Bottle Notes, Syrah

2010 Fielding Hills Syrah Riverbend Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Fielding Hills Winery was founded by winemaker and owner Mike Wade in 2000. The winery is located in East Wenatchee in a converted orchard shop. Fielding Hills also just opened a tasting room next to Nefarious Cellars on Lake Chelan. Wines produced include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and a red blend. Wade’s Riverbend Vineyard was named after the…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2009 Brown Estate Zinfandel – Bottle Notes

In 1980, The Brown Family acquired land in the hills east of Rutherford in the Napa Valley. In 1995 they decided to make wine under their own label. The following year the first vintage of Zinfandel was produced and subsequently they have added Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah to their lineup. First and foremost, Brown Estate is…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast

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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Bottle Notes, Syrah

2002 Cayuse Bionic Frog Syrah – Bottle Notes

The 2002 Cayuse Bionic Frog was the winning bottle in the August installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine was not decanted. Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in family of winemakers in Champagne. Baron studied viticulture in Burgundy and Champagne, and had ambitions to make Pinot Noir in Oregon.…

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Bottle Notes, Red Blend

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. The Bedrock Heirloom – Bottle Notes

Bedrock Wine Co. was founded by Morgan Twain-Peterson in 2007 and focuses on small production wines from many of California’ s most treasured and historic vineyards. The lineup of wines at Bedrock is expanding rapidly, but I think the best of the best are the ancient vineyard Zinfandels, Morgan is clearly passionate about. Bedrock Vineyard, formerly known as Madrone Ranch,…

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Bottle Notes, Merlot

2004 Pahlmeyer Merlot – Bottle Notes

Pahlmeyer was founded in the mid-1980s when Jayson Pahlmeyer, a Bay Area lawyer, decided he preferred thinking about wine over reading legal briefs. Pahlmeyer produced its debut vintage in 1986. The winemaking team is comprised of Kale Anderson who is Director of Winemaking for the Napa Valley vineyard and operations, and Bibiana González Rave as Consulting Winemaker overseeing the Sonoma…

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Bottle Notes

2010 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio – Bottle Notes

Bodegas El Nido is a 100-acre estate in the Valle de La Aragona, in the Jumilla region of Spain. It was founded in 2002 and is a collaboration between Australian winemaker Chris Ringland and the Gil Family. Grapes grown are Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon. Two wines are produced, the Clio, which is 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the…

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Bottle Notes, Syrah

2007 Reynvaan Syrah The Contender – Bottle Notes

Reynvaan Family Vineyards is a small family owned winery started by Mike and Gale Reynvaan in May of 2004 in Walla Walla, Washington. They initially purchased a 37 acre parcel of land on Cottonwood Road at the base of the Blue Mountains. Their son Matt is the winemaker and Christophe Baron of Cayuse has served as a consultant. Reynvaan Family…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2010 Carlisle Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley – Bottle Notes

Carlisle Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1998 by Mike and Kendall Officer. Their passion is clear: Small lots of Zinfandel and Syrah from exceptional, historic vineyards. Sourced from Teldeschi Ranch, Mounts Ranch, Oddone Vineyard and Del Carlo Ranch. 86% Zinfandel, 8% Grenache and 6% Petite Sirah. Bright purple in color. 15.7% ABV. Brambly black fruits, plums, iron and pepper…

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Bottle Notes, Grenache

2008 Force Majeure CS II Red Blend – Bottle Notes

Previously known as Grand Rêve, Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride and Ryan Johnson. Force Majeure pairs some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval. The winemakers contributing to the Collaboration Series is a Who’s Who of Washington winemakers including Ben Smith, Carolyn Lakewold, Chris Gorman, James…

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