12/12/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found raspberry, fresh blackberry, clove, baking spice, pepper, spice, dark fruit, and earthy notes. After a run through the Soiree and some time in the glass, the wine had a great nose that you could get lost in…or could stick your nose so far into that you end up with a red tipped nose! In the mouth I got the same raspberry, blackberry, and dark fruits as I found on the nose, spice, pepper, and charred meat. I found the palate to be quite spicy and peppery and redder than the nose, and definitely thought it deserved some more bottle age.

7/20/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

My first thought on sniffing this Zin was that it seemed pretty port-like with deep dark blackberry aromas and the stronger alcohol. It definitely needed some serious time to air. I also got cream, pepper, spice, and more brambly black fruit. In the mouth I found blueberries, blackberries, spice, pepper, and earth. Overall I found this to be a big, tight wine that really needed to be decanted for a couple hours.

5/2/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found Werther’s Original, toast, apple, lemon, green apple, smoke, and melon. I really like the nose. In the mouth I got green apple, lemon, stones, peach, and just the slightest hint of cream and toast on the finish. Overall I found it to be dry, tart, and crisp.

5/6/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found mint, eucalyptus, funk, herbs, black cherries, spice, raspberries, and a little more barnyard-y funk. Love it. In the mouth I got black cherry, herbs, earth, spice, raspberry, and other black fruit. The structure and acidity of this wine impressed me and I thought that I wished I had another bottle or two to taste in a few years. My notes say this is a “refined” wine.

4/14/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I got caramel, vanilla bean, vanilla, spice, pear, honey, apple, and toasty oak. In the mouth, the fruit came out of hiding with apple, pear, tropical notes, and toast rounding out the palate. Although the oak was there, this was no butter bomb. It had great acidity that kept all the flavors in check and was more like an apple crumble in a glass.

4/30/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I got blackberry, blueberry, milk chocolate, cinnamon, pepper, and an herbal note. In the mouth, more blueberry, spice, blackberry, cinnamon, pepper, cranberry, and other dark fruit. The palate had a great spicyness too it along with being juicy juicy juicy. This one went down really easily.

2/24/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

I got white flowers, orange spice, honeysuckle, orange spice cake, and citrus. In the moth I found citrus, lemon, spice, orange, lemon zest, and honeysuckle.

1/24/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found blackberries, black currants, brown sugar, black cherry, spice, pepper, and blueberry. After almost all dark black fruits, the hint of blueberry took me by surprise! In the mouth, in contrast to the nose, I got red berries. I also found black cherries and blueberries, with just a touch of pepper. It was smooth and juicy and I think you should consider drinking it asap if you have any kicking around.

1/26/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found pineapple, tropical notes, coconut, white pepper, and fresh lemon. Overall it struck me as quite tropical. In the mouth I got tropical fruit, star fruit, pineapple, lemon and lime edges, and other citrus.

1/29/2010 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found candle wax, apple, pear, and almost a hint of pepper. I know the Extra Dry is supposed to be on the sweeter side, but I didn’t find it overwhelmingly sweet at all in the mouth. I got pear, honey, and peach in the mouth. The wine had a long finish which ended just a little bit sweeter than I may have preferred, but nothing to turn me off.

12/24/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found blueberry, blackberry, blue fruit, spice, bittersweet chocolate, and blueberry pie filling. In the mouth I got blueberry pie, spice, blackberry, and a slight hint of chocolate. While sweet, it wasn’t too sweet for my tastes and I enjoyed the long finish.

9/17/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

So it tastes and smells like dark chocolate syrup. There’s some red fruit and blackberries lurking that must come from the Merlot with some dark chocolate and baking chocolate there too. In the mouth, it’s all chocolate and blackberries. Matt really likes this wine, it’s a touch too sweet for me, but it is what it is.

8/9/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

It’s yeasty! Smells like baking bread with strawberries on the side. I would so far as to say the nose had a sourdough characteristic with red fruit and citrus zest rounding it out. In the mouth I got more red fruit–cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, just all around tart red fruit with zesty citrus edges. The wine has nice small bubbles and a great mouthfeel.

8/12/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

Jammy black currants, blackberries, spice, black cherry, tart cherry, blackberry, dried rose, blue fruit, nice acidity, a hint of candied fruit, meaty, red fruit, ready to drink. This got top marks for drinking with BBQ.

8/12/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

Tart fruit nose, bright blackberry, bright dark fruit, fresh, juicy nose, cream, vanilla, pepper, raspberry edges, mint, red fruit in the mouth , peppery, spice, dry tannins, smoke, herbs, eucalyptus. I liked this one more on its own than number 3, but I didn’t care for it with BBQ. We only tasted the small sips we poured into our glasses and finished the bottle the next night after leaving it out on the counter with just the cork stuck in. On night two, this had transformed into a delightful wine, with big dark fruit in the mouth, nice structure, and herbs. I’d suggest running this into a decanter.

8/12/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

Spicy, pepper, cranberry, brown sugar, black fruit, black currants, milk chocolate, raisins, chocolate covered cherries, blackberry, black cherry edges, some red fruit on the finish. At first I found the wine to be lighter/thinner in the mouth than I expected but after it aired I found it to be rounder and smooth.

8/16/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I first noted the aroma of chocolate syrup. I liked it, but less than 5 minutes later I found it completely gone and replaced with bittersweet chocolate, raspberries, spice, pepper, mulberry, strawberry, black tea, dried violets, caramel, a dark herbal note, and black berry lurking in the background. Totally different from two years ago when my notes centered around dark bramble fruit! In the mouth I got tart red fruit, raspberries, strawberries, black cherry, chocolate covered cherries, spice, anise, and some dark fresh blackberries on the finish. Although it’s a completely different wine 2 years later, I still love all that it has to offer.

8/19/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

Sunday, August 23, 2009 - On the nose I found lemon! Lots and lots of lemon…some had a more herbal quality like lemon verbana and some a sweeter note like meyer lemon. I also found minerals, yeast, spicy herbs, and peach. In the mouth I got tart lemon, tart melon, yeast, meyer lemon, green apple, and prickly pear. I also got an overall sense that the wine seemed a bit doughy. I love how sprightly this wine is, even after 10 years, it’s crisp with great bubbles and a lovely mouthfeel.

8/23/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found lemon! Lots and lots of lemon…some had a more herbal quality like lemon verbana and some a sweeter note like meyer lemon. I also found minerals, yeast, spicy herbs, and peach. In the mouth I got tart lemon, tart melon, yeast, meyer lemon, green apple, and prickly pear. I also got an overall sense that the wine seemed a bit doughy. I love how sprightly this wine is, even after 10 years, it’s crisp with great bubbles and a lovely mouthfeel.

8/30/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose, the wine smelled waxy. I’ve used this description before, but it’s only the second time I’ve found this box of Crayola crayon type smell. I also found yeast, slight citrus, and a little raspberry. A fairly reserved nose. In the mouth I got raspberry, orange, yeast, and citrus. Overall, the wine was light and crisp, with tingly little bubbles.

7/16/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose of the Pinot Blanc I found sweet ripe pear, white peach, white pepper, a hint of honey, spice, lemon, honeysuckle, and white flowers. In the mouth the wine showed lemon, peach, honey, ripe pear, ripe apple, melon, and a little essence of apple cider. Overall, it’s crisp, light, and consistently delivers a bottle of wine that I love.

7/18/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found strawberry, cherry, black cherry, a hint of cedar, raspberry, and black cherry candy like the blowpops they used to make, though I’m not sure they have that flavor any longer….I haven’t had one in years. In the mouth, the cedar on the nose seemed to follow through with spice, pepper, raspberry, currants, black cherry, cherry, and other red fruit. The wine showed as crisp with nice structure, and served the warm evening well.

6/10/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found spice, mulberry, toasty oak, cinnamon, blackberries, black currants, slight chocolate, and violets. It smelled like mulled cider and tasted like Christmas. In the mouth I got tart fruit that seemed much more red than the nose. Red berries, red currants, earthy spice, mulberry, cranberry, cinnamon, and spice. This is ready to drink….I say drink up now…I have 4 more bottles and I think they’ll be best within the year…the wine is smooth, integrated, and the fruit is showing really well.

6/19/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found pepper, charred meat, fresh cracked pepper, red berries, black berries, cinnamon, spice, and vanilla bean. In the mouth I got tart red fruit, red berries, red plums, anise, spice, and earth. The fruit showed as very tart, with lots of bright red fruit. The wine is juicy and delicious. I’m glad I have another bottle.

6/22/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found lemon, honey, yeast, citrus, and sea salt. It smells like a Blue Moon! In the mouth the wine had nice bubbles. I found it to be yeasty, with lemon, bread, toast, green apple, lemon drops, and almonds. Overall, the wine showed as tart and refreshing and definitely got our palates ready for the big steak and Cabernet that came next!

6/25/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found smoke, juicy fruit (the gum), mulberry, blackberry, blueberry, pepper, and cedar. Despite all that, I would still describe the nose on the wine as reserved; it took quite some time for the aromas to emerge, and the wine was served at cellar temperature. In the mouth I got blueberry, mulberry, pomegrante, cranberry, sandalwood, anise, and tart red fruit.

6/29/2009 - sonadora Does not like this wine:

After a while, I went back to the wine and found brown sugar, blackberries, pepper, herbs, spice, grape hard candy, and vanilla cream on the nose. In the mouth I thought the wine was grapey. I also got berries, spice, pepper, vanilla, cedar, and chocolate. Overall, the wine was smooth and is probably at its prime.

5/5/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I got lots of flowers, tropical fruit, a cream note, apple, banana, lime, citrus, and tangerines. This is definitely one you should let warm up a bit. I stuck it in the fridge for about 15 minutes and it came out all muted…I had to warm it up in my hands. In the mouth I found citrus, lime, tropical fruit, apples, and star fruit.

5/9/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

I found lots of black fruit, plums, spice, vanilla, plum pie, blackberry, violets, smoke, anise, flowers, and blueberry. A wonderfully powerful nose delighted me and I would have just kept sniffing but I feared the rest of the wine would be gone if I didn’t start tasting. In the mouth, I found the wine to be just as powerful and juicy as the nose suggested. I got black fruit, plums, spice, Juicy fruit (like the gum, I swear), anise, earth, and blackberry cobbler.

5/10/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I got anise, spice, blackberry, blueberry, pepper, sage, herbs, some funk, and plums. I love when Syrahs have some herbal notes on them. In the mouth I found cranberry, plum, pomegrant, cherry cola, and just the slightest spice. The herbal notes from the nose didn’t follow through to the mouth and I also found the wine to display more red fruit than I would have expected based on the nose. I did enjoy the cherry cola hint in the mouth!

5/11/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I get pineapple, tropical fruit, spice, peach, mandarin oranges, banana, and papaya. In the mouth I found the wine to have a a slightly creamy texture and I got flavors of lemon, tropical fruit, papaya, melon, pear, citrus, and granny smith apples.

5/13/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found smoky aromas, followed by chocolate, anise, blackberries, black cherry, campfire, brown sugar, cranberry, and pencil shavings. On the initial attack, the wine showed all fresh rip sun kissed blackberries as I poured it into my glass. In the mouth I got black fruit, black cherries, blackberries, spice, pepper, star anise, cranberry, red raspberries, and chocolate on the finish

5/14/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found spice, herbs, earth, raspberries, spicy, pepper, and plum. In the mouth I found cherry, plum, raspberries, and red fruit. This was one of those wines that I just didn’t notice how much of it I was drinking. It went down really easy, and did seem to be a great table wine.

5/15/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found spiced pear, apple, lemon, apple butter, and cream. I liked the nose on this one a lot! In the mouth I got tart fruit, pear, apple, lemon, peach, honey on the back palate, and pretty spicy!

5/16/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

I found the nose to be flowery with peaches, apricots, honey, spice, pears, orange blossoms, and lemons on the edges. A scrumptious nose that you just want to dive into and swim around in…so enticing that you can’t wait to take a sip. In the mouth I got peaches, pears, honey, lemons, spice, and soft orange flavors. This wine had great citrus, excellent acidity, and nice clean fruit.

5/19/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found chocolate dessert, drizzled with raspberry sauce, and followed by a savory herb component. Really, I got chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, herbs, red currants, flowers, and just really bright red fruit all around. In the mouth I found flavors of red berries, raspberries, red cherries, milk chocolate, really bright red fruit, and just a lovely taste of a silky milk chocolate bar.

5/21/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

This wine is ready to go. Seriously, drink up. It’s wonderfully smooth, well integrated, and despite the high alcohol, doesn’t show a trace of heat. On the nose I found blackberry, chocolate, black cherries, spice, pepper, and more black fruit. This had a delightful nose. We drank this with my dad last week, and we all loved it. In the mouth I got chocolate, blackberry, black cherry, black fruit, black currants, spice, and anise.

5/23/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found lemon grass butter. Yep, all one thing. I also got pear, apple, spice, and peach. In the mouth I found flavors of pear, green apple, peaches, lemon, grass, hay, nice spice, and some tropical notes as it warmed it. I think the wine must have been very lightly oaked…I didn’t find any vanilla or toasty notes, but it had nice structure that seemed oak influenced.

5/25/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found strawberries, red cherries, raspberries, spice, milk chocolate, pencil lead, and flowers. In the mouth I got bright red fruit, strawberries, red cherries, spice, and red berries.

5/28/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On first sniff, all I could think about was how delicious the wine smelled. I found aromas of white flowers, grass, tropical fruit, kiwi, peach, ruby grapefruit, star fruit, and really inviting citrus…mostly lime and grapefruit. In the mouth I got flavors of lemon, tropical fruit, peach, pink grapefruit, citrus, melon and star fruit. Overall, I found the wine to be crisp and refreshing with great acidity.

5/30/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

Grapefruit, grapefruit, grapefruit! The grapefruity citrus just jumps out of the glass, in fact, I wrote in my notes “grapefruity to the max!” I also got lemon, peach, grass, orange blossoms, flowers, and some other miscellaneous citrus. In the mouth I found ruby grapefruit, pineapple, lime, white peach, tropical notes, and an overall citrus sense.

4/10/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found lemon, spice, yellow apple, coconut, cream, pear, cinnamon, and baking spice. The spices…cinnamon and baking space surprised me, I can’t say I’ve found that on a Chardonnay before. I also liked that while the nose showed some cream, I didn’t find any butter or oak. In the mouth I got apple, pear, lemon on the edges, something tropical, perhaps pineapple, stone fruit, and some butterscotch rounding out the mouth.

4/11/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found grass, pineapple, cream, straw, tropical notes, something spicy…almost like nutmeg, and lemon. I liked the nose on this one. In the mouth I got tropical fruit, meyer lemon, some white grapefruit, grass, stone fruit, and lemon zest. The finish lingered with tart grapefruit.

4/13/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found flowers, honey, honeysuckle, orange blossom, citrus, peach, lemon, and some tropical notes. The aromas on this wine just poured out of the glass. In the mouth I got flavors of peach, orange, lots of lemon, a little honey, slight spice, and apricot.

4/24/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

My first thought about this wine: it smells like raspberry jam. Perhaps I was influenced by the raspberry jam I used in the reduction sauce, but I really don’t think so as I hadn’t yet opened the jam when I opened and started taking notes on the wine! I also found strawberry, plum, spice, pepper, black fruit, and some slight oak on the nose. Overall, a very fruity nose. In the mouth I got pepper, plums, strawberry, spice, black cherry, herbs, licorice, and blueberry.

4/29/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found cranberry, spice, cedar, strawberry, mint, herbs, some earth, chocolate, and cherry. In the mouth I got flavors of cherry, cranberry, strawberry, nice oak influences, some herbs, a bit of earth, but mostly clean red fruit. Overall, I would describe this wine as having very clean red fruit and being ready to drink now.

3/3/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found berries, plums, cherries, earth, spice, chocolate, vanilla cream, and orange rind. Overall, I’d describe the nose as wonderfully smoky. In the mouth, I found sweeter fruit, berries, cherries, spice, and pepper. The wine seemed meaty, showed some tannins on the back palate, and displayed lots of very dark fruit.

3/4/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On those I found aromas of creamy orange rind, pineapple, lemon, grapefruit, pears, and apples. Having never had a Grenache Blanc before, I likened the nose to Pinot Blanc. I really enjoyed smelling this wine (and drinking it….!). In the mouth I got lots of pear, citrus, orange zest, lemon, grapefruit, and green apple.

3/13/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

I found the nose to be incredibly floral. I also got aromas of white pepper, lychee, orange blossoms, white flowers, and honeysuckle. In the mouth I found flavors of lemon, mandarins, lychee, almonds, minerals, and oranges.

3/22/2009 - sonadora Likes this wine:

On the nose I found blackberry, spice, pepper, plum, and raspberry. I enjoyed the nose a lot. In the mouth I got flavors of blackberries, dark fruit, spice, pepper, and some raspberries.