Sonoma Coast Wineries: Azari Vineyards - Part II

We moved to Sonoma with one goal in mind: to become the ultimate wine hipsters. Well, two goals: to become the ultimate wine hipsters AND drink a ton of wine from the best wineries in Sonoma. And eat a lot of good food. Fine, we have a lot of goals. Enough about our goals. We’re scouring Sonoma County for the best little known, small run wineries we can find in order to achieve the greatest virtue of hipsterdom: telling you all about the really cool places we love that you've never heard of. We’re doing this for you. Trust us.

Azari was the first tasting room we visited when we moved to Sonoma, and it’s remained one of our favorites (you can read about it here). On that visit, they were hosting a special event and we were only able to taste one of their reds. We’ve been dying to taste more of them ever since.

During that special event there were crowds and food and live music. This time was a much cozier affair with just us, two friends, and a few other couples. This meant we had the full attention of our host, Cyrus Azari, and, conversely, he had ours. The tasting room is small and welcoming, with spirit lifting views of the surrounding hills and valleys. The quiet and isolation of the tasting room adds to the effect. It kind of felt like pulling up a chair at the breakfast table of a B&B. We love it and we can’t recommend Azari Vineyards enough, if only for the good feelings. Luckily, though, the wine is fantastic as well.

We tasted four red wines in all: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Petite Sirah. Each wine is distinct, but there’s a consistent old world rustic flare that we particularly like. The Cabernet particularly reminded us of some of our favorite Spanish cabs. And with that, on to our tasting notes!

2012 Pinot Noir: Vegetal notes, green strawberries, a hint of tomato and raspberries on the nose. Blackberries, a touch of caramel, a burst of cracked pepper & a traces of thyme on the tongue. Pepper, cranberry and sage on the finish. It's got a long finish that clings to the tongue and cheeks. Decent legs. Bright ruby in color. One of our favorite Sonoma Pinots.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon: Cherries, vanilla, chocolate and an oaky spiciness on the nose. Medium plus body. Cherries, milk chocolate, cinnamon and black pepper on the tongue. A bit of cranberry, blood orange and white pepper on the finish. Very well balanced. You know the tannins are there, but they're sooooo smooth. This is an awesome Cab, and the price reflects that. Like a blend of the best of California and Spanish wine making.

2009 Shiraz: This was aged in mostly neutral oak. Blackberries, currants, bay leaf and white pepper on the nose. Violet in color. Legs for days. Blackberries and chocolate covered cherries on the fore palate. Blackberries and pepper mid palate. Cinnamon, bitter greens and a chalky mouth feel on the finish. The finish is long and pleasant. It’s a little more tannic than the first two wines.

2013 Petite Sirah: How dark do you think it is? It’s, of course, an inky, teeth staining blackish purple. Blackberry jam, ripe raspberries and caramel on the nose. Clear and sweet. Very pleasant. Cherries, vanilla and white pepper on the tongue. There's a spike of sour cherries on the mid palate. The white pepper builds in intensity on the finish. The heat is awesome. This would be an excellent food wine.

You might be asking yourself if we have anything bad to say about Azari. We certainly do. They only produce small quantities of each wine, we have no idea how we’ll buy them when we move back to Boston, and they're not cheap. The wines we tasted ranged from $60 to $125 a bottle. It’s a very fair price given the quality, but not something we can afford to drink every day. Yet ;)

Azari Vineyards is in the Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast AVA. Check them out at http://www.azarivineyards.com/. We only revisit our very favorite tasting rooms, and we're gonna go back for a third tasting before the end of the year. Don't skip this place.