DeLoach Vineyards Reviews

Bursts with fresh cherry and vanilla aromas that lead to plush, jammy raspberry and spiced cinnamon flavors. Drink now through 2017.

The core flavors of anise, raspberry and savory herb run deep and persistent. Offers a stronger perky, spicy woodiness than the other De Loach Pinots from 2009, and as such may benefit from cellar time.

Offers firm, ripe, vivid wild raspberry, cranberry and tar scents that are tight and earthy in a pleasant way. Leaner and more structured than some of the new De Loach single-vineyard Pinots, yet very complete.

Picture perfect Sonoma Zin, said to be made from old-vine vineyards. It’s dry, softly tannic and sweetly ripe in black raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit, with a rich earthiness and even an umami touch of grilled bacon. Delicious for drinking now.

Editor's Choice . De Loach reaches into Lake County, not usually thought of as Zinfandel country, with tremendous results. This is a great wine by any standard. It shows some heat from high alcohol and some shriveled raisin tastes, but that’s part of a ripe Zin’s charm. Mostly, you’ll be impressed by waves of sweetly ripe cherries, chocolate and bacon, smooth tannins and a long, spicy finish.

This firm yet supple red shows a vivid focus on wild berry and raspberry fruit, which picks up a peppery, spicey edge, leading to an aftertaste of wilted rose and spice.

A subtle, delicate style showing ripe black cherry, plum and boysenberry notes on a medium body, with baking spices, mineral and dried berry flavors rolling off the finish.

Cellar Selection. An interesting Pinot Noir, showing a bit of heat, but whose flavors are taut and complex. The usual cherries and cola you find in almost all California Pinot Noirs are grounded with meaty notes, like grilled hamburger, finished with a splash of tamari. Such are the tannins and acids that the wine should age gracefully for a good eight years, but you can drink it now.

This wine's dark fruit tastes like pomegranate, a lean, clean zinfandel that plumps up in the finish. It's taut mineral-black in the middle, then becomes brighter in the end. Decant it for braised lamb shank.

A somber nose only grudgingly gives up notes of plum, spice and violets that are followed by delicious and solidly complex flavors that are shaped by fine-grained tannins that impart a sophisticated mouth feel to the attractively persistent finish. I like the delivery as well as the overall sense of focus and balance. Worth considering.

A perfumed, spicy and attractively elegant nose offers up a ripe combination of red and black cherries along with a hint of violets. The delicious, fresh and energetic middle weight flavors possess a beguiling mouth feel along with an agreeably dry and clean finish of impeccable balance. This offers excellent value.

At first this is a tumble of forest scents, from mushrooms to conifer and eucalyptus. Then is shades toward eggplant purple in its fruit, with wood spice lasting. As it settles down in the glass, the fruit becomes bosky and dusky while holding that spice. Decant if for braised rabbit. *Best Buy

This finest selection Chardonnay is a blend of the winery's various vineyards. It's pretty oaky, with vanilla, buttered toast and honey dominating, yet there are enough tropical fruit, orange, pear, and apricot flavors, and brisk acidity, to counterbalance the wood. -S.H.

Brisk acidity is the best feature of this wine. it reflects the long hangtime of the cool vintage. Lots of new French oak brings vanilla and buttered toast to the equation, but it's in keeping with the power of the underlying pineapple and lemon jam, pear and honey flavors. A decadent, flashy Chardonnay for drinking now with rich dishes, such as lobster and scallops -S.H.