Review: Tequila Don Julio Alma Miel
Ready for another innovation from the lately-on-fire Don Julio? Alma Miel is a blend of blanco tequila distilled with oven-roasted agave honey plus añejo tequila that has been aged for at least 14 months and finished in Crémant du Limoux (sparkling) wine casks from the Limoux region of France. Officially billed as a Tequila Joven,…
Review: Baldacci 2021 Proprietary Red Blend and 2022 Chardonnay Carneros
Thomas and Brenda Baldacci certainly have much for which they could give thanks and celebrate. Last year marked 25 years since purchasing their Stags Leap Estate and next year will mark 25 years since their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon. 2023 also marked 20 years since the opening of their tasting room and as of…
A Visit to The Donum Estate
Apparently The Donum Estate has been hiding in plain sight from me for more than two decades. This winery, established in 2001, is located just behind Domaine Carneros, a famed winery just a half hour from my former home and a place where I’ve visited innumerable times. Had I traveled a bit further down the…
Tasting the Tannats of Uruguay, Spring 2024 Releases
In a choice review last month, we had the opportunity and good fortune to enjoy a Tannat emanating from the vineyards of California’s Paso Robles region. By lucky coincidence, this happened to dovetail nicely into a simultaneously scheduled webinar with Master Sommelier, wine educator, and all-around amicable fellow Peter Granoff, who presented an overview of…
Review: Bulleit American Single Malt Whiskey
While plenty of smaller, craft brands have been flooding the market with American Single Malt (ASM) whiskey over the last few years, the big boys of American whiskey have been releasing their own expressions at a comparative trickle. Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s hopped on the ASM train last year, and now Bulleit has joined…
Review: Tincup Bourbon Fourteener Release No. 2
Tincup’s Fourteener series (a 14 year old Colorado bourbon) got its start at the end of 2022, and as promised it’s back with a second edition, Release No. 2, which is bottled in honor of Quandary Peak, one of the 58 mountains in Colorado known as Fourteeners, due to their height topping 14,000 feet. For…
Review: 2021 Rombauer Zinfandel California
It’s always a pleasure to try a new vintage from Rombauer, and this year’s Zinfandel release is typical for the winery in that it is, again, atypical for a California Zin. The nose hits with big notes of plum, mocha, cola, and just a trace of tobacco. The palate is a bit different: mocha with…
Review: Old Pepper Bourbon, Rye, and James E. Pepper Bourbon (2024)
Like many American whiskey brands of late, the Old Pepper/James E. Pepper brand has gone through all kinds of changes since we first encountered it in 2013. At the time, the brand was a relaunch of an ancient label that hadn’t been produced since 1958 (or 1961, depending on who you trust), taking advantage of…