Deep cherry notes with raspberry, cassis, cedar and vanilla. Silky finish with a hint of tannins. — 5 years ago
Attended a Parallel Wines private tasting last night. Very nice and classic in style. Didn’t realize how small their production is...less than 600 total cases. This is their 20th year and Melka has been with them from the beginning.
Starting to channel some butterscotch and creme brûlée notes. It’s rich without being overly oaked. Honey roasted almonds and even some marzipan. This is 100% Ritchie vineyard and while it doesn’t have classic Ritchie nuttiness, there is a hint of roasted marshmallows that I find common in other Ritchie Chards. — 6 years ago

Bright cab. Well balanced. Lovely fruit. Integrated tannins. — 6 years ago
Good balance of Oak. Very drinkable Chardonnay, paired well with scallops. — 7 years ago
Sibling rivalry with @Nicholas Horbaczewski ! 🍷 — 8 years ago

Founded by Cody and Marque Wright, yes that family of the great Ken Wright Pinot’s very nice small production Pinot, 600 cases, from 115/777 clones. Medium+ Ruby, nose is a bit closed, with aromas of blue and red fruits with an array of spices, clove, tar and wet earth. On the palate flavors of blackberry and cranberry with notes of tobacco, citrus, floral and earthy tones. Fine tannins, lively acidity, long ending with fruit, spice, mineral and earthy notes. Will age a bit! Tasted twice! — 5 years ago
Day 1 (one hour open):
Dark garnet color good clarity, boiled leather and stewed cherry on the nose. Nice mineral note, coffee bean, cocoa, toast, still very tannic, mouth-coating, bit powdery on the back side. Lots of grip. Almost salty. Finishes with bite.
Day 2 (sixteen hours open):
Oxblood color, lingering stewed cherry scent, concentrated cola flavor, but savory - very cool. Tannins dispersed, still nice weight. Delicious. — 6 years ago
Our first bottling from this small production family winery in Calistoga.
My first impressions of this wine, it’s a classic older Calistoga Cabernet. It’s nicely resolved but, not at the end of its life as some have predicted. It is a shade past its prime but, drinking nicely with the exception it’s a touch hot, even after all this time in bottle and when temp’s were not pushing alcohol levels like they can now. However, heat aside, I enjoy wines just the other side of their prime and beyond. Brings out additional complexity-characteristics and are infinitely more interesting.
The nose reveals, stewed & baked fruits of; blackberries, black plum, black cherry extract, black raspberries with some deep blue fruits. Loads of baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Dark spice, dark chocolate, sweet tarriness, mocha, caramel, walnut shells, anise to black licorice, steeped, dark fruit teas, mint/eucalyptus, dry crushed rocks, leather, tobacco, graphite, used charcoal, dark liqueur and cola, dry herbs with dark, red, blue, purple, fresh & withering flowers accented with lavender.
The body is rich, lush, ruby, statin, velvety and thick. The tannins are rounded & softened but, still speaking loudly. The structure, tension, length and balance are in a very good place. This wine has legs to stand for another 5-10 years depending on how you enjoy them. Stewed, candied & baked fruits of; blackberries, black plum, black cherry extract, black raspberries deep blue fruits, purple fruit blend, haunting raspberries with poached strawberries as it sets. Loads of baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Dark spice with good palate heat, dark chocolate, sweet tarriness, mocha, caramel, walnut shells, anise to black licorice, steeped, dark fruit teas, mint/eucalyptus, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, slightly, moist clay, pronounced, fine volcanic minerals, leather, tobacco, graphite, used charcoal, dark liqueur and cola, dry herbs with dark, red, blue, purple, fresh & withering flowers accented with lavender. The acidity is round & exquisite. The long finish is; well balanced fruit & earth, very complexity, rich, delicious and persists endlessly.
Photos of; Stephanie Jones Bailey, Rick and Elaine Jones, Estate view, their Cabernet fruit close to harvest and vineyard staff managing fruit clusters & leafing.
Producer notes...they were founded in 1996. Jones Family Vineyards specializes in estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Thomas Rivers Brown makes their wines, two Cabernet wines...Jones Family Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and The Sisters. TRB also makes an extremely limited production of aged Sauvignon Blanc that is cellared for over 3 years in barrel and bottle.
Jones Family has ten acres of south facing vineyards that lie 600 to 800 feet off the valley floor, resting above the fog line, an ideal altitude for growing Cabernet in the Napa Valley area.
@Paul T- Huntington Beach FYI. — 6 years ago

Stunning black fruit! We are drinking bottle number 585 out of 600. Feeling super privileged! Thank you so much, Marino Rodríguez. Time is priceless! — 8 years ago
[Tasted on March 20, 2021 at Home with the Isensteins]
Wine is Seventeen, not Sixteen Barrels. Dark fruit, licorice and sweet cedar. Beautiful wine. — 5 years ago
Unfortified flor-aged 100% Palomino by Dirk Niepoort & Equipo Navazos, sourced from the historic Macharnudo vineyard in Jerez. Fermented in old, 600-liter oak casks with indigenous yeasts and aged for 12 months under flor. Oxidative nose with hints hay and pineapple. Light, mineral, precise and bone dry on the mouth, with nice saltiness and a long, somewhat bitter finish. — 5 years ago
Attended a Parallel Wines private tasting last night. Very nice and classic in style. Didn’t realize how small their production is...less than 600 total cases. This is their 20th year and Melka has been with them from the beginning.
This was in the zone. Classic ‘13 Napa cab. It’s flavor packed and loaded with structure. Sweet and ripe dark fruits up front with lots of juicy blackberries and blueberries wrapped in dark chocolate and baking spices on the nose. Nutmeg, cassis, baked mixed berry pie on the palate. It’s very compact with a dusty finish. A blend of different vineyards, with a lot of fruit coming from the backside of Howell Mtn. — 6 years ago
This wine is rare approx 600 bottles, pricy too!
Colour deep golden, nice bubbles, nose pineapple, citrus, toast and coffee, taste very fullblown Chardonnay from Cramant, good aftergrip with acid freshness .
Contains vintage 2008/2009/2010 — 6 years ago
Steel plow hommage. — 8 years ago
I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 8 years ago
Sipping Fine Wine
Tried a new batch. Roederer Estate sparkling wines are crisp & fresh reflecting the cool, fog-shrouded Anderson Valley, home to estate's 600 acres of vineyards. Blend of 60% Pinot Noir & 40% Chardonnay. Light salmon color, good flow of bubbles, firm mousse, aromas of berry fruits and biscuit notes. On the palate flavors of strawberry, ripe apple and peach with a dash of pepper spice. Long finish, lively acidity ending a tad creamy with toasty yeasty tones. Very Nice! — 4 years ago