We happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from June 10, 1999:

97 Dalla Valle Pietre Rosse Sangiovese--Medium light color. Good earthy nose with licorice/anise. Deep earth/leather core. Fine acid. Tastes more authentic than most domestic sangiovese. Good food wine, but low QPR at $27. 89

97 Paul Hobbs PN Hyde Vyd (Carneros)--Beautiful, perfumey, earthy, briary, berry aromas. Round, balanced, slight tannic edge on finish. Full mid-palate, good length. Earth, dirt, minerals, black fruit, plum. Fine oak. 91

97 JC Cellars Zin (Rhodes Vyd)--Medium light color. Closed, slight berry nose. Bit of VA. Light weight, spicy fruit, raspberry. Candied fruit in mid-palate. Balanced finish. 89

97 Zoom Zin (Contra Costa)--Medium light color. Beautiful earthy, barnyardy black berry nose. Some VA. Sweet fruit. Lush ripe cherry. Perhaps a touch RS. Balanced. Spicy finish showing some cinnamon. 88-

95 Guigal Chateau d'Ampuis Cote Rotie--Somewhat closed. Minty, apple(!) bouquet. Fairly light, ripe fruit. Tastes like high % viognier. Appley. Not showing much for its $90 tag. Simple, balanced. Good acid. 87(+?)

97 Charles Melton Shiraz--Warm, red fruit nose with hints of modeling clay. Medium weight, balanced. Lush, almost grenache-like flavors. Good acid, long finish. Excellent food wine, but light for shiraz. Drink over next 2-3 years. 90

97 Coriole Grenache "Lalla Rookh"--Medium color, lighter than the 96. Bit closed. Good density, more up front sweet fruit than the 96, and not as big. Black raspberry, lead pencil, tannic, long. Impressive QPR at $21. Drink over next 3-5 years. 92+

97 Charles Melton Nine Popes (Syrah, Mouvedre, Grenache)--Fruity nose, almost like canned fruit cocktail. Excellent balanced blend. Smooth, very fine tannins that linger. Cranberry, raspberry, spice. 88

96 Coriole Shiraz Lloyd's Reserve--Dark. Gunpowder, black plum, mineral, tar bouquets. Very dense, plummy, tannic, deep, complex. Full body, balanced finish. Meaty, some toasty oak. Superb. Give this 6-12 years. Killer stuff. 93+

97 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Brookman's Vyd--Medium dark. Killer nose of cocoa, black olive, black berry. Very extracted. Rather bizarre flavor profile of black olives, herbs. Puckery finish showing burnt rubber. Is this an off bottle? For points, call it a 95 nose but 81 in the mouth. Weird wine!

96 David Arthur Cab (Napa)--Medium dark. Black cherry, chocolote, toasty nose. Cassis, anise. Lush, ripe, classy cab. Black raspberry, cocoa. Chewy tannins. Very long. Big mid-palate fruit. Very impressive. 94

95 Caymus Cab SS--Medium dark. Smoky, vegetal, skunky. Odd nose for SS. In the mouth, smooth, simple mid-palate flavors. Good fruit density. Elegant. Should improve with age. No edges. Some plum, dried tomato, vanilla, green pepper. Shows signs that it will get more complex in 6-10 years. 92+ 

No pulpit this time: The Congregation has long since departed!