Tom Garland

9.3

Decant for sediment and pour(decent chunky/fine sediment). A remarkable dark purplish magenta with some bricking. On the nose: some plum, currants, herbaceous, baking spice, touch of tobacco and milk chocolate. Taste: creamy, balanced, savory wine with currants, tobacco, green bell pepper, spiced dark cherry, clove. YUM! — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Tom Garland

9.4

1.5 hour decant(lot's of chunky/fine sediment). A remarkable dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: mellow notes of brambly dark plum, menthol, smoke, wet planting soil, herbaceous, boiled game meat. Taste: soft, velvety, creamy mouth coating wine with savory notes of earth, cocoa, cedar, espresso, fading plum, currants, baking spice and a lingering long finish. YUM! Seems to be hitting a slow decline so pop one if got em. — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Tom Garland

9.3

1 hour decant(decent fine/cloudy sediment). A remarkable dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: certain vintages really embrace the brett on the property, this is on the milder side. Notes of red plum, nutty vanilla, pine, funky wet earth, old leather, some cherry. Taste: smooth, delicate, silky wine with savory notes of cigar box, currants, wet dirt, peppery, little dark plum, cedar, slightly meaty. YUM! A very good vintage for Cain, a little more intensity could have increased the score even more. — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Tom Garland

9.4

Celebrating with a couple of nice bottles tonight

2.5 hour decant(lots of chunky/fine/cloudy sediment). An astonishing dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: expressive notes of plum, cedar, worn leather, musky earth, floral, and smokey vanilla. Taste: smooth, creamy, rich wine with plum, cedar, tobacco wrapper, burnt earth, and a white pepper- strawberry-graphite long finish. YUM!! Comfortably in its drinking window(with decant) and more years to go. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Tom Garland

9.1

2 hour decant (decent chunky/cloudy sediment). A purplish dark magenta color. On the nose: in your face aromas of plum, leather, cedar, currants, floral, mint and smoke. Taste: a smooth, dry, elegant, nicely balanced wine with black fruit, minerals, graphite, black pepper,, and a smokey herb long finish. Give it a few more years to come around, has potential. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.4

2010 Colgin Estate Cab! A deep purple magenta gives this wine it’s beautiful rich color.. The blueberry-aged plum gives it an aromatic fruit nose. A funky herbal earth soil scent follows lingering with eucalyptus mint and dark chocolate-espresso. Taste— a nice surprise of cherry explosion, cedar, chocolate espresso like it’s scent balanced with a smoke flavor, tar with cherry flavors lingering. A fully body wine that is concentrated, rich and well layered with a long smooth dry finish. A treat for sure! Happy Saturday!! — 5 years ago

with Jill and Karin

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured. The 2019 RTW “Lodi” appears a deep ruby color with a slight magenta tinge and a near opaque core. Viscosity is medium with no obvious staining of the tears. There appears to be some very light sediment. On the nose, whoa…this is way funkier that I recall in its youth. It smells like there’s some whole cluster being used and I love it! There is a mix of red and dark fruits; brambles and cherries with purple flowers, garrigue, dried herbs, black pepper, crushed gravel. I just want to keep smelling this. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannins and medium (+?) acid. The body is medium. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, peppery and laden with minerals. Brilliant. I knew there was a reason to hold some of these RTW’s back to see how they develop…and now I feel validated. This is so awesome. There is so much soul! Sadly, this is my last 2019. Drink now and through 2030, easy. — 3 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

1 hour decant (little fine/cloudy sediment). A remarkable dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: tart cherry, creme de cassis, eucalyptus, orange rind, cinnamon. Taste: smooth, soft, rich, juicy wine with cherry/raspberry, leather, herbaceous, graphite, little spiced chocolate espresso and a nice medium plus finish. YUM! Bodes well for the 2015 Scarecrow wine, and I should pop one to check it out. — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Seth Masterson

9.1

The nose on this is awesome- Like sticking your nose into a big bowl of macerated ripe and overripe cherries, freshly dried tabacco and Dr. Pepper... Beautiful deep garnet with some magenta.
Fresh, balanced sharp acid but with rounded edges, this is a wine that you can drink a bottle of by yourself.
I'm enjoying this more at room temp than on the cooled as some Beaujolais is served. — 4 years ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.4

The color is a beautiful purple magenta. On the nose - blackberry-raspberry fruit, sandalwood, eucalyptus with notes of chocolate, licorice and vanilla. Wow what can you say! A rich, juicy and medium bodied smooth wine. Black fruits with blueberry dominate and just snaps from the glass blended with chocolate and licorice notes followed by a hints of bacon and espresso and a mineral black pepper long finish. You can drink this wine all night long!! — 4 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.4

Dark purplish magenta color. Wow what a nose! - blackberry fruits jump from the nose; veggie green bell pepper follows with floating notes of menthol, black pepper and olive-tobacco. Taste - smooth, rich and silky giving this wine its complexity medium body feel. Blackberry leather bell pepper is the initial taste. Mid pallet, the flavors are more cedar, tannic and minerally finishing with bitter chocolate-espresso notes. Job well done for a tough year! — 4 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Devin Bostick

8.9

Sorrel, raspberry smell, malty alc, magenta red, sorrel, raspberry, strawberry, acid then some tannins — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Part of a double-blind, side-by-side between the 2017 Once & Future Mataro, “Oakley Road” which also happens to be from Contra Costa County. Opened and allowed both bottles to slow-ox about three hours prior to our guests arriving. As typical with Sandlands wines, this was a pretty little thing to behold in the glass. Bright ruby with a magenta rim. The nose is vigorous with loads of fresh mixed fruits; drupes and stone fruits with a sort of middle eastern spice that immediately reminded me of the mandi rice dishes that use saffron, cumin and tumeric. Drop dead gorgeous! On the palate, fresh plums, dried herbs, a dash of pepper. The finish is long and tannic with great acid.

This is a slightly more faceted wine than the O&F at this stage. It can’t help but take over a room with its distinctive character and compelling energy. The vineyard was planted in the 1920's and only 4 barrels were produced. 13.9% alc. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.3

1 hour decant(decent chunky/cloudy sediment). A gorgeous dark murky purplish magenta color. On the nose: some dark cherry/blueberry, forest floor, chocolate mint, cedar. Taste: velvety, creamy, rich mouthcoating wine with a little dark cherry, earth, leather, crushed stone, and a tar/cedar long finish. Better place 2 years ago, not sure more time will do anything so drink em up — 3 years ago

with Brenda

Jay Kline

9.2

Splash decanted and then poured back into the bottle about 5 hours prior to dinner. This is my first impression of the 2021 Zinfandel which is even more exciting than usual because the 2020 vintage was skipped due to the LNU Lightning Complex fires which rendered that crop a write-off. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a translucent core moving towards a magenta edge and a slightly watery rim. Medium+ viscosity and moderate staining of the tears. There seems to be some sediment already, however this is not uncommon with bottles of Rafanelli both young and old. On the nose, the wine is clean although I do detect some VA, well within the “charming” range. Very expressive fresh red and black fruits, primarily brambles: Marionberry, ripe blackberry fruit, and raspberries. These are accompanied by white pepper and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. Alcohol is medium+ but not out of balance. Finish is medium. As usual, these wines upon release tend to be super primary but I like what I’m experiencing! Personally, I would recommend some patience when drinking these young. While they are no-doubt good, they tend to fill out with some time on their side in the cellar. Best after 2024 and should drink well through 2035. Oh…and this was an awesome pairing with grilled rack of lamb. — 3 years ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.4

Color - blend of crimson and magenta giving it a rich color with bricking. The nose has beautiful scents of plum, aged perfume, sweet tobacco with secondary notes of worn leather crushed rock, a subtle funky earthiness and herbaceous aroma. Taste - soft and smooth covering the palate with red plum,, cedar, smoked meat and subtle sweetness of cassis new cigar and some spice. Definitely will enjoy this rainy Saturday night. — 3 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.5

On my list of favorite Syrahs! A beautiful dark magenta color. Blackberry tart cherry, floral aromas jump from the glass with secondary notes of pencil lead and sandalwood and hints of bacon fat and milk chocolate floating. Taste - a smooth creamy and richly structured wine. Blueberry and cherry fruits still dominate with pepper, crushed rock and tar following. The finish is long with lingering notes of bitter chocolate and espresso and a touch of heat on the end but overall flavors are well integrated. Should open up even more throughput the evening. Luv the label. — 4 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Brenda Terzich-Garland

9.4

Enjoying the first bottle from the cellar to welcome 2022. A new wine that we have not tried. This Pingus Tempranillo magnum is a dark purple magenta color. The nose has fruits of roasted plum-cherry and cassis with smoked meat and subtle notes of cedar and pine. Taste is juicy, luscious and smooth. The plumb fruit bursts on the palate and a cherry dark chocolate follows absorbing into the mid palate with a smokey, spice mineral long finish and a slight tannic kick. A treat for sure! — 4 years ago

with Karin and Jill

Devin Bostick

9.2

Cherry, cranberry, strawberry, magenta, juicy cherry, cranberry, acid and light metallic grass finish — 5 years ago

Devin Bostick

9.1

Cherry, brown sugar, sorrel, blackberry, dark magenta purple, great oak, jam, tannins, acids and sugars and berries line up with a clean grippy but wet and full oak jam finish — 5 years ago