Previously Notes has covered the Buena Vista Carignane, and it’s been consumed in this house on several occasions that did not result in a review. This new 2023 vintage arrived with my Spring 2025 release and I regret to report I did not let it age sufficiently before opening the bottle. If I recall correctly, I’d reached a Friday evening and was reluctant to have “week day wine” to start the end of a busy work week.
2023 The Count’s Selection Carignane, Buena Vista Winery, Mendocino County, California, USA.
For a review of the upside conveyed in a Carignane produced by my favorite Sonoma winery, click here and read about the 2011. I’m more than a little shocked to read that entry is more than 10 years ago and probably 300 or 400 reviews in the past? Of the 2023 (bottle #1580), I’ll simply write that I was not fair in opening it nearly right away upon receipt. It aged just days here, and certainly not months or years, and it was just far too immature to convey all the goodness I appreciated in the older vintage(s).
I’ll look forward to my next Carignane, and other treats from the team at Buena Vista Winery, and simply note that I jumped the gun on this one. Raising a glass to you all, and thanks as always for following!
The 2021 Burnt Sacrifice is another representative of the Dave Phinney six pack; it arrived with the Trigger Finger covered in Notes previously. Of late, fewer red blends have come home with me, but you know, dear readers, that I’m game for anything produced by Orin Swift Cellars.
2021 Burnt Sacrifice, Orin Swift Cellars, St. Helena, California, USA.
And this is a pretty good one. It’s not quite the headliner of a Mercury Head or Papillion, or even cult favorites such as the Machete and Palermo that I really love, but a solid entry from my favorite winemaker. More importantly, it rose of the ashes of California’s Glass Fires, which ripped through northern Napa Valley in 2020 but thankfully did not burn out all of the region’s goodness. Phinney originally conceived of Burnt Sacrifice as a Pinot Noir and donated its proceeds to the Napa Valley Community Foundation. The winery has changed the blend of Burnt Sacrifice (ostensibly to “keep it new and inspire curiosity”) year over year, and the 2021 is actually not a Pinot—it’s a blend that features Petite Sirah, Grenache, and Syrah grapes from the Valley Oak, Nunn, Snow’s Lake, Frei, and Barrelli vineyards across California.
When you uncork a Burnt Sacrifice, you’re treated to rich notes of dark berry fruit…perhaps black cherry or blackberry?…and just a bit of oak. I don’t know if that’s because of the leaves that inspired the wine’s creation post-fire, or because the vintage was aged for eight months in French Oak. Or just part of my imagination? Regardless, it has a full mouthfeel and is bold on the palate. I should have aged this for a few months just to take the edge off the finish, but it still goes down pretty easy and made me wistful for another bottle.
The 2021 Burnt Sacrifice is worthy of your time, based on both its excellent notes and dark berry goodness, and the cause it’s supporting. Whether you’re hosting guests or simply enjoying a quiet evening at home, a bottle of Burnt Sacrifice is sure to make the moment and create memories that linger long after the final drop. Experience a bottle of Burnt Sacrifice wine for yourself!
To celebrate the 52nd birthday of my favorite winemaker, I purchased a six pack of “mystery reds” from Orin Swift Cellars and crossed my fingers for Palermo or Papillon (which is how I’d like to celebrate MY 52nd birthday). Given the price point, I was doubtful of pulling my top draft picks but leaned into the offer—it had only upside to this Phinney fan. Several weeks later I signed for the delivery and burst the box, immediately recognizing the Trigger Finger (this a 2021) graphic from the winery’s website: https://www.orinswift.com/wines/trigger-finger/
It’s my first Trigger Finger, so I wanted to take a moment to commemorate it here. The 2021 Trigger Finger is a Grenache, one of the world’s oldest red wines, and a varietal that’s less frequently covered in Notes Of Note. Like all my favorites, it pours deep, ruby red and just dances in your glass. Notes of red berry goodness, plum, and bit of spice are easily detectable right from the rim…rich, cherry, and elegant. Upon tasting the 2021 Trigger Finger, I wanted to call out black cherry flavors, maybe raspberry, and that spice. It’s not quite the spice of a Syrah, but still very present. The finish is long and smooth, a beckoning finger that pulls you back for another sip.
2021 Trigger Finger, Orin Swift Cellars, St. Helena, California, USA.
According to the winery, “The 2021 opens with notes of candied strawberry, pomegranate, Mission fig and fig leaf, with just a touch of red chard, musk, and baking spices.”
It’s also supposed to be versatile and pair well with a variety of foodstuffs that range from your (eye roll here) charcuterie board to grilled lamb chops or roasted vegetables—we probably covered a couple of those use cases before this first bottle was gone. Orin Swift aged the 2021 Trigger Finger for nine months in French and American Oak. Whether you’re reading here as a seasoned veteran or just looking to sample a new favorite, this Grenache is sure to captivate the senses and leave a lasting impression. Glad we have one more of these ourselves!
NotesOfNote has suffered throughout 2023 because of my various distractions and competing priorities, but having sampled this Jeff Runquist over the past week it’s high time to get back to spreading the joy of good grapes. Any reasonable reader of Notes may be aware that his 1448 is a go-to weeknight wine for this oenophile. On rare occasions, though, I’ve had the great pleasure of sampling the next tier of Runquists.
2021 R Petite Syrah, Salman Vineyard, Jeff Runquist Wines, Clarksburg, California, USA.
To read previous reviews of the 2017, please be sure to view here or more fully here. Thanks, as always, for coming along for the ride here with Notes.
Good stuff in the mix here – firstly the 2018 Alexander Valley Merlot from Buena Vista Winery, and secondly a pan-roasted lemon garlic butter salmon with feta and olives—so delicious!
2018 Alexander Valley Merlot, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma County, California, USA.
Yes this one’s an individually numbered bottle (mine is 7,242) and this wine deserves special attention. The 2018 Alexander Valley has all the marks of a great merlot. As it hits your glass, there are clear aromas of plum and dark cherry. It’s colored nearly purple in your glass, and concentrated, dark fruit notes are plentiful. The 2018 Alexander Valley Merlot has a really easy, silky finish.
What of the accompanying dinner? Salmon is always a great treat, and this was nice, fresh, and savory—accented with lemon, smoky paprika, and just a hint of crushed red pepper. There’s a kicked up olive dressing that drops a hint of salt and garlic into your ideal bite, too. The foodstuffs turned out about as well as I could have hoped, and kudos to Half-Baked Harvest for the helpful recipe and my very kind “sous chef” for her timely knife skills and unending encouragement.
Overall, this 2018 Alexander Valley Merlot made for a relaxing and satisfying Saturday night—and just in time after long work weeks for us both and exhausting business travel.
There was a time in Notes history when I scrambled to capture every bottle, every wine tasting adventure, seemingly every random thought about wine. Several hundred bottles later, that pattern has slowly changed with opportunity (and to some extent, taste). These days I always find time for a glass and a thought, but not always for sharing feedback in this modest column.
2019 The Count’s Selection Carignane, Buena Vista Winery, Mendocino County, California, USA.
The photos? Yes, those I have for sure. Like many oenophiles I assuredly have all the labels recorded. Like others, I have a few notes and thoughts that are half-discernible in various apps and scraps of paper…and on a few rare occasions I even get ‘em down here where others can read and sample. That’s no excuse – just reality, and perhaps even a forecast of the pending “Ones that got away” Q2 2022 that is on its way soon. Here in the meantime is my take on the 2019 The Count’s Selection Carignane, from Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, California.
I bumped into Buena Vista’s Carignane several years ago, having cracked a bottle for friends who were in town for a quick visit. The Carignane surprised me at that time (was it my first with this grape? Think so…) and quickly found its way into my recurring order from Buena Vista Winery. This 2019 I drank a tad early…perhaps I should have left it on the rack for one more year? It’s quite good, but the tannins here felt a bit grippy.
There is plenty of blackberry on the nose, with other red fruits in the mix too. The 2019 Carignane has the blackberry taking a lead role, but there are other subtleties involved too. It is dark, dark purple in the glass and very rich on your palate. The wine starts a little dry but the blackberry notes fill that space pretty quickly.
The winemaker notes, “Ripe, juicy flavors of red cherry and blackberry cover the palate with a hint of licorice and a touch of black pepper that lead to a long, savory finish.”
According to the Buena Vista team, these are old vine grapes (an 80-year-old site known for Carignane), sourced from vines that are dry-farmed in the Ukiah region. Buena Vista harvested them in September, fermented, and ultimately aged the wine in French oak (13% new) for 15 months prior to bottling. The outcome of that production is the 2019 vintage of The Count’s Selection Carignane—I enjoyed this very much and know you will too.
Red blends recently caught my eye while buying online, and the 2017 Walt’s Old Vines from Judd’s Hill was one of the batch. Now, I’m an easy sell for any ‘old wines’ grapes, and that bias generally serves me well—just as it did here with this Napa Valley bottle.
The winery is family run, and proud of it. Judd’s Hill produces not only well-known California treats like Cab Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, but also less-frequent AVA guests like Viognier and Grenache. They’re also sharing prominently the Judd’s Hill focus on small lot wines, and all that gears one up for a great tasting experience. That’s exactly what I enjoyed here with the 2017 Walt’s Old Vines Red Blend.
2017 Walt’s Old Vines Red Blend, Judd’s Hill, Napa, California, USA.
This 2017 growls softly at you. The wine is replete with berry goodness, an explosion of blueberry and blackberry on your palate. Those are the obvious notes, but others are at play too. The winery’s website indicates “marionberry, huckleberry, and lingonberry” are also conveyed in Walt’s Old Vines, but I simply don’t have the palate or previous taste for any of those more subtle hints. Check it out and let me know? I do get a gentle whiff of pepper, but it is very faint—not as pronounced as a Syrah or Zin. The aftertaste has slightly less rounded notes, a bitterer profile that I’d think more like a cranberry vibe. All in all, it’s really quite enjoyable!
If you’re trying to find the 2017 Walt’s Old Vines Red Blend from Judd’s Hill, you might see results including the Cuttings (The Prisoner Wine Company), Machete (Orin Swift Wines), or even Scout’s Honor (Venge Vineyards) in your search feed. Each of these Napa Valley greats has a profile similar to Walt’s and would serve you and your guests very well. I bought two the first time out and encourage you to better that score when you make your buy. You’re welcome—and thanks for reading.
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