Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Piccolo Cru’ – Red Blend – Vintage 2021
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
An Italian-inspired Bordeaux blend crafted under the steady hand of winemaker Gabriella Gazano, who has guided the estate for over 25 years. This cuvée unites 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a wine that marries the structural power of Bordeaux varietals with Mediterranean elegance and Napa Valley ripeness.

Aromas & Flavors
Vibrant layers of dark cherries, cassis, and ripe blackberry, supported by graphite, cocoa, and a whisper of dried herbs. Hints of cedar, vanilla, and warm spice from the oak complete the aromatic tapestry.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied yet graceful. Firm, polished tannins give structure while a velvety mid-palate carries richness and depth. The finish is persistent, balancing dark fruit with savory spice.

Food Pairings
Made for hearty and soulful fare: osso buco, braised short ribs, Tuscan ribollita, or grilled ribeye. A natural partner for Italian-inspired dishes that emphasize flavor and tradition.

Verdict
Piccolo Cru’ is a harmonious bridge between Old World refinement and New World power. Structured, soulful, and deeply satisfying, it captures both the strength of Napa terroir and the finesse of Italian winemaking artistry.

Did You Know?
Calistoga, the northernmost tip of Napa Valley, is famed for its volcanic soils and hot days cooled by evening breezes. These extremes allow Bordeaux varietals to develop ripeness and structure in equal measure, ideal for blends like Piccolo Cru’.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
This bottle sings of duality: a Tuscan heart wrapped in Napa muscle. It’s soulful, elegant, and powerful, a wine I’d revisit for its depth, story, and sense of place. — 8 months ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.0

Podere Fortuna ‘Fortuni’ Pinot Nero 2014: Medium-bodied. Ruby red color. Robust red & dark fruit aromas & tastes. Smooth spice finish. This Toscana Pinot was the first of my 3 Italian Pinot Neros. All in all, this was a beautifully crafted wine that with each sip, I felt a sense of Tuscan terroir & sun, inviting me to try more. Overall, this was a superb Super Pinot Nero. We’re off to a great start! Cheers🍷 — 6 years ago

Jorge Pazos

8.9

San Esteban — 6 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

The 2016 Yao Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon was soured from a host of Napa Valley vineyards ranging from their bench land site in Yountville to Northern St. Helena. The wine is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that weighs in at 14.6% alcohol. Classic creme de cassis, red bell pepper, thyme and suggestions of cocoa powder with dusty terroir complete the gorgeous aromatics of the wine. The palate is soft and generous, creating a silky texture and a racy sense of acidity. Black Forest Cake, creme de cassis and mocha flavors all marvelously combine with the bright sense of mentality on the palate. Dense, layered and highly polished, this silky effort will cellar well at least for another fifteen years. Drink 2019-2033- 93
— 7 years ago

Jorge Pazos

8.9

Cata Terroir Al Limit con Vanesa de guía — 7 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.1

Lighter in color than the 2005, this shows a good degree of earthy terroir on the nose with wild mushroom, pipe tobacco, blood orange rind, and salted meats that fills the glass. The mouthfeel is really plush, as this delivers medium-bodied flavors of red cherry puree, truffled boysenberry, cassis and a strong saline streak. Plush and soft, this is drinking in its sweet spot. This has a wonderful sense of place. Drink 2018-2028- 91

— 7 years ago

Cameron Myhrvold

9.6

2005 Woodward Canyon Special Selection
Wow, what a wine. A wine they make twice a decade in the most special vintages. A blend of cab, petit verdot and merlot that sees 200% new american oak. This means they put the wine in a new oak barrel and leave it for a year or so and than they rack it into a second new oak barrel for another year or so. It is a huge and decadent wine. It makes no apologies. Will you find unique terroir and sense of place? Hell no. But you will be giving your taste buds an amazing treat. Like firing a fully automatic 50 caliber machine gun. Its downright wrong to like it but it is still super fun and something you will never forget. Yes, that is how much I like this wine.

13 years old and not a dip in sight. Just entering its optimum drinking window now. I will drink this over the next 7 years and I will love every sip. — 7 years ago

MICHAEL COOPER DipWSET

Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com

9.1

Beautiful perfume. Crushed lavender cherries and sandalwood. Hints of stems. Watered down on the palate. 13% #garnacha from #montsant? = water. Ironic name and label Terroirs without frontiers but with a shield with a Catalan flag? — 5 years ago

with Rosario

Willie Carter

9.0

Pale pinkish orange with delicate vivacious bubbles. Smells of summer. Aromas of raspberries and orange peel initially with more floral notes. Bruised strawberries, smoke, and crushed herbs. Energetic is the word of the day here. This packs much power and liveliness into the glass. The vinous nature is striking and the 12% of still red wine certainly has its say.

Predominantly Pinot Noir with 25% of Chardonnay from Grand Cru terroir in Aÿ. Graceful, yet intense there’s a sense of heft and substance here. Also a sense of freshness. The palate follows the nose with more pronounced red berries and soft floral notes. Spices, mint, and toasted bread. A beautiful rosé perfect for this time of year from an excellent grower house. — 5 years ago

Ian Staub

9.0

I’m a believer in terroir, but this wine, which is an absolute ringer for Chablis, throws everything in question. If this were grown at Rorick with its limestone that would make sense, but semillon from the Napa valley floor? Out of the bottle it’s quite lithe, showing lemon and a bit of seashell minerality, but with an hour of air it begins to show some crisp apple and white stone fruit, and some white flower. Lovely, unusual wine. Enjoyed with grilled salmon and salad. — 6 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.4

The 2016 Brittan Vineyards ‘Gestalt Block’ is a scintillating new release by this storied Oregon winery. Sourced from their vineyard in the McMinnville AVA, as the ‘Gestalt Block’ is set on their western facing hillside that is set on broken basalt. Deeply colored once in the glass, the ‘Gestalt Block’ starts off with deep wet stone influence that connects with the shades of cran-pomegranate and guava with peat moss aromas that all collide in the glass. The mouth-watering acidity of the wine is truly gorgeous, as is the great sense of stony terroir. Silky and soft on the mouth, this delivers gobs of racy acidity and a light dusting of salinity that runs through the dark fruits and earthy undertones on the palate. Truly novel and esteemed in the land of Oregon Pinot Noir, the ‘Gestalt Block’ will have a decade or more in the cellar. Drink 2019-2032- 94 — 7 years ago

Joe D'Angelo

9.4

Sourced from the Alfred Frediani Vineyard in Calistoga this Old-Vine Petite Sirah absolutely phenomenal. The 100% Petite Sirah spent 21 months in 50% new French Oak barrels and it immediately begins to impress once in the glass. It offers seductive aromatics of ripe blackberry cobbler and dark cherries, which are joined by dried loam, violets, sweet exotic spices, crushed rocks and a dusting of roasted cocoa beans all coming together beautifully. On the palate this is full-bodied and opulent, with big polished tannins framing the rich layered texture that is well balanced and remains fresh and inviting. This goes on to impress with its incredible ripe, dense core, which is marked by flavors of dark fruits, sweet spices and a loamy character that expands through the long enveloping finish. A fabulous job by winemaker Mike Hirby to make such a profound wine without jeopardizing balance and sense of terroir. This Petite Sirah is a total knockout that is nothing short of absolutely delicious today, and should continue to drink marvelously for years to come. — 7 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.0

The ‘Estate’ bottling by superstar winemaker Mo Ayoub was sourced from a host of vineyards in the Willamette Valley. Showing a strong translucence the wine opens with strong earthy tones of peat moss and wet stone, combining with lighter citrus and wild blackberry elements. The palate shows a soft texture, as well as a good viscosity and sense of place, with earthy terroir and red fruit flavors dominating. Drink 2018-2024- 90 — 7 years ago

Matt

9.8

Fucking glorious Garnacha. Sous bois, turned earth, wet leaves, cinnamon, ground cloves, pepper, allspice, tar, crushed black plum and cherry fruit, almost dried tones mixed in, burnt earth, dried herbs, wilted flowers. Nose is subtle, but definition is there. Plate is a kaleidoscope of dark spices, savory earth, and gorgeous muddled fruit. Exotic, alluring in every sense, structured w/ powerful tannin almost reminiscent of Nebbiolo. A captivating wine in terms of texture and elegance. — 5 years ago

Eyes Of The Vines

9.1

The wine has mineral, herb and red berry and volcanic soil on the nose. Very terroir driven with small dark red fruits a pleasant earthiness of clay and chalk that add dimension and layer to this. The wine is very well made with beautiful structure, finesse and sense of place. — 5 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.2

2015 vintage. As I am moving to Bordeaux (and more precisely Bourg sur Gironde) it makes sense to dig a bit deeper in the Côtes de Bourg appellation. It's not the most renowned part of Bordeaux, even with one pricey superstar (Roc des Cambes). But wow, did this one exceed my expectations! The estate has an ancient history, but up to 1993 the grapes were sold to a local co-operative. The present owner Philippe Betschart moved the estate since 2010 into organic and biodynamical farming. This "Terroir" is a somewhat atypical blend (65% of both Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, with the remainder Merlot) for the region where Merlot is king. More black than red fruit in the nose (cassis, blackberry) with some tobacco and a discrete licorice touch. In the mouth it has amazing elegance. The 14% alcohol go unnoticed, the fruit is bright and lively and the tannins velvety. This has class and depth for the price range (under 20 euros). Highly recommended. — 6 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.1

Decent mid-weight white burgundy, but not all that exciting. Clean, crisp, nicely balanced but with absolutely no “wow”. You have to question the price/quality ratio with wines of this type. Kiss of death is almost no sense of “terroir” or place—- just another dry white! — 7 years ago

Nicole N

9.5

Just perfect. Light color, but lots of depth in flavor. Red berries and Central Otago dirt. Strong sense of terroir and place. Perfect balance. And so, so drinkable. — 7 years ago

Gil Krakowsky

9.1

An incredibly expressive and terroir-driven wine that might be one of the world’s best wine values. Volcanic microclimate shines clearly through a heady nose whose first bite is not just smoke but...smoking volcano. Along that sweet dark fruit, grilled lavender, flowers. In the palate more primary with black cherries (grilled black cherries???) exotic spices, cooked black pepper, bay leaf, sage, that sanguine element that screamed high-iron volcanic soil, all held together by a very sitinctive salty spine. Finishes with a long note of those herbs and some drying tannins. Very juicy but with good structure and medium acidity avoiding any sense of being cloying. A really unique, transparent and well made wine that is an astounding value. I wonder whether it improves with age or is at its best here... — 7 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.1

60/40 Carignan/Grenache...Opened as midweek foil for Filets and Bakers. Showing little sign of age... vibrant dark berry notes with noticeable ABV... bit more “modern” and fruit/forward than expected. Recall buying two of these at 50% discount. Probably at $15-20 a far price...but tasted fully “Parkerized”. Little if any sense of terroir or connection with place. — 7 years ago