Wines from El Dorado County
Madroña 1998 Zinfandel (El Dorado County)
- $12
Fruity, spicy and dry, with a funny medicinal note in both the aroma and flavor, suggestive of Band-Aids. A little rough and rustic, but it gets the job done. Best Buy.
— S.H.
(5/1/2000)
Perry Creek 2001 Chardonnay (El Dorado County)
- $14
Ripely fruity, with sun-warmed flavors of white peach and nectarine. Acids are fine, and boost the structure. There’s also a subtle overlay of oak that adds to the tastes.
— S.H.
(8/1/2003)
VJB 2006 Syrah (El Dorado County)
- Online Exclusive
- $28
Here’s a deeply flavored, fat, opulent young Syrah. It’s quite soft in structure, and has decadent chocolate, black and red currant, prune, grilled meat and spice flavors. High alcohol makes for some heat. Drink now.
— S.H.
(3/1/2009)
IL Gioiello 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (El Dorado County)
- $20
Shows ripe, briary, almost Zinfandel-like wild berry, raisin, cocoa and spice flavors wrapped into sturdy tannins that lead to a dry, peppery finish. Not particularly Cabernet-esque, but a robust wine for barbecue.
— S.H.
(3/1/2010)
True Vine 2007 Estate Petite Sirah (El Dorado County)
- $28
Big and tight and intense, a bottle for serious Petite Sirah lovers only. True Vine’s wines are estate grown and aged for two years in American oak. Big and ageworthy. Marco Cappelli is the winemaker.
— V.B.
(10/1/2011)
Vinum Cellars 2008 The Scrapper Cabernet Franc (El Dorado County)
- Online Exclusive
- $30
Let this heavyweight open; its tannins are tight at first, a showcase of its mountain heritage and more savory personality. Clove and ripe fruit battle against dark coffee and chocolate and those scrappy tannins, which don’t ever relent.
— V.B.
(4/1/2012)
Due Vigne 2007 Musso Family Vineyard Dolcetto (El Dorado County)
- Online Exclusive
- $19
Grown at 2,400-feet elevation from Italian budwood, this Dolcetto, so common to Piedmont but almost unheard of in California, is muy grande, with mountainous tannins and flavors of coffee and toffee and bright notes of cranberry and cherry.
— V.B.
(4/1/2012)
Morse 2007 Jones Vineyard Syrah (El Dorado County)
- $24
This is a tight, monstrous Syrah, with a pocket of black fruit flavor and a dollop of earthiness. It veers into raisiny territory on the finish.
— V.B.
(11/1/2012)
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