Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2022 Sandlands Lodi Zinfandel pours a deep ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with mostly tart and ripe mixed bramble fruit: blackberries, Marionberries, mulberries, raspberry, ground black pepper, a mix of red and purple flowers, and stony earth. On the palate, the white is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and juicy. This is a fresh, zippy and utterly classic in the sense that it reminds me of how Zinfandel was made 40 years ago. Other producers in Lodi wish they could make balanced Zin like this. Wow. Drink now with glee and through 2037. — a month ago
Served alongside a Thai tea Basque cheesecake with passion fruit ganache. I had been wanting to try this Angelica from Sandlands since I was allocated this one lonely bottle. I’m rarely much of a dessert wine guy but time and place can get me in the mood. This was one of those occasions. The 2020 Angelica is all about the boozy apples and pears; a sort of Christmas fruit cake of a wine. I realize that this is meant to be a throwback to the way wines were made in California way back in the day but this was a little tough for me to really love. That being said, I would enjoy another opportunity with it. It would probably live forever and maybe it needs another decade to really flesh out? — 2 months ago
Definitely American. Distinctive and different. — 2 months ago
Beautiful — 24 days ago
Truly beautiful and quintessentially American, as Sandlands is so good at. Stewed cherry, strawberry, limestone, and root beer with a texture of a burgundy. Silky smooth on the tongue and with a transparent garnet color and slowly building but long flavor. — 2 months ago
Steve Anderson
Last 2016. Still lovely, but I’d call this a ‘sooner rather than later’ bottle if I had more. — 6 days ago