale.
Red
2019 Marine Layer Pinot Noir Lyra
89 points
Nose is definitely new world, ripe and rich cherries with an oaky background. The palate is less round but still has a ripe cherry, thick spice cake quality with a bit of a lifted floral finish. Easy drinking for normal (i.e. not crazy) wine drinkers is probably the best way to describe.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Red
2019 Marine Layer Pinot Noir Walala Vineyard
90 points
Nose has a lot of intrigue and complexity. Woodsy, incense, bramble notes. A little alcohol hotness detracts slightly from the other cool stuff going on. Palate is juicy, crunchy red fruits and black tea but it has a fullness (ripeness?) that isn’t making me love it, but I feel it could just be a young wine thing that disappears with some bottle age. Medium long, acidic finish. Quite good, but not quite worth the price (I guess I’m just cheap).
Red
2019 Marine Layer Pinot Noir Upp Road
91 points
Nose is so spicy and incensed: potpourri, earl grey tea, raspberries. Really beautiful nose. Palate is a bit less inspired; it’s fuller and rounder than I would like but there is an underlying sense of tension that I do like. Perhaps given a few years it would shed the fat and be black-berried and flinty deliciousness.
Flight 2 - Ruth Lewandowski Tasting Room (6 notes)
Healdsburg, CA
White
2020 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Grenache Gris Naomi Gibson Ranch
90 points
Nose is slightly funky, ripe orchard fruits, slight fermentation notes but not in a bad way. Palate is a bit sharp with Paris wine bar notes, yeasty and orange peel. Very fresh, delicious natural wine that just tastes good.
White
2020 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Riesling Elimelech Cuvée Zero
89 points
Total Alsatian Riesling vibes here. Nose is savory green herbs, lemon lime, ginger. Palate is dry but rich with more savory green plum, pear, herbs. Very good wine, natural but not nasty, just not my favorite style.
Orange
2020 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Tatto
90 points
Beautiful color and nose. Ripe peaches, orange Julius, slight anise scent. Palate is initially juicey and sorbet-y and lovely but a bit sharp on the finish. It’s good and totally gluggable but the sharpness is a bit distracting.
Rosé
2020 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Rosé Cuvée Zero California
90 points
Nose is sweet and fruity—watermelon, strawberry, candy. Palate is similar, green strawberry, grapefruit, cherry juice. Very glou glou, but admittedly very enjoyable.
Rosé
2020 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Feints Fox Hill
92 points
Love this. Nose is very intriguing. Juicy red berries, tobacco (!) dusty gravel. So cool. Palate is racy and juicy, strawberry juice, slight leather. So cool.
Red
2019 Ruth Lewandowski Wines Sangiovese l. stone Fox Hill Vineyard
86 points
Not for me. Nose is very ripe cherries, dirt, funk. Palate is hard candy, strawberry, green grassy finish. Very well-rounded wine, I just don’t like Sangiovese.
Flight 3 - LIOCO Tasting Room (7 notes)
Healdsburg, CA
White
2018 Lioco Chardonnay Estero
90 points
From Magnum. Nose has green tropical notes—starfruit and kiwi—but also some river stone. Palate is more green tropical fruit, soft but not at all fat. Good acidity and balance with a definite cool climate feel to it.
White
2016 Lioco Chardonnay La Marisma Vineyard
91 points
Nose is a bit funky, almost like tepache (fermented pineapple drink) with fresh mussels (!) and slight kiwi fruit. Palate is creamy but not buttery with vague lime notes, more kiwi and a slightly salty finish.
White
2020 Lioco Grüner Veltliner Kick-on Ranch
90 points
Nose reminds me almost of a Chablis: very chalky and lean-smelling with slight pear notes. Palate is high-acid but not searing with green apple and white pepper notes. Quite long, grippy finish, this would be great with almost any food.
Red
2018 Lioco Pinot Noir Saveria Vineyard
92 points
Nose has strong rosewater notes with ripe cranberry and strawberry hard candy and a subtle, pleasant greenness at the end. Palate instantly fills the mouth with potpurri, white pepper and cranberry notes. Great acidity, medium finish. Very fresh and delicious, dare I say "exotic" Pinot.
Red
2018 Lioco Pinot Noir Kiser Vineyard
92 points
Nose is very pretty: crushed cherries, violets, slight jasmine green tea note. Palate is more perfectly ripe cherries, earl grey tea, a slight black cherry cola note and candy apple. The tastes are very ripe but the wine is fresh and lifted with great acidity, grip and persistence. Would be a great pair with game birds or some fatty pork chop. “Classic”
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Red
2016 Lioco Pinot Noir La Selva
92 points
Deep, dark, rich nose of black cherries, mahogany wood, five spice powder and a floral lift on the end. Palate is woodsy with small red berries but fresh and lifted with dried orange peels. Long balanced finish. Very beautiful.
Red
2018 Lioco Syrah Caleta
92 points
Nose strikes a great balance between sweet and savory: crushed olives, sandalwood, ripe blackberries and white pepper. Palate is savory with more green olives, slight beef stew notes and ripe plums. Great acidity, strong but smooth tannins and a long beef broth finish. This is my kind of Syrah.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 4 - Ashes & Diamonds Winery (5 notes)
Napa, CA
White
2018 Ashes & Diamonds Blanc No. 4
89 points
Nose is a bit smoky with hot dusty rocks and honeydew. Palate is medium bodied but fresh and lively with kiwi, melon, green plum. Simple, pleasant, easy drinking white.
Red
2017 Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Franc No. 4
87 points
Nose is fresh and lifted, candied cherry, hint of rose water, grape leaf. Palate is a bit richer and fatter than I would have assumed from the nose. Notes of celery, hint of green pepper, overripe red fruits. I wish it had more acidity on the finish.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Red
2017 Ashes & Diamonds Grand Vin No 4 A & D Vineyard
91 points
Nose has notes of charcoal grilled red plums, jasmine green tea, dried orange peel potpourri. Palate is fresh and lifted with green strawberry, more red plums, a slight green bitterness that I can’t place but also does not detract. Very light and fresh for a Napa Cab.
Red
2018 Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Sauvignon Mountain Cuvée No. 3 Bates Ranch
92 points
Nose is bright candied cherry, baking spices, hint of pipe tobacco. Palte is more pipe tobacco, well-worn leather, red cherries, lifted, great acidity, long smoothly tannic finish. Love the Burgundian feel melded with the Bordeaux grapes. Super delicious.
Red
2017 Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Sauvignon No. 3 Rancho Pequeño
92 points
Nose is a little dark fruited: plums and blackberry with tobacco leaf and cherry liqueur. Palate is chocolate covered cherries, brambly red and black berries, grape leaf, gravel, good acid balance. Tannins are definitely present but really nicely resolved. Obviously a very expensive, well-made wine. Maybe even worth the price…
1 person found this helpful
Comment