Sourced from cool hillside and warmer valley floor vineyards, and then aged in French and American oak. The result is a complex array of dried herb, sweet berry fruit, blackcurrant, and earthy spice. The Syrah (15%) and splash of Merlot (3%) flesh out the polished tannins. Match with grilled meats.
Blending Napa’s cool and warm sub-appellations brings about bright cherry fruit and richer cassis, enhanced by Rutherford’s noted dustiness. French oak aging imparts toasty vanilla and creamy mocha notes. Splashes of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot imbue complexity and spiciness. Get grillin’!
From Don Sebastiani & Sons, this is a robust red with notes of kirsch, blackberry and cassis fruit with vanilla oak, spice, tobacco leaf and meaty-earthy accents. It’s a young wine on the palate with evolving and ripe fruits, spice, good structure and plush tannins. It shows some earthy notes, but the fruit remains the star. Try with a steak sandwich with grilled onions and peppers.
Robert Mondavi is one of those icon names in the wine world. Even though he is no longer with us, his brand is probably the most recognizable in the world. And the quality remains. The wine is deep ruby in colour with a bouquet of cedar, blackcurrant, toasty oak and a floral top note. Medium-bodied, sweet fruit with plum and currant flavours, it’s soft on the palate with a tannic lift on the finish.
The bold aromatic start features abundant ripe fruit and dark chocolate. Mouth-filling cassis, black plum and boysenberry flavours are accompanied by plush tannins and a well-textured palate. Lingers with warm cocoa notes. A fine companion for beef dishes over the next 5 years.
Lovely spice notes of nutmeg and cinnamon work well with the cassis, plums, currants and oak-barrel accents of spice and creamy vanilla-caramel. It displays the cooler climes of Sonoma with bright acidity on the palate and allows the fine oak and spice to work harmoniously with the basket of red fruits. Great food wine with lamb stew and grilled red meats.
Ripe, rich and plush, with a fresh herbal character, concentrated plum and black cherry flavours, firm, ripe tannins, elegant structure and a long finish with a fresh touch of acidity. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.