Showing items 1
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Gainey 2008 Limited Selection Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Editors' Choice
- $48
An absolutely lovely Pinot, the best in Gainey’s long career. Dry, smooth and silky, it defines Pinot’s more Burgundian side, with mushroomy notes along with perfectly ripe cherries and raspberries, accented with brilliant acidity. The oak treatment is tasteful and blends in seamlessly, offering a hint of toast. The wine treads an exciting line between ripeness and…
— S.H.
(12/1/2010)
Gainey 1996 Limited Selection Merlot (Santa Ynez Valley)
- $25
Here’s a stunning Merlot, not from the North Coast but a warmish region of Santa Barbara. Shows currant and dark-chocolate aromas with soy, anise and leather. Drinks soft and rich, really high quality, such depth and intensity. A great Merlot, but only 170 cases to go around.
— S.H.
(9/1/1999)
Gainey 2004 Limited Selection Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley)
- $38
The grapes actually are from an estate vineyard in the warmer eastern Santa Rita Hills, with 12% from Santa Ynez Valley, which makes it more or less a blend of warm and cool climates. This pretty Syrah shows a varietal purity and structural integrity that make it great. Smooth and long in the finish, it’s a tour de force of black currants, licorice, cola, cedar…
— S.H.
(6/1/2007)
Gainey 2005 Limited Selection Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $44
Gainey’s regular ’05 was a beautiful wine. This is more full-bodied, richer and higher in alcohol, and merits its reserve status. It’s a young wine, opulent in cherries and raspberries that have a baked pie-filling warmth, and complexed with cola, sweet leather, figs, pomegranates and dusty Asian spices. Very delicious now, it should develop additional complexities…
— S.H.
(12/31/2007)
Gainey 2005 Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- $20
Another beautiful wine from Gainey, a great producer whose Sauvignon Blanc comes from one of the best terroirs for that variety in California. The aroma is so invitingly rich in lemongrass, pineapple zest, Key lime pie and coconut macaroon that you almost fear it won’t follow up in the mouth, but it does. Bone dry, rich, zesty and clean, it seems to have benefited…
— S.H.
(5/1/2007)
Gainey 2001 Limited Selection Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County)
- Editors' Choice
- $35
An enormous, complex, brooding and extraordinary Pinot Noir, a blend of Bien Nacido and Gainey’s Santa Rosa Hills vineyards. Opens with a blast of peppery, cherry fruit, with tobacco and minty overtones. The rich berry flavors in a creamy texture, with sweet oak tannins, feel ripe, plush and terrific in the mouth. Editors’ Choice.
— S.H.
(7/1/2003)
Gainey 2007 Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $20
This bottling from veteran Gainey is one of the most dependable in California. The ’07 doesn’t disappoint, bringing back memories of the fabulous ’04 and ’05. Like them, it’s dry, rich and crisp in acidity, with a sourdough yeastiness, like Champagne, that heightens and brightens the lemon, lime, fig and spice flavors.
— S.H.
(2/1/2009)
Gainey 2003 Limited Selection Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)
- $48
Here’s a rich, young, sappy wine. It’s full-bodied, yet silky and elegant. It has delicious, complex flavors of cherries, raspberries and chocolate that are boosted by crisp acidity, with a smooth, satiny finish. Just yummy.
— S.H.
(3/1/2006)
Showing items 1
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What We're Tasting
2009 Rodney Strong Reserve
A lovely restaurant-style Pinot Noir, showing lots of class and elegance…
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