Bottle Notes

2016 Syncline Winery Mourvèdre Red Mountain – Bottle Notes

Syncline Winery was founded in 1999 by James and Poppie Mantone. Syncline’s first vintage in 1999, consisted of 76 cases of Celilo Vineyards Pinot Noir from vines planted in 1973. The next year, production was increased to include Columbia Valley Syrah and Grenache. At the same time they began working with vineyards to plant Mourvedre, Cinsault, Counoise and Carignan.They have kept…

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Bottle Notes, Red Blend

2013 Force Majeure CS VI – Bottle Notes

Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride and made its name pairing some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval.  The winery recently transitioned from Collaboration wines to Estate wines. Todd Alexander, formerly of Bryant Family Vineyards, is the winemaker for the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo. Force Majeure…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2012 Ravenswood Zinfandel Old Hill Ranch Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Ravenswood was founded in 1976 by Joel Peterson. The winery is a pioneer in producing single vineyard Zinfandels from some of Napa and Sonoma’s most treasured vineyards, including Dickerson, Old Hill, Cooke and Belloni. I used to visit Ravenswood in the summer, when they released their single vineyard wines. Back in the day they also served delicious barbecue on the deck out…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (12/3/18)

Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Hogshead Wine Blog writes An Afternoon with Mature Wine – Old Cali Back Labels. Peg Melnik writes A Zin that Pays Tribute to the Past. St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes…

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Bottle Notes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2011 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes – Bottle Notes

Clos Saint Jean was founded in 1900 in Chateauneuf du Pape and is still a small, family-run operation. The estate produces 12,500 cases annually. Brothers Pascal and Vincent Maurel run the business. Clos Saint Jean primarily produces Chateauneuf du Pape, including the Vieilles Vignes and several special cuvees including the Combe des Fous and Deus-Ex Machina. In 2002, Philippe Cambie…

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Bottle Notes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2004 Domaine Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape Colombis – Bottle Notes

Domaine Isabel Ferrando is owned by Isabel Ferrando who created the estate when she purchased 3.9 hectares of vines. The goal was to create a wine that was distinct from Domaine Saint Prefert, her other Southern Rhone winery. The wine is 100% old vine Grenache made from grapes ranging from 65-100 years of age. 2004 was the debut vintage. Crimson…

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Bottle Notes

2013 Turley Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards. Turley now makes right around 28 separate wines from 35 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. Tegan Passalacqua is the Director of Winemaking at Turley and…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2010 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County – Bottle Notes

Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront…

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