Sonoma Wineries: Robledo Family Winery

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.

As is often the case during our stay in Sonoma, we discovered this today’s tasting room on our way to another tasting room, necessitating even more wine tasting. It’s an endless, destructive cycle, bleeding our bank accounts dry. Oh, the horror. The. Horror.

Where were we? Oh, yes. Wine tasting. We stumbled across Robledo Family Winery passing through Sonoma on our way to Glen Ellen. We drove out in that direction a few days later to see what we could see.

The approach to their tasting room is humble. Heading down the road towards their tasting room, we passed open fields bordered by rickety fences and populated with the occasional ranch house or tin storage shack. So, you know, it looks like Sonoma.

We’ve written before about amazing views of the valley from tasting rooms up in the hills. This is the opposite. Robledo is in the valley, and the views of the hills and fields are breathtaking. We didn’t really notice it until we got out of our car and started walking around the property. There’s covered seating out behind the tasting room. We’d highly recommend doing your tasting there so you can enjoy the scenery.

On to the wine!

2011 Chardonnay,  “Rancho Maria” Los Carneros: Dried peaches, popcorn & browned butter in the nose. Dried apricots, butter & white grapefruit on the tongue. Lime zest on the lengthy finish. Creamy, but not overly so. Full bodied.

2014 Pinot Noir,  “Rancho Rincon” Los Carneros: Blackberries, rosemary & just a hint of dark cocoa powder on the nose. Maybe some green as well. Ruby in color. Full bodied. Milk Chocolate, blackberries, currants, and pomegranates on the tongue. A touch of pepper on the finish. Smooth, easy drinking tannins.

2014 Tempranillo, Napa Valley: We always look forward to trying traditional Spanish or Italian grapes grown in California soil. We were not disappointed. Violet in color. Cherries and coffee on the nose. Smooth with a medium plus body. Cherries, cranberries, vanilla & oak on the tongue. Slate, pepper and sour cherries on the finish. Big, big tannins. Definite aging potential, but you could certainly drink this one today, especially with a nice ribeye or Texas style brisket.

2013 Merlot, “Rancho Emiliano” Los Carneros: Deep ruby in color. Smells like…Merlot. That is, blueberries, lavender and early spring basil. Blackberries, currants, espresso bean and oak on the tongue. A lot of pepper on the finish. Medium body. Decent tannins. This is one of the few Merlot’s we've tasted in Sonoma since we got here.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 7th Edition Napa Valley: Tooth staining violet. Black cherries & molasses on the nose. Medium body. Smooth tannins. There’s mostly Cherries, but also oregano and a touch of orange on the tongue. A ton of pepper and some dark chocolate on the finish. Very good. About what you’d expect for this price range.

NV Red Port: Deep purple in color. Full bodied (obviously). Not overly syrupy. Raisins, rich dark chocolate, caramel and graham crackers on the nose. Dates, milk chocolate, vanilla & cherries on the tongue. A good amount of black pepper on the finish. Noticeable tannins. Definitely could benefit from a few more years on the shelf.

We didn’t leave with any bottles. Everything is very good, as is the case with so many of the wineries in Sonoma. There just wasn’t anything unique or exciting about any of the wines. That being said, it’s definitely worth a visit. In fact, we plan to bring friends there when they’re in town. The wine is high quality, the views are great, and the winery has an interesting history that our host was all too happy to share with us. Just don’t expect to be surprised by anything.

The Robledo Family Winery tasting room is located just off of 116 in Sonoma. To learn more about their wine & history, go to http://www.robledofamilywinery.com/.