I just sent my client list an offer on Roger's wines, so thought I'd share my impressions of the current lineup here as well.
Roger Harrison spent 32 years at Beringer, at which he learned to craft the special botrytized wine direct from the Nightingales. If you have enjoyed this dessert wine from Beringer since the 90s and others, then you have sampled Roger's craft.
Upon retiring from Beringer, he began his own label, with an initial focus on this late harvest and botrytis winemaking, which I would stack up against any of your favorite Barsac or Sauternes. He now offers a range of great dry wines named Zosia, after his granddaughter, that I know will bring you great pleasure.
2023 Zosia Sauvignon Blanc- Cool fermented in stainless steel for crispness, then finished in neutral oak for added texture. Think Bordeaux Blanc. Aromas of apple, pear, lime zest and ginger candy. Rich texture without being heavy. Peach, oragne zest, pear and green apple flavors. It's crisp and luscious.
2021 Cabernet Franc (Coombsville)- In a riper Chinon style. A purple, floral nose with a touch of star anise, cassis, plum and clove. It's dark on the palate and nicely ripe without being flabby. Flavors of black currant, plum and blueberry along with black cherry and a licorice note. Wonderfully ripe with good balance and lively acidity.
2021 Sonoma Red- A red fruited nose with hints of mint, cedar and sandalwood. A touch stemmy with some green herbs and more tart, just-ripening fruit. It's a lighter wine on the palate, dominated by red fruit. Easy drinking and very food friendly.
2021 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon- A nose of pure cassis along with some pine needle and turned earth. Some black cherry meets the cassis on the palate. This wine has nice focus and polished, though grippy tannins. It exhibits an interesting resinous quality. Well balanced.
2021 Kotka's Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon- This has a more reserved nose at the moment with oak spice and a mossy underpinning. Some black cherry, currant and plum. It has a very polished texture and tannin balance, with herb-tinged black and purple fruit. Youthful, drying tannins, so best with food or extended cellaring.
2021 Petit Verdot (Rutherford)- The nose is cherry and 5-spice. Some plum with loads of clove and cinnamon. Hints of graphite. On the palate a lot of red and black cherry and berry with nice acid and moderate tannin. Mellow spice throughout. It has nicely interwoven minerality, ginger, clove and baking spice. I don't generally enjoy PV on its own, but this one, I quite enjoyed.
Late Harvest Semillon- Candied orange peel, ginger, apricot, citrus and lemongrass on the nose with a touch of hazelnut. Rich texture with moderate acidity,. Flavors of wildflower honey, beeswax, apricot brandy, lemon curd and candied ginger. Very nice.
2014 Nobility- This is his botrytized wine of 50/50 Sauv Blanc and Semillon in the Sauternes style. This one had a fairly oxidative nose. Aromas of sultana and oak spice. Loads of dried apricot and candied orange peel along with hints of lemongrass, toffee, honey. Good balance of acid to mitigate the sweetness.
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