Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Angeleno Wine Company – The Meadow Rosé 2023 California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Angeleno Wine Company has carved out a name for championing Los Angeles–area vineyards and rare varietals, often reviving forgotten plots and turning them into expressive, small-production wines. The Meadow is their signature rosé, a field blend of Rhône and Iberian varietals (exact percentages vary by vintage), produced with minimal intervention to highlight freshness and site-driven character.

Aromas & Flavors
Delicate notes of wild strawberry, raspberry, and watermelon, laced with rose petal, orange peel, and a whisper of white pepper. Bright citrus undertones keep it lifted and refreshing.

Mouthfeel
Light-bodied, crisp, and bone-dry with vibrant acidity. The texture is clean and precise, finishing with a subtle mineral edge that speaks to the vineyard’s hillside character.

Winemaking Notes
Naturally fermented, aged in stainless steel to preserve brightness, and bottled with minimal sulfur. This rosé reflects Angeleno’s philosophy of low-intervention winemaking and transparency of terroir.

Food Pairing
Perfect with charcuterie boards, shrimp tacos, or grilled Mediterranean vegetables. Its crispness also makes it an ideal aperitif on a warm day.

Verdict
A lively, refreshing rosé that embodies Angeleno Wine Co.’s pioneering spirit in L.A. winemaking. Both playful and serious, it shows that Southern California can deliver authentic, terroir-driven wines.

Personal Pick Highlight
Ultra-limited and very L.A. at heart, this rosé stands as one of the most authentic expressions of California’s new-wave winemaking — a bottle that feels as much about place and community as it does about the wine itself. Cheers! — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2019 vintage. Haven’t seen many Sanford & Benedict offerings in the last few years and then this pops up. S&B used to be the go-to Santa Ynez area vineyard but likely gets overlooked now with all the vineyard development in the last 25 years in the region. Light-medium body and old-school, Oregonian Pinot color but zippy and kicking. 4.20.23. — 3 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.9

Fieldwork tundra triple ipa. Wow! Is this easy to drink. Perfectly balanced. Would love to try this next to the younger. Amazing hops, but what I love is the excellent malt. Highly, highly recommend. The expansion of this brewery made it loose rarity but they are still at the top of Bay Area imo. — 6 years ago

Rob McCormish

9.0

This is the second bottle we had in the last few month and the 2014 is showing well. If you know the secret code found on the label you can see that the juice came from the Rutherford area. While not a powerful wine, it has substantial typical characteristics of a valley floor Napa Cab. Very enjoyable now and for at least a couple more years. Fine effort. — 7 years ago

James Brenner

9.2

Super bowl beer. 🏈 — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Sleight of Hand Cellars gets it's name from Winemaker/Co-owner Trey Busch’s favorite Pearl Jam song, Sleight of Hand. He started the winery with partners Jerry and Sandy Solomon in 2007 after meeting at an auction. Since then, Sleight of Hand has become somewhat of a cult winery in Washington. The tasting room is decorated with an old jukebox and hipster inspired by rock albums. You only need to walk into the winery to see their love of Rock n' Roll. The winery also has a magic theme; which grew out of their name. All of their bottles have imagery of vintage magic posters that inspired their labels and names. It’s easy to see that the tasting room has great music and good vibe. While they make serious wines, the owners are fun, humble and only wish to make the best wine in Washington. They're on a good track. Photos of; a wide shot of the main tasting area, Trey Busch-Co-owner/Winemaker, the cover of the Pearl Jam album "Binaural"...the album that the song "Sleight of Hand" is on and the sitting area of their private tasting room. On the nose; a touch of funk, dark currants, tarry notes, savory grilled meats, pepper, iodine, blood, herbs & dark, candied, floral with violets. The palate has M+ body & tannins. Black currants, black plum, blackberries, blue fruits, dark cherries, black raspberries & raspberries. Pepper, blood, iodine, grilled meats, black licorice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, clove, black cherry cola, fresh, red florals & violets, crushed rocks, loamy soils and big, round acidity with a beautiful, rich, elegant finish.

— 9 years ago

Doug Burress

Sales K&L Wines

9.8

A wet, cold Bay Area day called for the best Bay Area gin. Juniper and spice. Bottled at "San Francisco Strength" helps warm up this day. — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2022 vintage. Tasted with the winemaker Matt Brady. Nearly equal (and maybe better) to the 2021 vintage. Jumped at the 2021 effort so no room for this one but absolutely delicious follow-up. Spice, tannins, fruit all in balance and verry harmonious. It’s Pinots like this that keep me sold on the Santa Rita Hills as dayumed likely the best pinot-producing area in CA. 03.12.25 — a year ago

Sharon B

9.3

Fruit forward, medium bodied, smooth with a peppery finish. The tannins really came out when paired with food. Congratulations to Alex and Sandy at Sandy’s Shack Imported Wine and Beer for winning the 2023 Best Wine Company in the 352 area code!! — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; no formal notes. A mix of dark and red fruits with tobacco, earth and spices. The wine is finally matured and drinking very well now. It has lost all of the green tones that were more apparent in its youth. Everything is now fully fleshed out and should continue to drink well for another 5+ years. Really, these are some lovely (and age-able) wines from the Four Corners area of CO.
— 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

The nose is brooding as the glass even approaches. Ruby, ripe; dark currants/cassis, blackberries, an array of purple fruits, blueberries, creamy raspberries, baked, dark cherries and plum. Mid intensity grilled meats, smoke, cracked pepper, blue/purple fruit cola, black licorice, nice, soft, dark spice, crushed rocks, moist clay, vanilla, understated dry herbs, blue, purple flowers and gently layered lavender.

The body is full, thick, lush and ruby. The mouthfeel is gorgeous/sexy. It just starting to drink softer, showing good integration with another 10 plus years of good drinking ahead. This style, structure, tension, length & balance is why I love well made Syrahs from Walla Walla. Ruby, ripe; dark currants/cassis, blackberries, an array of purple fruits, blueberries, creamy raspberries, baked, dark cherries and plum. Mid intensity grilled meats, smoke, cracked pepper, blue/purple fruit cola, black licorice, caramel, mocha powder, milk chocolate, nice, soft, dark spice that brings heat to the palate, notes of cinnamon, crushed rocks, moist clay, vanilla, understated dry herbs, dark, rich, turned earth, even show a touch graphite, used tobacco with ash, blue, purple flowers and gently layered lavender. The acidity is round and nicely done. The lush, rich, ripe, well balanced, finish glides beautifully & juicy over the palate while it persists minutes.

Photos of; side shot of the tasting room that looks like an 1800’s saloon from the outside, the lounge area of their tasting room, Greg Karrington’s Co-Owner and Co-Winemakers Master Sommelier Certificate (no easy thing to pass) and my wife at their tasting bar chatting it up.
— 7 years ago

WineMascot

9.0

Cool bottle of wine, higher in acid than most from the area, and a great pairing with the heavy creamy pasta I had tonight (trust me new world Syrah with cream, peas and pancheta is amazing) true blue fruit and Graham. fun one to try — 9 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Founded in 1986 by Josep-Maria Raventos, a member of the Codorníu family creating a small, quality-oriented winery, apart from the large co-ops in the area. Nice pink color with red berry fruit aromas tiny bubbles, light mousse. Strawberry flavors on the palate, light citrus and a touch of floral. Good balance, pleasant and fresh. Very Nice!! — 9 years ago

Johan Friberg

10

Well, an amazing wine for the local area. 👌🏼 — 10 years ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.2

Fruit sourced from Eden Valley, one of the two sites is the highest vineyard in Eden.
As a result we have a lot of lift, freshness as well as the pecualiar notes from the area.
This wine is pure joy when you drink, very dangerous the way it goes down.
It has the dark fruit and a very distinctive licorice that makes it special for me. Long and pleasant. — 2 years ago

Randy Fillingim

9.1

A very good example of Oregon Pinot Noir. Grown from the finest grapes on a very small 5 acre vineyard in the Newburgh area.  — 2 years ago

Neil Blaze

8.9

If I had been tasting this blind, I may have guessed it to be German. Although, there is an individuality here that is uniquely Bay Area, CA. Nice floral aromas, along with some key lime pie. Citrus notes on the palate, along with sponge cake! Interestingly, I caught a bit of cigar smoke on the finish! 50% Gewürztraminer, 50% Riesling. 7/12/22. — 4 years ago

Danielle

9.7

A real favorite! Creamy, smooth, and bubbly. If you're on the Lake City FL area pay Halpatter Brewing Co a visit, they are great people who make great beer! 🍻 — 6 years ago

Mike Howdeshell

9.2

At Steak & Co on Glaucster in London area. Great pairing. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.

The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.

The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.

Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.

Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.

The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.

Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.

After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!

Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.

The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.

After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.

A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.

A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.

You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.

2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.


The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.

Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 8 years ago