Wine Reviews

This delightful Pinot Noir from the Cakebread family offers a savory start of Mediterranean herbs, dark plum, sandalwood, and black tea. Juicy, unfolding with dusty cocoa-cherry on the long finish.

This wine came as news to me—very good news. Explicitly a project of the Cakebread family, it is among the most complex and enduringly interesting Sauvignon Blancs I’ve tasted from Paso. Whether the fruit was picked at just the right time or whether multiple pickings were performed at different stages to capture acidity as well as riper fruit, the interplay of citrus and white melon fruit could hardly be better. Zesty and yet also showing substance on the palate, this is terrific.

Most consumers reflexively equate Provence with rosé wines, but this is the sort of white blend to alter that equation. Comprised of 60% Rolle (a.k.a. Vermentino), 30% Sauvignon Blanc, and 10% Grenache Blanc (10%), it offers impressive richness with no hint of oak but expressive fruit flavors recalling ripe pear and honeydew melon. Its palate weight is energized by acidity that’s so pleasantly vibrant that it almost seems prickly.

The 2024 rendition of this consistently fine rosé hits a winning balance between expressive fruit flavors and the sense of restraint that has made Provence the global standard for wines of this type. It shows a bit more palate weight than less expensive rosés but remains refreshing, with a touch of citrus acidity energizing classic notes of strawberries and red cherries.

This Chardonnay from the Washington State outpost of the Cakebread family shows excellent purity of fruit recalling peaches and apples. Stylishly subtle accents of baking spices, toast and vanilla are well measured in relation to the wine’s medium-bodied profile, keeping it fresh and enjoyable for sipping as an aperitif but also providing a bit of added structure for enjoyment at the table.