Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This week included a few more new releases from Two Shepherds Winery, including their tasting Clairette Blanche from the (relatively new) Dunnigan Hills AVA, as well as their Grenache Noir and a unique blend of Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir. In particular, I happen to love the latter two wines, which offer a fresh and crunchy quality along with bright floral berry flavors.
Raymond Vineyards is celebrating their 50th Anniversary vintage, and so they sent along their celebratory Sauvignon Blanc, which is tasty enough, but comes in a very heavy bottle (painted red and adorned with a big metal and gemstone thingy no less) that is both ostentatious overkill, as well as particularly bad for the environment. It’s gotta be possible to be fancy without a big carbon footprint.
I’ve also got two Chardonnays to recommend to you. The first, from Smith-Madrone up on Napa’s Spring Mountain, tends to straddle the more traditional ripe California Chardonnay style and a more acid-driven style. The second, from The Hilt in Santa Barbara is leaner in quality, as that region’s Chardonnays tend to be, though I wish it had a bit more zip. I preferred The Hilt’s Pinot Noir which seemed slightly more balanced, offering nice cherry and redwood bark flavors with a hint of sweet oak.
Dutton Estate also sent through a Pinot Noir this week, their Karmen Isabella, bottling, which has a somewhat caramelized quality in addition to its bright fruit, which may or may not appeal to some.
Ridge Vineyards needs no introduction for most wine lovers. They’ve recently sent along a bunch of their new releases, two of which I’m reviewing today, their Pagani Ranch and their East Bench Zinfandels, which offer two very different interpretations of the grape, thanks to their different vineyard locations. Of the two I prefer the Pagani Ranch for its greater complexity, but both will doubtless satisfy Zinfandel fans.
Lastly, I’m happy to recommend the 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Silver Oak. In a year where many Napa producers made no red wine due to the fires, this wine is a great reminder of what an excellent vintage it would have been. There’s no trace of smoke or anything out of place in this wine’s bright cherry expression, and I find the oak extremely well-integrated at this point. If you’re a Silver Oak fan, this is a wine you won’t want to miss.
Tasting Notes
2023 Two Shepherds “JDM Organic Farm” Clairette Blanche, Dunnigan Hills, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears, apples, white peaches, and a hint of herbs. In the mouth, white peach and pear flavors mix with a touch of citrus pith and peel, as grapefruit and a hint of candied ginger linger in the finish. Very good acidity. Certified organic grapes fermented with ambient yeasts. 40% of the wine is aged in neutral oak, the rest in stainless steel. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 11% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $28. click to buy.
2023 Raymond Vineyards “50th Anniversary Collection” Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of golden apples, lemon peel, and white flowers. In the mouth, lemon peel and lemon pith mix with pink grapefruit and a hint of vanilla pastry cream as very good acidity keeps things bright and juicy. Notes of oak emerge in the finish. 13.5% alcohol. Comes in an unnecessarily heavy, red-painted bottle with a bejeweled metal insignia glued to the front of it, the total package weighing 1.65 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $90. click to buy.
2021 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain District, Napa, California
Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd,…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2025/03/vinography-unboxed-week-of-3-23-25
