Henrik Poulsen

9.2

14.4% alc.

The first in a comparison tasting of fermentation techniques of Syrah from Hudson Vineyard.

75% whole cluster, native yeast, aged in a (1-year old) demi-muid.
— 9 years ago

with Ray, Kurt-Inge and 1 other

Saul Gropman

Owner/Operator Cafe La Haye

9.2

Creamy boysenberry. Beautiful brightness with the co-fermentation of 3% viognier — 9 years ago

mattswineworld

9.1

Dry hopped during fermentation. A little sweet (9% ABV), but balanced. — 9 years ago

Julie Loke

9.1

One of my favorite wine makers- Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo wine Co. He uses native yeast no commercial fermentation aids or additives. High quality wine for a great price (13.95 @ the Co-op). On lees for a few months then beau real French for 2 months. Vibrant and fresh with a creamy, slight oak finish. Lemony with a long finish. — 10 years ago

Josh Hampshire

9.8

Delicious and funky. Co-fermentation gives it a lovely combined feeling with a delicious richness full mouth feel and lightly bitter critic acidity. I had it with a pork and it was 10/10 — 10 years ago

A. Schuyler

10

Co-fermentation. Young. Steel. Balanced Acidity. Vino Verde Style. Granny Smith Apple. Slight Effervescence. — 11 years ago

DuMOL Winery

10

Floral lilies, black and blue fruits, licorice and allspice. Sharply focused and very pure. Fresh and sweetly herbal with a little forest floor and evergreen edge. White and black pepper. Detailed and nuanced. Blackberry, soy and bitter dark chocolate. Good drive and power. Youthful finish; quite tightly wound. Apple skin acidity and lingering orange zest. Decant now and drink to 2025.

Dutton-Gregori vineyard. Hand harvested and sorted. 8% Viognier co-fermentation. Aged 17 months in 33% new French hogsheads. Released November 2014. — 11 years ago

Beau Carufel

Winemaker/Owner Random Wine Company

9.0

Found this in my cellar and decided to take a chance. Drinking absolutely beautifully right now. Tons of ripe fruit but plenty of acidity that balances richer barrel fermentation notes. — 9 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.0

Aug 12.
First wine at Lightning Wines that we are tasting today at Brasswood in Saint Helena. Clear and pale yellow. Very fruity and floral on the nose with notes of white peaches, water lilies, and a mix of citrus. Very crisp and refreshing with moderate acidity (7/10) and light bodied. Lots of lemon and unripe tropical fruits, something like melon. Would be interesting to taste over multiple hours to see how it develops. Long and lingering finish, nice and tangy. Drink till 2022. (90+)

No racking with partial malolactic fermentation. Aged in 2/3 neutral French oak (old Chardonnay barrels) and 1/3 Stainless Steel. All co-fermented; 55% Grenache Blanc, 30% Piquepol Blanc and 15% Marsanne. — 9 years ago

with India

Charine Tan

9.0

Backstory: Tasted this at the winery and loved it so much that we bought a bottle to take along with us to Mexico. Chad Melville is the owner and winemaker at Samsara. He's also the chief winegrower at Melville Winery.

Winemaking Process: Single vineyard wine with grapes harvested from the Cargasacchi vineyard, which is in the middle aka sweet spot of Santa Rital Hills. 75% whole cluster fermentation with native yeast. 50% in new French oak barrels for 22 months, followed by 12-month ageing in the bottle. Unfiltered.

Tasting Notes: Colour is ruby red with some clarity, no sediment. On the nose, it has blue fruit, cherry, cassis, cigar, asphalt, lambskin leather and pronounced earthy notes. On the palate, it is medium-bodied with full, mouth-filling texture. Red fruit notes appear first, and then the taste turns into an earthy, allspice notes, and finishes off with something so bright and refreshing that reminds us of orange peel. The tannins are soft. End palate is long, around 10 seconds, marked by minerality and cherry. I love this wine because unlike many Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, it isn't over extracted and not too sweet (like fruit pastille). There's a fleeting burst of sweet red fruit flavour on the mid palate and the flavour quickly transits to earthy notes and tannins. It's a more earthy Pinot Noir but yet still elegant and ready to be consumed. At $55, I think it's well worth the price. — 9 years ago

A. Schuyler

9.4

Co-fermentation. Oaked. Mellow. Blackberry. Cherry. Vanilla. Pinot Noir-like. — 11 years ago

David S

9.0

Give me a straw and I'll be set for the day and into the night. Co-fermentation kind of blew my mind. — 11 years ago

Susan Gorman

9.6

Co fermentation of Petit Manseng and Chardonnay. Grassy with notes of green apple. — 12 years ago

Nik Weinberg-Lynn

9.7

What a Christmas treat! Co-fermentation project by Mattias (petite sirah with Roussane). Nose of flowers and stewed fruits. Chewy and tannic, melted chocolate, dark fruits - flat out delicious. — 9 years ago

Mariano Chiaramonte

9.0

Nice surprise, this is a co-fermentation of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot that works very well. Fresh and fruity. — 9 years ago

mattswineworld

9.3

Dry hopped after fermentation. A northern English take on California IPA - not overtly hoppy but still lots of citrus flavours. — 9 years ago

Wilson Favre-Delerue

10

The best cider I have tasted in years: made from 29 hand-picked heirloom apple varietals and with a secondary Charmat fermentation giving it both incredible richness of fruit and a perfect effervescent lightness akin to the best Champagnes. A strong 10/10 for this one. #cider #Charmat #MissionTrail — 9 years ago

with Vane

Eric anderson

9.3

Slight floral quality to the edgy sweetness and gorgeous black fruit. I suspect some co-fermentation here (Viognier). Lovely, lively, and lithe on the palate. Plenty of acids here, so this will pair with nearly any meats. Just to reiterate, this is not your typical Paso syrah (no offense), but an elegant rendition of the grape. — 11 years ago

Mark Lindzy

8.9

Co-fermentation is cool by me. A great match for potato chip nachos. — 11 years ago

CS

Sales Amy Atwood Imports

9.1

John Lockwood ladies and gents, keep and eye out for his name. Blind tasting yesterday revealed 50% lovers of this wine, 50% felt it was one dimensional. I'd have to disagree... I think it's textbook Syrah. Yesterday I noted it "smells like a Pax or Arnot-Roberts Syrah" because of the white floral tones and the unmistakeable Syrah characteristics. Had a touch of EA, but I felt it made the wine more lofty, carrying other esters up from the glass. Blueberry, red currant, baked olives and a touch of cream. Standing great on day 2, EA is still there but still a positive note, not a nail polish remover, more like blueberry magic marker meets blueberry pie, brown spices- nutmeg and clove, a little walnut hull, dark chocolate. Color looks extracted, aroma's would imply the same, but its not overly so, soft yes, acidity is there but shaded by the fruit. The grapes are sustainably farmed, harvested at 23.5 Brix 100% whole cluster, gentle foot tread 1-2 times per day for a short cold soak, followed by a cool 10 day fermentation with native yeasts, pressed to barrel before dry to finish ferment, native ML. 13.7% alcohol 3.7 pH. 125 cases — 12 years ago