This is a very exotic “White Field Blend” of Galician varietals: 35% Godello, 35% Loureiro and 30% Treixadura sourced from the Sierra Pelona Valley (near Los Angeles), CA. It is another unique master piece from Jasper Dickson, a proprietor/winemaker of Angelino Wine Co. who is part of the rediscovering White Field Blends in the California while developing naturally made wines with minimal intervention.
All varietals were picked at 21 Brix and whole cluster pressed the grapes, and were co-fermented in stainless steel tanks. The result is a very rare, complex, dry and refreshing wine with an array of aromas of orange and acacia blossom.
On the palate is very crisp, with solid citrus characters and some stony fruit and yellow opal apple. As for mouthfeel, the wine has lots texture, sediments with a moderate-to-long finish. It can be an acquired taste as well.
Every vintage of the White Field Blend is completely different, the V.2021 the came out very aromatic, and some fresh wild grass and the wine as finished product is very hazy! It can be paired with seafood, apéritifs and lighter dishes. Clams steamed, Vietnamese summer rolls with prawns would a nice pairing option as well.
Also heartier as lightly-flavored cuisine can be another pairing alternative. Cheers! — a year ago
Popped and poured; no formal notes. A mix of dark and red fruits with tobacco, earth and spices. The wine is finally matured and drinking very well now. It has lost all of the green tones that were more apparent in its youth. Everything is now fully fleshed out and should continue to drink well for another 5+ years. Really, these are some lovely (and age-able) wines from the Four Corners area of CO.
— 4 years ago
The elevation of this vineyard comes out in the wine! Beautifully made! — 6 years ago
A great Cabernet from Napa Valley. Showing red and black fruits with earth, tobacco, vanilla, licorice, spices and Cedar.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up (a couple of hours).
Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels. A blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
Still young and needs 5 to 10 years of bottle time.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$80. — 7 years ago
To me, this smells and tastes like a late-70s, old school Napa Cab. Very dark color. Nose charges out of the gates with cassis, olives, dark green pungent herbs, gravel, and a little iodine. Approachable (and enjoyable) already on the palate. Sure, it’s a bit tannic but they’re soft, with mouth-coating savory flavors. None of that damn chocolateyness I don’t like (which seems near-ubiquitous now in Napa Cabs), and zero jamminess. What a value (I got it for $39) for a very tasty and true-to-type Napa Cab. — 10 months ago
Recently released (10/22), the ‘21 Wirz Riesling is pale gold colored with a nose of apple and honey. It’s bone dry, with little fruit on the palate, and lean leaning toward thin. Putting some away for bottle age too. UPDATE another three years in bottle has brought out new elements that were on full display when Memorial Day weekend ‘26 in New York brought us back to fall and we made a pork roast instead of burgers. Mineral driven, grapefruit zest, lemon, hint of florals, very dry. Really nice, raised rating — 4 years ago
#sauternes so sweet and balanced. Third of three bottles for my wife’s 40th birthday. We saved the best for last, as it turns out. Honeyed layers as this gently warms in a Burgundy bowl - caramel, marzipan, toasted almonds, some petrol, apricot jam. Tastes exactly how it smells with the acidity taking a step back from the honey sweetness swirling around a luscious oily mouthfeel. Touch of orange pith bitterness on the finish - lovely wine. Indeed it pairs well with Indian food but the force of this wine could have easily matched even spicier dishes. Beautiful wine and what’s amazing is it seemed this wine could easily go another 20 years. Good Sauternes is ever youthful. — 5 years ago
I’m a big fan of PNs from SLH and maybe see SB a second with some others but this Pali (under $20) bottling just kept on opening and ended up with a lot of sweet berries. If you don’t get Pali check them out and join their club. Great drinking whites and reds — 6 years ago
This is a very tasty Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
Rich, powerful, extracted and fruit forward with black fruits and chocolate notes, vanilla, wood, spices, peppercorn, tobacco, graphite and dark coffee.
Full bodied with medium acidity.
Spicy with a long finish and round tannins.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up. Good for parties.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
92 points.
$80. — 6 years ago
A beautiful color of dark purple with a wide purplish rim.
Pretty nose of blackberries, sweet plums, blueberries, violets, black currants, cedar, earth, vanilla, licorice, spices, tobacco, dark chocolates, bitter herbs, vegetables, and pencil lead. Very nice nose.
Full bodied and smooth with medium plus acidity and long legs.
Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, oak, spices, earth, vegetables, graphites, dark coffee, chocolates, tobacco, beef jerky and black pepper.
Long finish with fine tannins and tangy raspberries.
This is a great Syrah blend from Paso Robles. Easy drinking and tasty with a nice mouthfeel. Showing nice complexity with a gorgeous nose.
Good right out of the bottle and better as it opens up (needs an hour). Drinking very nicely now, and will be better in the next 3 years.
I paired it with cheeses, nuts and dried fruits.
A blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Tannant. Aged for 18 months in French Oak barrels (20% new). Kosher.
14.4% alcohol by volume.
91 points.
$55. — 7 years ago
As the kids say, this one just hits different. I’m not the biggest SB fan, but Bedrock’s Sonoma SB consistently brings out the floral, melon, and pear aspects of the varietal while leaving the green aspects behind. 2024 is no different, and comes with nice acidity to balance it as well. A great a versatile food wine. — a year ago
One of the bottles I provided for a co-hosting with Mark at the City Club wine group. Poured alongside Mark’s 2012 Oakville Winegrowers mag.
En mag. I was curious to see how this showed upon opening, and it unsurprisingly needed a quick decant to blow off some funk. As a blind pour, it’s tough to get to Mourvèdre heavy in profile, but it absolutely is what makes older CdP so magical. Beautiful faint ruby in the glass. A bit leathery and maybe even a small hint of brett, but then it evolved to show potpourri, spiced red and black fruits and garrique. In the glass, the expected savory notes come out with smoked meat, gaminess, black pepper baked-rhubarb, little bit of truffle. Elegant. Good acidity. Delicious finish! — 3 years ago
The 2021 is sadly the last Pagani Bedrock will make. Just released, it’s pitch dark but full of vibrant fruit and zippy acidity. For a field blend heavy on Zinfandel, the young version has some pinot like qualities. I’m putting the rest of the allocation away for as long as I can hold out, ideally 10+ years. UPDATE 11/24: I held out for two years before going back in and it’s a changed wine — darker red fruits, plum, cocoa still with an acid zing and tannins for structure. — 4 years ago
Clos du Val Wine Company Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, California
Time for my #FridayCabernetfix. Here is a delicious Cabernet from Napa Valley.
Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.
Strong nose of black currants, cherries, raisins, dried figs, cedar, licorice, vanilla, spices, tobacco, black pepper and dark chocolates.
Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs.
Dry and very fruity on the palate with blackberries, sweet cherries, tobacco, cedar, vanilla, leather, spices, earth, chocolates and black pepper.
Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and cherries.
This is a delicious and a classic Napa Cabernet. Exactly what you expect from one. Rich, yet not over the top and very chocolatey.
Still very young, but already very tasty. A beautiful Bordeaux blend with lots of potential. Very engaging and approachable at this young age.
Good right out of the bottle, but needs time to open up and show the tannins (90 minutes).
Showing great potential to become a 95+ point wine, and will age nicely in the next 10 years. Already showing nice complexity with a soft and smooth mouthfeel.
Good by itself as a sipping wine, and good with food too. Will pair nicely with a big piece of steak. I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.
A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. Aged for 19 months in mostly French oak barrels (58% new).
14.5% alcohol by volume.
92 points.
$52. — 5 years ago
Really great. Straight out of the bottle I got highly enjoyable fizzy blackberries. Once it opened up, it was more full bodied and tannic. Paired well if not necessarily “recommended” with penna alla vodka. — 6 years ago
Crisp pear, green apple, lemon verbena and honey leaping out of the glass. Very lively acidity, both round and supple in the middle. There’s a (dare I say) Chenin Blanc kind of flavor and aromatic profile to this that I love. Versatile, complex and fresh. — 7 years ago
Michael Cruse’s 2017 Monkey Jacket, a Valdiguié/Petite Sirah/Carignan and mixed blacks blend, is dark, racy and absolutely gorgeous. Black cherry, plum, spice and leather notes race out of the glass in this pliant, super-expressive red. $25.00 (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2019) — 7 years ago
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego
2023 vintage. Medium body. Always nice. Possibly Matt's best wine year in, year out. This could use another year to knit. Hoping to taste again down the road. Definitely believe in his abilities and the authenticity of this vineyard. 3.23.26. — 3 months ago