Jeb Dunnuck- February 2019
February 2019
2016 VIDA BELLA VINEYARD CHARDONNAY – 96 points
2016 LESTER FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR – 95 points
2016 COASTVIEW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR – 95 points
2015 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH – 93 points
2015 COASTVIEW VINEYARD SYRAH – 94 points
2015 ALFARO FAMILY VINEYARDS PINOT NOIR – 93 points
2015 ODEON – 93 points
2016 COASTVIEW VINEYARD CHARDONNAY – 92 points
2015 GABILAN MOUNTAINS GSM – 92 points
2015 SIXTY-TWO TERRACES SYRAH – 92+ points
2015 COASTVIEW VINEYARD TERRACES SYRAH – 92+ points
2015 ALTITUDE 2292 – 92+ points
2016 OLD CORRAL PINOT NOIR – 92+ points
2016 HOMESTEAD – 90 points
2016 Vida Bella Vineyard Chardonnay- 96 points: “The 2016 Chardonnay Vida Bella comes from a site in the Santa Cruz Mountains and spent 15 months in neutral oak. Possessing plenty of reductive characteristics in its lemon curd, spice, pineapple cream, white flowers, and flinty minerality, this beauty is medium-bodied, concentrated, and vibrant on the palate. It reminds me of a Chevalier-Montrachet and needs 4-5 years of bottle age.”
2016 Lester Family Vineyards Pinot Noir- 95 points:”The vibrant ruby-colored 2016 Lester Family Vineyard Pinot Noir is a beauty. Brought up in 25% new oak and not destemmed, it has a good mix of red and black fruits, spicy oak, sappy flowers, and underbrush. Juicy, taut, and vibrant on the palate, with bright yet integrated acidity, it has a balanced style that’s going to benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring and keep for a decade or more.”
2016 Coastview Vineyards Pinot Noir- 95 points:”The 2016 Coastview Vineyard Pinot Noir is one of the more delicate wines, with pretty red fruits, smoked earth, spring flowers, and spice aromas and flavors. Like all of Bradley’s wines, it has juicy acidity and terrific purity, is medium-bodied, elegant and lively. It also has a vibrant, poised style that’s going to age beautifully. It’s one of my favorites in the lineup but needs 3-4 years of bottle age. This saw 88% whole clusters and spent 18 months in 42% new French oak.”
2015 Rattlesnake Rock Syrah- 94 points:”From what could be considered the home estate vineyard of Big Basin Vineyards, the 2015 Rattlesnake Rock Syrah was two-thirds destemmed and spent just under two years in 29% new French oak. Its deep purple/ruby color gives way to a concentrated, rich, masculine Syrah that has classic notes of blackberries, peppered meats, olive, and hints of bacon fat. This medium to full-bodied Syrah from Bradley has terrific purity, integrated acidity, and a great finish. Give it 2-3 years and enjoy over the following decade or more.”
2015 Coastview Vineyard Syrah- 94 points:”Seeing plenty of stems and 21% new oak, the 2015 Syrah Coastview Vineyard (8% Viognier) has an exotic, elegant, perfumed style that keeps you coming back to the glass. Blackberries, currants, green olives, bacon fat, and exotic floral notes (no doubt due to the Viognier) all flow to a medium to full-bodied, supple, oh, so pure, seamless Syrah that does everything right. Drink it over the coming decade. I’m a fan.”
2015 Alfaro Family Vineyards Pinot Noir- 93 points:”One of the darker colored Pinot Noirs in the lineup, the 2015 Alfaro Family Vineyard Pinot Noir was not destemmed and spent 18 months in one-third new French oak. This rich, concentrated beauty gives up ample currant and cherry fruits, lots of spice, earth, and underbrush notes, medium to full body, good acidity, and a great finish. It’s a beautifully layered, age-worthy Pinot Noir that’s going to be better with 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for over a decade. It picks up an alluring iodine and marine quality with time in the glass.”
2015 Odeon- 93 points:”The 2015 Odeon checks in as 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Syrah, and 1% Viognier that’s from both Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. This forward, fleshy, sexy blend offers lots of darker fruits, leafy herbs, tobacco, and underbrush aromatics and is elegant and lively on the palate, with terrific balance. While it’s already beautiful, it’s going to keep for 10-12 years with no issues.”
2016 Coastview Vineyard Chardonnay- 92 points:”The light gold-colored 2016 Coastview Chardonnay, from a site in Monterey County, spent 12 months in neutral barrels followed by 7 months in stainless steel. It has a smoking bouquet of lemon curd, toasted spices, white flowers, and honeyed pineapple, with just a hint of brioche and toastiness. It’s clean, vibrant, and pure, with a touch of Aubert-like aromas and flavors yet more focus and precision, although less oomph. Drink it over the coming decade.”
2015 Gabilan Mountains GSM- 92 points:”The 2015 Gabilan Mountains GSM checks in as 53% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, and the rest Syrah that was 40% destemmed and brought up in neutral oak. It has a vibrant bouquet of black fruits, smoked meats, spice, and ample mineral/rocky notes. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant, it has both richness and finesse, and it’s going to age gracefully for upwards of a decade.”
2015 Sixty Two Terraces Syrah- 92+ points:”Deep ruby-colored, the 2015 Sixty Two Terraces Syrah was mostly destemmed (there’s 18% whole clusters) and spent 21 months in 40% new 300-liter French oak barrels. Black cherries, tart plum, smoked earth, and ample peppery notes all emerge from the glass, and it’s tight yet concentrated on the palate. With good acidity and ripe, polished tannins, it needs 2-3 years of bottle age to develop more complexity and will keep through 2028.”
2015 Coastview Vineyards Terraces Syrah- 92+ points:”Slightly darker colored than the straight Coastview Vineyard Syrah, the 2015 Syrah Coastview Vineyard Terraces spent 21 months in 31% new French oak. Blackberries, black cherries, scorched earth, and charred meat notes all emerge from this solid effort, which has a masculine, mineral-laced, almost granitic style on the palate. It has the purity to drink nicely today but will be better with short-term cellaring and will have 10-12 years or more of overall longevity.”
2015 Altitude 2292- 92+ points:”The 2015 Altitude 2292 is a terrific Bordeaux blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec, and 4% Petit Verdot that spent 21 months in 33% new French oak. It has classic Cab notes of blackcurrants, smoke tobacco, lead pencil, and graphite. Possessing medium to full body, a balanced, layered texture, good acidity, and a great finish, it’s a smoking good Bordeaux blend from this mountain terroir.”
2016 Old Corral Pinot Noir- 92+ points:”Translucent ruby-colored, the 2016 Old Corral Pinot Noir was not destemmed and spent 18 months in 25% new French oak. It’s a juicy, elegant, complex red that has plenty of tart cherry, mulberry, dried herbs, and dried flower aromas and flavors. It’s tight and nicely structured, with plenty of tannins, yet has solid balance and length. There’s certainly not much baby fat here, but it has a lot going for it as well. I’d give bottles 2-3 years of cellaring and I suspect it’s going to shine for 10-12 years.”
2016 Homestead- 90 points:”The 2016 Homestead is a good value and boasts a deep ruby/purple color, lots of blackberry and mulberry fruits, tons of spice and underbrush, medium body, and nicely integrated acidity. This delicious, forward, total charmer still has the freshness and vibrancy that’s the hallmark of this estate. The blend is 48% Syrah, 27% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 9% Carignane, and the rest Viognier, aged in neutral oak.”