Full ruby. Cassis, licorice and bitter chocolate on the nose. Dense, fat and broad but uncompromisingly dry, with flavors of currant, leather, licorice and tobacco. Finishes strong and long, with serious but ripe tannins. Highly promising.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Series is a small cuvée of 7,000 cases and a really impressive wine. The mountain vineyards seem to dominate the wine’s character, with moderately high but sweet tannin, briary blackberry and cassis fruit, and a crushed rock minerality present. The final blend was 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest the other Bordeaux varietals. This wine was about ready to go into the bottle right after I tasted it.

Fairly light pink in the glass. Rather floral in the glass with a bit of minerality and another lovely wine on the palate. Fruity, well-balanced, and tart. Delightful. Excellent.

OK, this wine is officially all over the map: this was stellar, similar to the second bottle, while the other two were, well, meh. I bought these back in 2014 from Last Bottle for a fraction of the retail price (~3/5 for the fraction geeks out there), a pretty good deal, even the two lesser-thans. A bit of a golden straw in the glass with lemon peel, slightly browned butter, and hyacinth. The palate is pretty close to glorious with great acidity, still vibrant fruit (even a decade out), and a lengthy finish. Close to a Whoa. Excellent.

Light cotton candy pink. Luscious red fruit with some peach. Tartness a go-go with a chalky finish. More fruit here as well. Yowza. Excellent.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Grenache, a new wine in this range, is gorgeous. Bright and floral, the 2018 captures a striking display of varietal character and the bright, intensely mineral notes that are so distinctive here. The purity of the flavors is just striking.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Pinot Noir Abel is pretty, gracious and wonderfully perfumed. Cedar, dried flowers, mint, cinnamon, spice and dried cherry are all laced together in this understated, classy Pinot. All the elements come together beautifully here.

Fairly dark in the glass, even eight years out. Dark berry fruit, a bit of spice, a tad of heat on the nose. The palate is a lesson in balance: fruit, acidity, earth, lovely. I have been a fan of Siduri for as long as I can remember and if this is what the “new” Siduri shall be under Jackson Family ownership, then I welcome it with open arms.

Darker in color and in aromas with a touch medicinal. More good fruit and secondary flavors (leather). Excellent.

Dirty and rustic nose with wild cherry, spice, and chalk. Fruity and lovely, this is also fabulous. Just short of a whoa. Excellent.

A bit on the darker side both in color and aroma. Vanilla and red fruit. Rich and full with a nice level of tartness. On the bigger side of Pinot. Excellent.

Strawberry jam in a glass. Tons of fruit here. Tons. Rich and delicious. My wife’s wheelhouse. Excellent.

Good full, bright ruby-red. This and the Bosche were scheduled to be bottled this June. Reticent aromas of primary, brambly blackcurrant and blackberry, crushed cherry, licorice and blackberry leaf. A real essence-of-cassis in the mouth; dense and bright, with powerful medicinal reserve. This large-scaled wine finishes with big, tongue-drenching tannins and plenty of structure. At once sweeter and more tannic than the Bosche.

The 2017 Lassegue displays a deep garnet-purple color and quite a spicy nose giving up black pepper, cinnamon and cloves notes over a core of crème de cassis and preserved plums with a waft of dusty soil. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a firm frame of chewy tannins and tons of black fruit layers, finishing long and spicy.

The 2016 Red Wine (Sonoma County) is laced with the essence of blackberry jam, chocolate, mocha, new leather and licorice. Bold and ample on the palate, with quite a bit of structure, the 2016 is decidedly ripe and also virile in style. The 2016 is shaping up to be the best wine from Cenyth yet.

A tank sample, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cenyth Red Wine Blend (a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon) gives a savory/meaty nose of Bovril and chargrill over a core of red currant jelly, cassis and crushed plums with a waft of red roses. Medium-bodied, it offers a firm structure of ripe, grainy tannins and great freshness cutting through the intense red and black fruits, finishing long and lifted.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Cenyth Red Wine Blend—composed of 60% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec—is scented of crème de cassis, mocha and sautéed herbs with a waft of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate is firmly structured with chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a savory/earthy note.

The 2015 Cenyth is a slightly richer, thicker style of wine because of the vintage, but the acids are essentially the same, it’s just that the small crop and tiny berries seem to have given the wine more glycerin and textural impact than usual. This wine is dense ruby/purple and offers up forest floor, dark raspberry and spring flower garden notes. It is an exciting, elegant style of wine to drink over the next 12-15 years.

Vibrant aromas of black fruits lifted by minerals and violet. At once sweet and penetrating in the mouth, with terrific definition and floral lift to the black fruit and bitter chocolate flavors. Still youthfully clenched but appears to have the sweetness of fruit to support its huge tannins. Clearly the longest wine to date for this new label.

.boasts an opaque purple color, followed by thick, dense, black cherry and cassis flavors nicely dosed with high quality, smoky oak. Made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon (77%), with the balance Merlot, the wine is full-bodied, with impressive extraction and purity. There remains tannin to shed in this high class, beautifully endowed and structured wine that should be at its best between 2000-2025.

The 1995 Cardinale appears to be the richest and most intense Cardinale to date. ... it is deep and rich, with a sumptuous texture, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, plenty of tannin, full body, an exceptional extract and concentration. The wine's equilibrium and purity are to be commended. It will require 3-4 years of cellaring and should age for two decades or more.

A dense, opaque, black/purple color and a sensational nose of Asian spices, toasty new oak, cassis and herbs. Full-bodied and intense, with underlying gracefulness and style, this is the first vintage where Cardinale has merited its lofty price.

A big, boisterous wine, the 2013 offers notable intensity and energy in its dark cherry jam, raspberry compote, grilled herbs, smoke, licorice, dried flowers, gravel and spices. Firm mountain tannins shape the tightly wound, savory finish.

My First Annual Blind Tasting of American Pinot Noirs (Part One) Another deep, lovely fruity nose with black cherry and spice. Really big fruit on the palate, which thins out a bit on the mid-palate, and the spice comes in on the finish. Outstanding.