Cherries, nice smoothly integrated tannins. A bit more sugar than I usually go for but overall extremely pleasant. I could see this going well with a meal that wants a leaner but still luscious red — 13 days ago
At an Italian Restaurant on the Gold Coast having a nice pasta dish of Rigatoni with Lamb Shoulder. This wine by San Guido where their top Cuvée is the famous Sassicaia. This wine is 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Oak maturation is well balanced using a combination of new and used oak. The nose shows obvious Cabernet traits and shows again how suitable Bolgheri is to Bordeaux blends - plummy notes. A good match with the dish. A dry finish. — a month ago
Excellent zin. Brought back after we visited. One of my favorite California Zins. — 18 days ago
Jay Kline

Presented double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a slightly hazy garnet color with a translucent core and some rim variation; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and light signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous, with notes of ripe and desiccated red fruit: Morello cherry, dried roses, tar, tobacco, leather, gravelly earth, and exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose where the fruit showed quite a bit of power. The finish is long. Alcohol is elevated but calling it medium+. This is delicious.
Initial conclusion: this could be Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Granache or Pinot Noir from Italy, France or Spain. Because the tannins were absolutely ripping, and there was no staining, I was leaning Nebbiolo. Additionally, the secondary characteristics along with a strong core of fruit had me thinking this was close to 30 years old from a solar vintage. So I called Nebbiolo, from Italy, from Piemonte, Barolo from a traditional-leaning producer, 1997. Well, I can’t get too upset with my call! Really tasty stuff. Drink now through 2032. — 16 days ago