Justin Wylie crafted a special wine here, with layers of boysenberry liqueur, salted charcuterie, smoky minerality, and seductive hints of cracked pepper atop a velvet foundation. Violets and cassis join in on the aromatics, eventually giving way to a long, cedar-washed finish. Kawa calls it a “wine lover’s wine: a bicycle without training wheels,” adding that the soil is so rocky on this site in the cool southwest part of the AVA that it’s impossible to mechanically harvest the fruit.
Aged 11 months in French oak, this is a weighty Chardonnay with aromas of marzipan and lemon blossom. Grown in the rocky Van Duzer Corridor, it starts with briny lemon wedge, followed by white peach amid a flood of creamy meringue. “True balance is a rhythm,” vintner Wesam Kawa points out. Nuanced and exceptional, the wine is certainly balanced with acidity, fruit, and minerality.
Bright and perky, with white pepper, lemon verbena, and tangerine zest. Acidity is balanced with fruit delivery, making for an extremely good partner with a bounty of dishes.
Cinnamon and clove surround black cherry and burnt orange peel. Asian five spice lends piquancy, with a deep plum liqueur effect. Tilled soil and roasted coffee bean go deep on the long finish.
Jasmine and hibiscus settle kindly on the palate, with stark acidity embellishing its inner freshness. A touch of basil, red tea, and strawberry gelée finishes with a fruit kiss. Kosher.
Barrel-fermented with native yeast and then aged entirely in French oak (30% of which was new), this embodies so much of what makes Flowers the respected producer it is: Generosity, minerality, and acidity exist side-by-side, which lend balance to the notes of ripe Seckel pears, caramelized nectarines, and a passing hint of pie crust, which provides an ideal bass note against which almond blossoms rise.
Rich aromas of ripe black cherry and blood orange are dusted with earthy spice and find lift with subtly perfumed notes of citrus oil and incense. These follow through to the velvet-textured palate, whose spine of minerality lingers through the long, detailed finish. Delicious both on its own and at the table.
Intriguingly distinctive due to its unusual aromatic profile, this is obviously delicious and easily among the best American Chardonnays at this price. The bouquet shows scents of honeysuckle, clove, and baking spices, leading to complex flavors spanning the range of orchard and tropical fruits, with citrus edging and a faintly nutty undertone. Compelling juice.