Adriana Fabbro

8.9

@Delectable Wine oddly enough this is a Blanc de Cinsault, one of the silver linings of 2020.

When the fires hit early in harvest 2020, Will and Karen hedged their bets by pressing some of the 100+ year old vine Cinsault from the legendary Bechtold Vineyard immediately, and the result is a joy: pear, pomello, white grapefruit, some pith and white pepper on the finish. Fragrant and light.

In good news, the regular Cinsault from the vintage also turned out beautifully and isn’t showing a trace of smoke taint—or at least when I tried it a few months back. — 10 days ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

When in limbo, take a trip to the inferno (or Danilo Thomain’s enfer d’arvier). If this is hell, then I think I’ll settle in for a toasty spell. Crunchy pomegranate, cranberry, blackberry, raspberry (so much bramble!) and dried alpine herbs on the nose and palate. Dark stones. Volcanic spice. Vivacious, hypnotic. — a month ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

Lemon zest, white & gray stones, soft vanilla cream, underripe pineapple core and subtle sweet jasmine. Oak is well integrated and adds polish. I dig it. — 2 months ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

We meet again, my friend. — 2 months ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.2

Revisiting this first release of Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah 2 years later and I really like where it’s headed. Less fresh and crunchy and more resolved and elegant, showing its depth and layers. fleshy black cherry, strawberry, pastille, dried herbs, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, incense and a granitic note. Reminiscent of Cru Beaujolais more than northern Rhone. 12.6% abv. An intriguing alpine California Syrah and an ideal pairing with rustic Berkeley-bought, French-inspired fare. — 17 days ago

Adriana Fabbro

8.9

I am solidly in the “don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it” school of thought, so I very much violated my own rules when I compared this wine negatively to the Bedrock Evanghelo Zin earlier this year without ever having tried it. I knew I had to right this wrong ASAP and brought this to my group’s blind tasting. The verdict: guilty pleasure wine.

At $9.99 a bottle (the Whole Foods down the street had a special), this wine was a steal (even if priced 2-4x, I would drink this wine over the Prisoner any day).

If you are like me, you don’t believe Snoop would put his name on anything subpar and rest assured, this wine is solid. At first sniff and sip, you get aromas of bruised black plum and blueberry syrup. It’s verging on Port in ripeness and alc (14.1%) and there’s probably some RS but it’s still seductive and pretty. On the palate, the wine is balanced, with a shocking lightness on the initial attack followed by a sweet cigar note, discrete tannins and a pleasant bitterness (a friend suggested later press factions maybe) on the finish to cut the sweetness perfectly.

Not the wine you want every night with dinner (you’ll wake up with a raging headache), but the wine you want with a blue cheese burger or saucy barbecue. And you’ll gladly pour yourself another glass. Mostly Petit Sirah and Zin.

If this is the bar, I look forward to trying Martha’s Chard. — a month ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.0

@Delectable Wine I don’t believe the 21 vintage is technically a rosé (despite its almost transparent magenta color).

Anyhow, Chris Brockway has a knack for making “Hawaiian punch for grown ups wines” (and I mean this as a great compliment!) in that his wines are consistently & addictively drinkable in that fruity-glouglou-sorta-kinda-natty-but-clean-accessible way. They are wines one can drink at any occasion and that will please almost any palate, sophisticated or not.

This was one of the wines that stood out to me at the spring release this year. Trousseau with a little Zin blended in. Pomegranate, red plum, carbonic crunch, and a touch of volcanic ash spice on the finish. Fragrant and fresh. — a month ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.0

Sea breeze, lemon verbena, green melon, mineral (hint of flunky) and an almond/vanilla note.

Greek salad was one of the first foods I learned to “cook” for myself, and it’s still a go to for me: salty, crisp, simple, refreshing, much like this delightful Greek wine. And most of the time, that’s more than enough. Made from the much maligned Savatiano grape (for its unfortunate association with retsina). It reminds me more of a Gavi, (lower acid) Chablis, or Soave than Assyrtiko.

Also, the bird on the label is wearing a bowler hat which is fun. — a month ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.0

Mmm… smells like the Loire….

Electric cherry juice. Undertones of grapefruit, tarragon and wet stone. Just the sort of easy drinking, yet surprising, fizz one needs with potstickers after a long week that isn’t quite over yet. — 2 months ago

Adriana Fabbro

9.1

White BDX is almost always a value and such a versatile food pairing wine. Initially the Sauvignon Blanc dominates, but with time the Semillon (75%) takes center stage: wet gravel, green papaya, ginger, green melon, grapefruit, green fig, Burt’s Bees lip balm… as the glass warms up, there are even some peach/mango notes coming through and I get more of that mid palate Semillon weight and depth. This wine wants oysters, but also plays well with coconut chicken curry & sticky rice. Such a classic. — 2 months ago