Cornerstone Cellars' Stepping Stone Red Rocks!..And it Does!

Throughout this summer I've explored some of the wines from Cornerstone Cellars and their Stepping Stone label. This blog marks the last of the wines I received in the sample shipment from a few months ago. The 2009 Stepping Stone Red Rocks! was something I'd been looking forward to tasting, yet also holding off until the occasion was worthwhile. Since the vast majority of wine drinkers (me included) aren't looking to drink their wines in a sterile environment, tasting and evaluating wine in such an environment can be a bit counterproductive. That's why I'll often open a sample with food, to gain a better sense of how the wine interacts with other tastes, textures, and flavors. Recently, the occasion to open the 2009 Stepping Stone Red Rocks! was appropriate.

Backing up a bit, here's a list of the Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Cellars wines I've tasted to date:
2010 Stepping Stone White Rocks!
2010 Stepping Stone Corallina Rosé
2010 Stepping Stone Riesling
2010 Stepping Stone Sauvignon Blanc

The 2009 Stepping Stone Red Rocks! is a blend of zinfandel and pinot noir, perhaps one of the odder blends you'll ever see. When doing background for this blog feature, I sat back and shook my head when I learned of the blend here. My fear was that the two varietals would clash, creating a disjointed, unpleasant wine.

(img src http://www.cornerstonecellars.com)

Luckily, the 2009 Red Rocks! was anything but disjointed. It's also not for the faint of heart or those seeking "subtle, light wine". Clocking in at a whopping 14.9% abv, this is a textbook "big, juicy, intensely ripe" red blend. I smelled a lot of ripe blackberry and black cherry preserve on the nose, along with vanilla toast, indicating some time spent in oak. The tell-tale heat from the high alcohol crept in but wasn't too distracting, to me that was a pleasant surprise.

Tasting the Stepping Stone Red Rocks! evoked memories of my mom and/or grandmother cooking a Finnish summer berry dish in the kitchen. Basically, you boil ripe strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and sugar, as well as a touch of corn starch, to create a sweet berry compote. The aromas of fruit in the kitchen were often very intense and sweet, two characteristics to describe the flavor of the Red Rocks! If you're looking for a pairing, think smoked spare ribs, marinated tri-tip, or Sloppy Joe sandwiches. They'd all play well against the sweet black and blue berry fruit, toasty vanilla oak, and bits of spice that pop up on the edges of your tongue.

Does this wine sound good to you? For me, serving it with barbecue-sauce drenched ribs was awesome, and I made sure to back up those intensely sweet, ripe flavors with a side of cole-slaw. The 2009 Stepping Stone Red Rocks! is a powerhouse of a wine, and somewhere along the way I think the pinot noir just gives up, letting the zinfandel work it's magic. That turns out to be a good thing, allowing more focus on ripe fruit and spice.

For around $15 a bottle at the Cornerstone Cellars website, this is a great deal on an outstanding summer barbecue wine. It's well made and fits into a style that a lot of us enjoy with heavy, hearty foods. You can order the Red Rocks! via the website or find it at some fine stores in and around Napa Valley.

This blog feature wraps up my tastings of the Stepping Stone by Cornerstone lineup, thanks go to Craig Camp for sending me these bottles to taste. I had a good time tasting and sharing them with you, and it's proof positive that a winery who produces very high end wines can also have a viable, high quality second label that comes in at a very, very friendly price point.

These wines were media samples for review purposes.


Beau Carufel

2010 Stepping Stone White Rocks! (It does!)

After tasting the 2010 Stepping Stone Riesling, 2010 Stepping Stone Sauvignon Musque, and 2010 Stepping Stone Corallina Rosé, I feel like I'm getting to know the Stepping Stone wines a bit more. Granted, I wasn't a fan of the sauvignon blanc but I loved the riesling and rosé. Their combination of high quality and great price are proof positive that Cornerstone Napa Winery is doing it right with their second label.

For this, the 2010 Stepping Stone White Rocks!, we're exploring a blend of chardonnay and muscat, two grapes that can stand on their own quite well. When blended, I honestly have no clue what to expect here. Chardonnay runs the gamut from dry and steely to lush and oaked beyond all recognition, whereas muscat often becomes a sweet, light, perfumed wine that is surprisingly versatile. To blend them is certainly an exercise in daring, the risk here that I'll be tasting a washed out, overly sweet, flabby glass of liquid nastiness.

Then again I know the Cornerstone Cellars and Stepping Stone wines fairly well, so I have some faith that this will be an intellectually stimulating exercise at the very least. Or simply, this wine shouldn't suck.

As a mission statement for the Rocks! wines, the Cornerstone website says this: "Inspired by the blends of southern France, each vintage of Rocks! is a new creation weaving the characteristics of each vintage by interlacing the personalities of each variety selected. The style of our Rocks! wines will flow with the vintage as our goal is not to replicate a certain taste profile, but to make the most interesting wines possible each vintage."

(img src:http://www.cornerstonecellarblog.com/) 

A nice golden straw color appears in my glass as if by magic, but it's really just me pouring a "taste". All in the name of research of course. As usual, this wine (and all other white wines) get to sit out and warm up a few degrees before I review it. The White Rocks! coloration reminds me of sauvignon blanc that's been aged in oak barrels. It's not dark yellow like a chardonnay or sweet riesling, yet there is more here than with a translucent pinot grigio.

The bouquet can best be described as a mish-mash of stone fruit, summer flowers, wet rocks, and green apples. Ripe peach and nectarine comprise the two most prominent aromas, but the light flower scents helped to balance out the sweetness of the fruit. There's a nice mineral element too, I kept imaging wet limestone or wet chalk. Again something to contrast the ripe peach/nectarine that seemed to dominate. And yes the green apples were awesome, cleaning up the entire bouquet and wrapping it in a neat package for me to ponder. It's obvious that the team at Cornerstone paid attention to detail when blending this white wine.

So how does it taste? Great! Clean fruit flavors and vibrant acidity make the 2010 White Rocks! a very enjoyable, refreshing wine. Think of a chardonnay stripped of the oak and malolactic fermentation, all apple and nectarines. That wine would have a certain lightness yet retain a nice sense of depth. Add in that muscat and there's a richness through the palate, part sweet and part soft, taming some of that acidity while allowing a nice balance to be struck. I guess I should point out something that did disappoint, though it's nitpicky. On the front-palate this wine does struggle a bit with it's identity. I got the sense that the juicy (in a lip smacking way) acid wanted to come first but the sweet muscat fruit flavors weren't letting that happen. Still, that's about all I could find wrong.

Cornerstone's 2010 Stepping Stone White Rocks! would pair well with a fresh summer salad of baby lettuce, spinach, candied cherries and crumbled feta. You could also work with a grilled, herb-marinated chicken dish to create a traditional southern California summer dinner.

At $15 suggested retail price, it's a QPR home run and for those of you looking for white wines that remain light and dry, yet come with a bit of sweet fruit, this is your wine! I give a B and a STRONG BUY recommendation. Check out the Cornerstone website for where to purchase this delicious wine.

This wine was a media sample generously provided by the winery.

Beau Carufel

2010 Stepping Stone Corallina Rosé

Continuing with my tastings of the Stepping Stone wines by Cornerstone Cellars, I sampled the 2010 Stepping Stone Corallina rosé recently and found it to be absolutely delightful. Out of the six samples Cornerstone Cellars sent to me, I've reviewed the 2010 Stepping Stone sauvignon blanc and 2010 Stepping Stone riesling so far. With two more wines to taste (after this rosé), I should be done with the lineup in about a week or so.

Admittedly I'm a bit of a rosé junkie, the Domaine Tempier from Bandol is of course my benchmark for top quality examples. When the 2010 Stepping Stone Corallina showed up and I saw it was 100% syrah from Napa Valley, I may or may not have gotten just a touch excited to taste it. Being the patient chap that I am though, I allowed the wine to rest up a bit in my wine fridge before finally giving it a try.

(img src: http://fabocwinechick.wordpress.com) 

The 2010 Corallina is gorgeous wine with a beautiful salmon color, a copperish-pink that captures the eye from any angle. It's clear all the way through, resembling some of the French rosé's I've had this year, and I feel is atypical of rosé wine from California.

Aromatically this is all sweet summer melon, fresh berries, a twist of lemon, and bits of floral perfume. The Stepping Stone Corallina has a nice depth, giving the perception of a multi-layered wine, one that you can sink into, discovering new aromas with each sniff of your wine glass. Did I mention I'm a bit of a rosé junkie yet? There's a certain delicate nature to rosé, or at least to the best ones, and finding that special quality in the 2010 Corallina was a wonderful revelation.

Finally! I get to taste this rosé that's been teasing me for the past hour while it slowly came closer to room temperature. Clean, pure acidity with elements of melon, green herbs, summer strawberry and cherry all start strong and turn into a medium-bodied, smooth tasting experience. A spell in oak barrels helped add some richness, preventing the wine from being too one dimensional. I kept thinking "great structure, impressive for a California rosé!".

Stepping Stone's Corallina is complex, with the flavors all in balance yet popping up at different times, creating a sense of adventure when you find a new one. A great seam of acidity keeps things light but not necessarily delicate, this is rosé of syrah after all. Rather, the acid creates a nice sense of body without being overly harsh or astringent. I'm impressed.

Am I fan? YES! This is highly recommended rosé to go out and buy right now. The suggested retail is $18, a really nice price on a very high quality rosé. With a chill on it, you want to break out the spicy hummus and pita chips for a great afternoon out on the deck or patio. To purchase, visit the Cornerstone Cellars website.

This wine was a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Cornerstone's 2010 Stepping Stone Riesling, Impressive.

Continuing with the wine samples sent to me by Cornerstone Cellars, I recently tasted their 2010 Stepping Stone Riesling, also from Napa Valley fruit. Riesling and Napa Valley don't exactly go together in a lot of people's minds, I admit to a bit of bias myself when I saw this. Interestingly enough, riesling used to be planted all over Napa Valley, but has long since been ripped up for cabernet and chardonnay predominantly.

I think though, that I also know the skill level of winemaker Jeff Keene, so upon a bit of reflection I thought to myself "This could be some very good wine, why not make riesling in Napa?"

The Stepping Stone label has been around for three vintages, this is the first time they've released a riesling and I think wine lovers everywhere are in for a real treat.

(img src: http://www.cornerstonecellars.com/steppingstone)

The 2010 Stepping Stone Napa Valley Riesling pours a beautiful pale yellow, bright and clear all the way through. Aromatically, this riesling smells amazing. Citrus blossom, lychee, stone fruit and a touch of melon. At once classy, yet exciting and racy, I couldn't pull my nose out of the glass. Just like with the 2010 Stepping Stone Cuvee Musque, Jeff Keene brings out enticing aromas that evolve beautifully the longer your wine sits in the glass.

I love how dry this riesling is too, lots of acid right away sets the tone for a structured, linear wine. I immediately picked up clean flavors of summer stone fruit, tangerine, and great minerality. The finish was memorable because it was so tight and quick, in a good way. Sometimes a wine's finish can be too abrupt, leaving the drinker wondering what just happened. Not so with the 2010 Stepping Stone Riesling, while the finish is quick, it packs enough acid to get your palate ready for the next bite of food. After each sip I put my glass down and had a big grin on my face, a testament to the sheer enjoyment this wine brings.

Speaking of food, this is begging for spicy Thai, sushi, or grilled herb-rubbed chicken. It's one of the more versatile white wines I've had lately, which makes sense because riesling is a darling of sommeliers everywhere, it pairs with a wide variety of foods.

For about $18, the 2010 Stepping Stone riesling is superb, a great example of making wine with a varietal not common to a particular region, and doing it quite well. Easy B+ and STRONG BUY recommendation. I would love to pour this blind for some riesling loving buddies and see if they could pick out where it came from. Buy a lot, if you want something to open on a hot summer day as you're cooking up a new dish, you're in luck. You should hurry though, only 435 cases were made.

This was a sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Cornerstone's Stepping Stone Sauvignon Blanc, With a Twist!

I know I've fallen behind on posting reviews, but it's summer time so perhaps you'll cut me some slack. Between planning a trip to Spain, researching jobs in Portland, Oregon, Becky visiting me, and my paying job (not wine blogging, sheesh!), I just haven't had time or energy to write a lot of blogs. That does not mean I haven't been busily tasting and evaluating wines though, far from it! I'm reaching the end of a notebook I started in March of this year, and we're only in July. So there you go, not much blogging of late, still lots of tasting and note-taking.

Rewind a few weeks ago and I got a case of samples from the wonderful folks at Cornerstone Cellars in Napa Valley. Who is Cornerstone, you ask? A premium producer of Napa Valley and Oregon wines, I answer. In Napa Valley they make two bottlings of cabernet sauvignon and one of sauvignon blanc. In the Willamette Valley, Cornerstone produces a pinot noir. In the case was selection from their Stepping Stone line, which is priced as a daily-drinker versus the higher price points on the Cornerstone wines.

Their head honcho, a delightful chap named Craig Camp, is big into social media and supports bloggers. I suspect he's probably one of the most active tweeters when it comes to wine and social media fusion. He also makes some stunningly awesome wines, I've had the privilege of tasting Cornerstone cabernet sauvignon multiple times and am always left with a huge, silly grin on my face and an empty glass. Since my introduction to them (and to Craig) at last year's Wine Blogger's Conference, the Cornerstone wines have shot to the upper echelons of "Kick-Ass California Cab Producers" in my blogger brain.

Since not many of us drink $60+ cabernet on a daily basis (but I say congrats if you do!), Cornerstone makes a second line, priced around $20 and called Stepping Stone. Within the Stepping Stone line are bottlings of: cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, syrah, sauvignon blanc, riesling, a white blend, a red blend, and a rosé. Quite a lineup, one I suspect is meant to offer something to nearly every palate out there. In the following blogs I'll explore each wine and try to get a sense of what Craig and winemaker Jeff Keene are trying to do.

This will be my first blog about the Stepping Stone wines, with the 2010 Stepping Stone Sauvignon Blanc Cuveé Musque leading off.

Sauvignon blanc has it's share of clones, the same way pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and basically all the other popular varietals do. Over the past ten years, one clone, a particularly aromatic one, has become very popular in Napa Valley. This is called the "sauvignon musque" clone. The "musque" part referring to the aromatic qualities, in this case, greater than those of the original grape. Call it an oddball mutation that had a great result.

Cornerstone released their 2010 Stepping Stone Sauvignon Blanc Cuvee Musque just a few short months ago, after a September harvest and March bottling. I am happy to sample it and share my impressions with you. The tasting procedure is by now a familiar one, the Stepping Stone bottle being pulled from the refrigerator an hour before and opened about 20 minutes prior to tasting.

This sauvignon blanc (or sauvignon musque for our purposes) poured a pale yellow-green into my glass. As I held it to the light, the colors alternately went towards one side or the other, yellow or green. The aromatics were beautiful, fresh sliced pear, a touch of cut grass, mandarin orange, and pineapple. I kept shoving my nose into the glass as deep as I could, to get as much of the amazing bouquet as possible. Since so much of what I glean from a wine comes from how it smells, I was excited to start tasting the Stepping Stone sauvignon blanc.

When I tasted it, I wrote the following, unedited notes: "Little bit boozy..grapefruit, lush through the mid-palate..didn't seem to have a lot of dimension on the finish..tastes a bit manipulated..really enjoyed the initial burst of acid, faded away too quickly though.. NEEDS FOOD"

There you have it. I think the 13.5% alcohol showed a bit, lending some weight and flabby tones to the wine, but that bright burst of acidity right away was so compelling! I honestly felt like this was two different wines, not really sure which one was going to come out on top. However, if this was paired with a meal, that added weight would undoubtedly help the Stepping Stone stand up to some heartier fare, grilled fish or chicken perhaps.

Did I like this wine? No, not really, to be honest. Is there anything wrong with it? Besides what I consider a bit too much alcohol, no there isn't. If I could go back in time, I'd taste this wine after it had been in an ice bucket for about 40 minutes, to see how the chill would help out with that boozy weight.

So who then would like the 2010 Stepping Stone sauvignon blanc? If you do like your sauvignon blanc's dry, yet with some weight, a lushness, then this is definitely for you. It's at the more luxurious, softer side of the sauvignon blanc spectrum, which isn't to say it's a soft, buttery wine, just that compared to a lot of California sauvignon blancs I've had, it's got more heft and softness.

 At $18, it's right in line with other California, or  specifically Napa Valley examples of the varietal. B- from me. Just not my thing, but in no way does it cause me to lose faith in one of my favorite producers.

Follow Cornerstone Napa on Twitter and Facebook, and seek out their wines wherever you live! If you're having trouble, tweet or email Craig and his team and they'll do their best to help you out.

This wine was a media sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

The Long Awaited San Diego Wine Mafia Rosé Rumble Recap!

It's been a while since we, the SDWM (San Diego Wine Mafia), tasted through a fun lineup of rosé's. Unfortunately I got a bit sidetracked with other projects and this recap-post was put off for too long. I'll be highlighting some delicious rosé's that we tasted, and since spring is approaching quickly, that means the weather is becoming far more conducive to drinking this type of wine. For us rosé lovers though, any time is a good time to drink it.

The 12 bottles were put into brown paper bags and numbered before most of the San Diego Wine Mafia arrived at the Secret Lair. Obviously, we wanted to keep the tasting "blind". I knew only that we were tasting some rosé's and that some were going to have bubbles. Data pertaining to location, varietal composition, pricing and other factors weren't made known until the bottles were unveiled. My tasting notes are below and I noted the name of each only after the came out of the bag. Looking back I think a better idea would have been to avoid the sparkling rosé's entirely this time around. Perhaps next time we'll do only still wines or only sparkling wines. I'd like to taste more examples as the seasons continue to change, so stay tuned for the next rosé installment, hopefully this June.

*Note* This is the order randomly put together at the tasting, of which I had no say in the matter...

#1. Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava - Ripe strawberries, nice bubbly texture, some kind of ashy note though? Maybe it's just me but I cant get into it too much. C+. $7 SRP.

#2. Valdo Nerello Mascalese Brut Rosé - Sweet, almost Brachetto-like? Some acidity comes through, and I like how my palate is cleansed on the finish. Not too bad at all, after that first hit of sweetness. C+ $13 SRP. 12% abv.

#3. Stepping Stone Corallina Rosé by Cornerstone Cellars - Good color, nice balance of sweet and tart on the nose..hints of residual sugar on the finish but also a nice balance with acidity creating a refreshing sensation. Everyone kept saying they could detect melon, for me this wine was all sliced sour cherries and strawberries. B- $16. 13.1% abv.

#4. Pink Girl Rose - Dry cheese, like a sour or bitter Swiss or something? Weird and unexpected nose. Doesn't grab me and I question whether or not it's actually got some bottle shock going on or some bottle instability? **Upon reviewing the notes, I think there might have been acetic acid present, hence the bitter cheese smell**  Not rated. $18 SRP, 14.1% ABV


#5. Garrineau Rosé Bordeaux - Raspberry sorbet on the nose, beautiful. I love the acidity that washes across my palate, cleansing it off and getting me ready for that next bite of food. If I had to guess, this would be from France, Provence even. (Note that I was pleased to find out it was from Bordeaux) Maybe northern California but someplace cooler up in that area? B $10 SRP


#6. Charity Case Rosé - Higher residual sugar than any of the previous rosé's? Tastes like a rosé of a noble varietal, like merlot or syrah. Fairly beefy/meaty, sweet cherry, raspberry and strawberry. Tasting and smelling very light, this might be better if it was colder. B-. $12 SRP. 13.5% ABV


#7. Banfi Brachetto Rosa Regale - Or any Brachetto? Not for me. But if you like Brachetto you will love this. Too sweet, desperately needs to be paired with a dessert, hard to sip on it's own. I guess I just prefer my wines drier. Loaded with raspberry and sweet strawberry. Soft, round bubbles and some delicate acidity. B- $25 SRP. 7% abv.

#8. Penman Springs Paso Robles - So far I really like this, nicely acidic, what I want from a rosé. Balanced lightness with fruit flavors and flower petals. Very crisp and clean. Up to this point, the best of the bunch for my palate. I hope it's from France. B+ $15 SRP.







#9. Mushal Rose of Merlot - Sweet but tart, good contrasts! Dried flower petals, hints of fresh sliced fruit (melons). I want to say domestic OR Spanish. A bit heavy on the residual sugar but still, if it's cheap enough, good juice and a lot of fun to drink. B. $20. 14.1% abv.

#10. Not rated, horrible stuff. I suspect volatile acidity caused the wine to go bad.

#11. Blenheim Vineyards Rose Virginia - Good, bracing acidity. Dried flower petals, smells like France. Romantic, classy juice. Beautiful tart berry makes your lips pucker with pleasure. B+ $19.









My notes are rough and mostly unedited because I tend to type very quickly as I taste wines in order to capture as accurately as possible what my brain is telling me right that instant. Later, I go back and fill in the blanks, so to speak. Out of all the rosé examples, only two thoroughly impressed me and both were domestic. Even more surprising was the Blenheim Vineyards rosé because it's from a state not yet very well known for wine. While Virginia has a small, passionate group of people making and promoting their wines, the West Coast doesn't see much exposure. Hopefully this will change over the next few years though, I know that as a blogger I would love to taste through some more Virginia wine.

In the near future for me, a book review, a wine-preserver review and we explore Soave! Also some delicious wines from Ceja Vineyards will be gracing my palate. Further along, a wonderful dessert wine tasting is coming up on the 23rd of this month.

My contribution, the Mushal rosé was a media sample kindly provided by the winery.

Beau Carufel

Highlights from the Family Winemakers San Diego Tasting, March 13th.

On March 13th the Family Winemakers of California organization held their third annual San Diego tasting. This year there were around 200 wineries participating, a great showing at a cool venue. The Del Mar Fairgrounds have a lot of large, open buildings that work well when setting up loads of tables. The aisles were very wide and I didn't feel too crowded at any point. This year around 2000 people attended, including both the press and the general public. Because I am such an accomplished blogger and general all-around badass, I chose to attend the press tasting and ended up staying through the general public tasting. No seriously.

With so many wineries participating, tasting through everything is impossible. Granted, that didn't stop some people from trying, or so it seemed. Before going, I printed out the list of wineries and highlighted the ones I knew I wanted to check out. Unfortunately, once I arrived, it was just too cumbersome to keep pulling out the list so I had to rely on memory. Obviously this is not an optimal solution and made me want an iPad so that I could basically keep it out at all times and have the list right there ready to be read and checked off. That and I really want an iPad.


My San Diego Wine Mafia amigo Bill aka Cuvee_Corner and I drove out there, where we met our fellow mafioso BrainWines and WineHarlots. My friend Scott over at The Vino File was there and posted his highlights here, well worth the read. I also ran into some old friends from the wine business, from my days at San Diego Wine Company. That was a welcome treat and a great way to start off the tasting.


I tasted close to 50 wines and by the end of the day I even tweeted that I knew I was experiencing palate fatigue because everything was tasting like a Rhone blend. Below are some of my favorites of the tasting. I've tried to include as much information as possible so you can explore the wineries and producers if you're interested. As I've said before, it's vitally important that we support the smaller wineries in this state and this was a great opportunity to put faces next to wine glasses.


2005 Corison Kronos Cabernet Sauvignon - Oozing elegance and class, this is built for the long haul. I loved the cassis, plum and tobacco notes. Lots of structure that carries through to a nearly explosive finish of earth and plum. You get the sense that this is what Napa cabernet used to taste like, 25 years ago. A-/A $125 SRP.


2003 Corison Napa Cabernet Sauvignon - This wine wowed me for two reasons. First, it's gorgeous structure. Black fruits deftly balancing firm tannins and quintessential Napa dusty notes sing to your senses. The other reason was the aging potential I feel the 03 Corison has. I would love to taste this in 15 years and see how it's evolved, and I am not really one to want to wait that long for a wine! A- $N/A


2007 Zotovich Cellars Santa Rita Pinot Noir - Bacon wrapped sour cherries shod in Victoria's Secret silk underwear. Only 300 cases were made, and at $40 it drinks exactly like it should. I really got into the cloves and spices, they worked so well with the acidity to keep the pinot vibrant and popping. A- $40 srp


2008 Zotovich Cellars Estate Syrah - Quite possibly one of the best wines of the tasting for me. This is a big one, lots of blueberry jam, cedar, spices and that awesome grapey syrah flavor. Fine grained tannins lent structure and a superb vein of crushed white and black pepper tempered the explosive blueberry flavors. A $42 SRP


2007 Trione Chardonnay - One of the better California chardonnays I've had this year. Plenty of vanilla oak and buttered popcorn from the oak barrels nad 100% malolactic treatment. However, zesty lemon, fuji apple and passion fruit balance those out. Winemaker Scot Covington did a good job creating a chardonnay which balances a rich entry with a pleasing, food friendly finish. A- $30 SRP


2006 Trione Cabernet Sauvinon Single Block - After spending two years in oak, this cabernet hits you like a steel gauntlet in a velvet glove. Gorgeous notes of herb and baking chocolate, a core of black currant and cherry. Firm, strong tannins speak to the power of the wine and it's ability to age. A superb effort that will reward anyone with the patience to cellar it for 10 or more years. A $64 SRP


2009 Saxon Brown Etre Chardonnay - Words like smooth, lively, lush, crisp, and yummy might seem to be somewhat contradictory. Not so in this wine, one of the most balanced and most interesting chardonnays I tasted. Priced fairly at $30, I would gladly take this over more expensive chardonnays from all over this state. A- SRP


2007 Saxon Brown Parmelee Hill Owl Box Syrah - Talk about a mix of flavors rolled into a 750 ml wine bottle! It's like a plate of warm roasted nuts, dry bitter cheese and black cherry preserves staring you in the face. Great pepper and spice reminded me of a well stocked pantry while the tannins held it all together. I used the word harmony in my tasting notes, especially in reference to the finish. Goes on and on..and on..and on! A. $38 SRP and one of the best values at the tasting. Buy many bottles!


2008 Saxon Brown Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir - Imagine teriyaki beef jerky and ripe sour cherries dusted with spices from your grandmothers spice rack. The acidity here is terrific, allowing the flavors their due while also preserving a food friendly angle. Absolutley loved it! A- $48 SRP


2007 Mauritson Buck Pasture Rockpile Vineyard - A Bordeaux style blend from Mauritson, with 60% cabernet sauvignon, 20% petite verdor, 10%$ cabernet franc, 10% malbec. My tasting notes: "blended well, loads of dark chocolate and a mix of nice ripe berries that lurk in the background. Will get much better with time but is a great steak wine right now" B+ $50 SRP

2009 Marilyn Remark VMR - Viognier, marsanne and roussanne blended together like a white Cotes du Rhone. Kiwi fruit, fresh cut straw jumped out on the nose. Lemongrass lurks in the background, enhancing the fresh scent. Wonderfully complex with all three varietals making themselves known. I was also very impressed with the balance. A- $28 SRP

20008 Marilyn Remark Petite Sirah - Reminds me of blackberry liquer, it's so rich and sweet smelling. I tasted some great tannins that while strong, were well integrated and didn't distract from the ripe fruit and baking chocolate. There was a hint of something herbal I found, which added a great unexpected dimension to the wine. A- $28 SRP


2006 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - I think this wine has plenty of accolades already, but it's just so good! I wish I'd tasted it with a medium rare New York strip because that's what it begs for. Juicy acidity and big bold tannins share the sandbox with cassis, blueberry, herbs and dry earth notes. Sublime and will only get better with age. A- $75 SRP

2005 Cru Vin Dogs "Best In Show" Cabernet Sauvignon - A series of wines I'd never heard of, but these wonderful people donate a minimum of 10% of all online sales to dog charities. That rocks and as a dog lover, I had to taste through their wines. This one stood out to me and I urge you to check out the story behind this particular wine, click here to go to their website. The wine was superb, with violets, earth and black fruit on the nose. Definitely a "big" cabernet too, lots of tannic structure and spices, even hints of dark chocolate and plums. Will be great in another five years or so, but it's damned good now. A- $75 SRP

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read through my recap. I wrote a bit more than usual because I tasted so many wonderful wines. Part of me regrets not being able to include all the wines I tasted through the day but these were truly exceptional wines that I felt you should hear about. Like I mentioned before, I'm all about supporting the small wineries and the San Diego Family Winemakers of California tasting allowed me to do just that. I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to next year. If you have any questions about the wines I tried, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Beau Carufel