Vinanmeldelser

From a warm year, this smells toasty and oaky more than anything. In the mouth, core acidity is driving and creates a sharp, racy feel, while woody flavors of tropical fruits and melon finish with oa…

You'll find oaky aromas and flavors of buttered toast, sweet vanilla and butterscotch on this Chardonnay. The underlying fruit is pure and intense, suggesting ripe apricots, green apples and limes, b…

This opens with aromas of lemon layered with oak. The palate has a creamy texture but not enough fruit richness, and is dominated by oak and vanilla. The wine reveals touches of herbs and honey befor…

This is stiff and herbal, both in scents and flavors. There's a strong streak of earth dampening the light cranberry fruit. The aging in two third new French oak adds a bit of chocolate to the finish.

After the initial hit of intensely sweet blackberries and oak, there's not a whole lot going on in this 100% Cab. It's high in alcohol, with sweet glycerine and some heat co-starring. The tannins are…

Tastes unusually lush and soft for a Napa Cab. While it's officially dry, sweet, caramelized oak and raspberry-jam flavors, along with a slick, glycerine mouthfeel, makes it as rich as a candy bar.

Reflecting the difficulties of the vintage, this is a slightly edgy, coarsely textured wine, with sweet, oaky notes framing cherries and roasted beets. Try it with something slightly rustic, like bee…

A good, standard Pinot Noir, dry and crisp in acidity, with cherry, cola and pomegranate flavors accented by smoky oak. Drink now.

Lighter than Malibu Oak's Cabernet Sauvignon, this Cab Franc shows the variety's characteristic herby notes and is otherwise easy and light, with enough depth to pair well with a range of meats.

There's no doubt this is 100-percent Petite Sirah, full of dark plummy fruit and an earthy element that's close to mushrooms and dirt. Aged over two years in French oak the wine even has a slight hin…

The tough conditions of the 2008 vintage are reflected in this scratchy wine. Plum is the key fruit aroma, and that's followed by a tight, firm body with toasty oak, black fruit flavors, herbal notes…

Ripe and fruity in raspberries and cherries, this Pinot is also sweet in toasty oak. It has a nice, pleasantly silky texture. Not going anywhere, but good for drinking now.

Aromas of toast, oak, earth and berry lead the way. The lean palate is rather diluted, showing dried cherry and hints of black pepper and espresso. Dusty, rather fleeting tannins leave a mouth drying…

Feels a bit one-dimensional now, showing fruit and oak sweetness and ripe, forward cherry pie and spice flavors. Could age, but the simple structure suggests otherwise. Drink this southern Rhône-styl…

Inviting raspberry and cherry aromas have a tiny level of volatility, while the palate is chunky, bold and edgy, with big berry flavors leading the way. Full on the finish, with some oak and vanilla…

Dry, soft and simple, with pleasant flavors of grilled cherries, raspberries, cola, red licorice, red currants and smoky oak. The texture is nice and silky. Drink now.

Ungainly, with stiff, puckery tannins giving a hard astringency, and unintegrated oak sticking out. Somewhere inbetween are modest cherry, anise and herb flavors. Pretty good, but not likely to go an…

Made in the California style, with very ripe pineapple and apple fruit, elaborated by French oak barrels, malolactic fermentation and sur lie aging. The result will appeal to many, even if it's a bit…

A majority varietal, this widely distributed wine also contains Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Dense and flat on the palate, it dances in bay leaf and black cherry, finishing with more herb…

From a cool site high above the coastal town of Jenner, this 100% varietal wine is made in small amounts and given almost two years in French oak, only a quarter of it new. Intense, it exudes baked a…

This youthful wine offers aromas of fresh raspberries, plum and tire rubber. The flavors are soft and generous, with tart acids and no new oak anywhere in sight. It doesn't seem entirely varietal but…

Berry and cassis aromas blend with oaky scents to form a solid nose. This feels grabby and resiny, with moderate tannins. Minty black-fruit flavors are woody, while the finish tastes herbal and oaky,…

This is a touch overripe and plummy, akin to a puree on the nose. Smoky oak lurks behind the fruit, along with a taste of almond and tea. In the end, the wine ends robustly and full-figured, with ple…

Sweetly ripe on the nose, this is a meaty, full-bodied and somewhat oaky white wine. The majority of the fruit comes from Sonoma County, the rest from Napa. White peach and vanilla mark the palate, f…