Notes from America 

These are wines drunk during a week spent in San Diego, USA, whilst attending a conference there. Mostly American, of course. I note that prices on restaurant lists as well as at retail shops have gone up compared with my last visit five years ago.

2014 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, from the list of Greystone Steakhouse, 08 June 2017. Popped and poured. Closed initially though very attractive on the palate with a gentle entry of white flowers, creme and chalk, medium-bodied with dry intensity and lovely concentration, becoming very well-integrated with high-toned citrus that tapered to a lasting finish. Very Old World in feel. Excellent.

2012 Heitz Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, from the list of Greystone Steakhouse, 08 June 2017, decanted on site. Redcurrants and dark berries dominate with a lovely earthy pungency, rich in detail and layering  with further notes of bright red fruits, displaying great structure and biting intensity, still a tad unresolved.

2014 Indaba chardonnay, 09 June 2017, the house pour of Seasons 52. This South African wine is medium-bodied with a  general chalkiness, fleshing out well but undifferentiated and straightforward with overtones of vanilla.

2014 Chateau de Parenchere, 09 June 2017, the house pour of Seasons 52. There is some earthy pungency here on the nose with notes of dark berries, forest floor and bramble on the palate, dry and simple at the finish.

2013 Francis Coppola Black Label 1910 Type Claret, drunk over a late dinner at Operacaffe, 10 June 2017. Dense dark fruits and dark plums dominate with a bright tone, somewhat earthy, medium-full with traces of spice amidst a sweet tannin structure, turning darker with a mild tarry quality before coming together very well about an hour later.

2014 Duckhorn chardonnay, from the list of Water Grill, 11 June 2017. Clear chalky minerals of excellent concentration and acidity with overtones of paraffin, glycerin and white pepper, slightly spicy at the finish. Not the most refined of chardonnay, but cuts through the salty tanginess of seafood perfectly.

2014 Pahlmeyer Jayson Red Wine at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, 11 June 2017 with the wifey to celebrate our 23rd anniversary. Somewhat shut but this Bordeaux blend is imbued with blueberries, ripe raspberries, sweet dark currants and cherries on the palate, rounded and soft, very good in concentration and acidity with emerging graphite elements, drinking well even at this early stage.

2014 Wine Spot Monterey Chardonnay at Silver Kris lounge, San Francisco International airport, 14 June 2017. Chalky with green fruits and creme, quite full with good concentration and intensity but lacks complexity.

2014 Wine Spot Carneros Pinot Noir at Silver Kris lounge, San Francisco International airport, 14 June 2017. Ripe raspberries with some cherries, slightly earthy with burnished tones, displaying good intensity but straightforward.