Category: Review

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Roederer Estate Apple Valley 2021 Review

<a href="#taste">Roederer Estate Apple Valley 2021.
Roederer Estate Apple Valley. Click here for tasting notes.

Roederer Estate Apple Valley Vineyard 

Louis Roederer [Road-ur-ur], a distinguished champagne producer situated in Reims, France, traces its origins back to 1776, when it began as Dubois Père & Fils. While its early days were marked by still wine production, the focus soon evolved to embrace the art of crafting fine champagnes. The business underwent a transformation under the stewardship of Louis Roederer in 1833 when he inherited the company and also renamed it for himself.  He boldly ventured into international markets, focusing particularly on Russia. This endeavor gained him immense recognition, including from Tsar Nicolas II, who appointed Louis Roederer as the official wine provider to the Imperial Court of Russia.

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Gran Gala VS Cognac Review

Gran Gala VS Cognac.
Gran Gala VS Cognac. Click here for tasting notes.

Is Gran Gala VS Cognac one of the best bargains in French brandy? Maybe. Maybe not.

When most spirits enthusiasts hear the name Gran Gala, they immediately think of the popular Italian orange liqueur often compared to Grand Marnier. What many drinkers don’t realize is that Gran Gala also produces an authentic French Cognac—a surprisingly affordable bottle. At a time when many well-known Cognac brands command prices of $40, $50, or significantly more for their entry-level offerings, Gran Gala VS often sells for less than $25. That price alone makes it worthy of a closer look.

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Patz & Hall Chardonnay 2021 Review

Patz &amp; Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. <a href="#taste">Click here for tasting notes.</a>
Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Click here for tasting notes.

The Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay serves as the winery’s flagship regional offering, drawing fruit from an impressive collection of premium vineyard sites. The 2021 blend incorporates grapes from eighteen carefully selected vineyard blocks, including multiple sections of Dutton Ranch, along with fruit from Sanchietti Vineyard, Gap’s Crown, Zio Tony Ranch, Parmelee-Hill Vineyard, and the renowned Durell Vineyard. Many of these vineyards are capable of producing outstanding single-vineyard wines on their own, yet together they create a Chardonnay that captures the broader character of Sonoma Coast while retaining remarkable complexity.

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Anchored Roots “The Roots” 2014 Review

Anchored Roots "The Roots" 2024.
Anchored Roots “The Roots”. Click here for tasting notes.

Anchored Roots “The Roots” Estate Red Blend

Eric and Amy Gale are the owners and sole full-time employees of Anchored Roots, founded in 2020 in Door County, Wisconsin.

The couple make an ideal front-of-house/back-of-house duo. Amy grew up in Milwaukee, with hospitality at the forefront of her career path. Her initial focus was event planning, from non-profit fundraisers and catering, to corporate events and weddings. This was followed by experience in tasting room management at Airfield Estates in Prosser, Washington.

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Raymond Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon

Raymond Coombsville District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019.
Raymond Coombsville District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Click here for tasting notes.

Raymond Coombsville District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

The Raymond name has been associated with Napa valley since the year Prohibition ended.  The Raymond family arrived in Napa Valley in 1933. Roy Raymond married into the Beringer family in 1936. He worked as winemaker for Beringer from 1933 to 1970. The following year, he and his two sons Walter and Roy Jr set out on their own with a 90-acre estate property in Rutherford. They released their first commercial wine under the Raymond Vineyards label in 1974.  The estate now comprises 300 acres in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Jameson Canyon. All are are certified organic and Biodynamic. The winery is also operated on 100% solar power.

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J. Schram Blancs

Schramsberg J. Schramm Blancs 2016.
Schramsberg J. Schramm Blancs 2016. Click here for tasting notes.

Schramsberg J. Schram Blancs 2016

Jacob Schram, a German immigrant, bought 200 acres on Mt. Diamond in Napa valley in 1862 and planted 30,000 vines. He had Chinese laborers dig Napa’s first hillside caves for wine aging and storage.  His winery, Schramsberg, gained fame after the author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about it in his 1883 book, The Silverado Squatters. The wine became so popular that the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison,  served it in the White House at official functions. Continue reading “J. Schram Blancs”

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Germain-Robin XO Brandy

Germain Robin XO Brandy.
Germain Robin XO Brandy. Click here for tasting notes.

Germain-Robin XO Brandy

The Maverick That Redefined American Brandy

In the world of fine spirits, few American producers have challenged Old World orthodoxy as boldly—or as successfully—as Germain-Robin. Long before “craft distilling” became a marketing buzzword, Germain-Robin was quietly rewriting the rules of brandy in Northern California, proving that greatness didn’t have to come from Cognac to rival it.

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HALL Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021.
HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021. Click here for tasting notes.

HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Kathryn Walt Hall has a most impressive curriculum vitae. To touch on just a few of the high points, she is the proprietor of HALL Wines and WALT Wines [family businesses she has been involved with for over thirty years], was assistant city attorney in Berkeley, California, worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, and has served on numerous non-profit and institutional boards, with an emphasis on issues related to social care and mental health. From 1997 to July 2001, Ms. Hall served as the United States Ambassador to Austria. In the midst of this, together with her husband Craig she has raised four children.

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Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Cornerstone Cellars Oakville Station Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Cornerstone Cellars Oakville Station Cabernet Sauvignon. Click here for tasting notes.

Cornerstone Cellars Oakville Station Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

In Napa Valley, some of the most compelling wines come not from sprawling estates but from small, vineyard-focused producers who carefully source fruit from exceptional sites. One such winery is Cornerstone Cellars, a small Napa Valley label known for crafting limited-production wines from prestigious vineyard locations.

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Charles Krug Generations 2019

Charles Krug Generations.
Charles Krug Generations. Click here for tasting notes. 

Charles Krug Generations

Starting in 1861 in St. Helena, Prussian-born immigrant Charles Krug began transforming 540 acres of prime Napa Valley land that had come to him through his marriage to Carolina Balein. His efforts culminated in what is widely recognized as Napa Valley’s first commercial winery.  In 1882, he opened his tasting room, another Napa first.

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Catena Alta Historic Rows Malbec 2021

Catena Alta Historic Rows Malbec 2021
Catena Alta Historic Rows Malbec. Click here for tasting notes.

Catena Alta Malbec 

When collectors speak of Argentine Malbec at its most refined, and age-worthy, one name inevitably rises to the surface: Catena Alta. The brand represents a philosophy—one rooted in history, sharpened by science, and expressed through some of the highest and most carefully studied vineyard rows in Mendoza.

Catena Alta is not a separate winery, but rather the top-tier label within Bodega Catena Zapata, the estate that redefined Argentina’s place in the fine-wine world.

The Catena story began in 1902, when Italian immigrant Nicola Catena planted Malbec vines in Mendoza. At the time, Argentina’s wine culture was local and utilitarian—focused on volume rather than terroir or longevity. Malbec thrived in Mendoza’s sun-drenched climate, but its deeper potential remained unrealized.

For much of the 20th century, Catena vineyards followed the prevailing Argentine model: generous yields, warm low-altitude sites, and wines meant for immediate consumption. Quality was respectable, but ambition was limited.

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