Bottle Notes

2014 Saxum Broken Stones – Bottle Notes

Saxum Vineyards is located in the Paso Robles AVA of Central California. Founded in the early 2000’s by Justin Smith, a young winemaker who had previously been part-owner of Linne Calodo, Saxum leapt into the limelight in late 2010 when its 2007 James Berry Vineyards wine was named the #1 Wine of 2010 by Wine Spectator. Smith owns the winery…

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Bottle Notes, Syrah

2013 No Girls Syrah La Paciencia Vineyard – Bottle Notes

No Girls Wines is a partnership between famed Cayuse vigneron Christophe Baron and longtime friend and Cayuse general manager, Trevor Dorland. The fruit comes from the Cayuse La Paciencia vineyard, which means patience—appropriate as the project was ten years in the making. The vines are tightly spaced and planted on an angle, giving No Girls a profile all its own. Elizabeth…

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Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2014 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Welsh have quickly made Rivers-Marie one of California’s most sought after Pinot Noir labels. The winery was founded in 2002 and the first release was the Rivers-Marie Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir. In addition to the line up of Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs, Rivers-Marie also makes a several single vineyard Cabernets and Chardonnay. Thomas is…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2021 Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County – Bottle Notes

Seghesio Family Vineyards  was established in 1895, when Edoardo Seghesio planted his first Zinfandel vineyard in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. The focus at Seghesio has always been Zinfandel and Italian varietals. Dark red in color. 15% ABV. Savory nose of red and black fruits, licorice and pepper. Medium body with medium to strong acidity. Claret style Zinfandel with dark fruits…

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Random Musings

The 2023 Cayuse Release Party

This past week Cayuse held their first release party since 2019. The Release Party is an annual event where members of the mailing list can taste a selection of Cayuse wines and pick up their yearly allocation. This is the only weekend Cayuse is open. The past three events (20-22) had been cancelled due to the pandemic. The format of…

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Bottle Notes

2019 Sandlands Carignane Lodi – Bottle Notes

Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan and Olivia Passalacqua. Tegan is the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Turley. The line-up encompasses some of the forgotten classic California varieties, primarily grown in decomposed granite from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. The wines made at Sandlands include Syrah,…

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