2005 Mosby La Donna
Santa Barbara County [Chardonnay and Cortese] - not listed on the label
Score: 87.0
Mosby is one of the top dozen most interesting wineries in California. Mosby performs beyond expectations every vintage, turning out first rate varietal renditions of relatively obscure grapes, coming up with uniquely Californian interpretations, and never straying from classic balance and structure. La Donna is a blend of Cortese, a Piemontese variety, and Chardonnay. The Chardonnay gives it body and breadth along with its typical lemon chiffon flavor, while the Cortese provides acidity and a floral-green grass flavor. Underlying the amalgam is a vibrant green melon flavor. It?s not the most complex wine in the world, so it won?t garner high point scores, but it is a most enjoyable wine that works equally well as an aperitif or with the subtly flavored foods. Only 750 cases produced.
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2005 Mosby
Santa Barbara County Rosato di Sangiovese
Score: 95.0
Rose as a category is usually noted for sweet, rather innocuous wines. It takes an artist to make a great rose, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better rose than this offering from Mosby. It's dry and aromatic, displaying full strawberry-cranberry fruit in the nose, strawberry-watermelon flavors on the mid-palate, and even a little spice in the surprisingly long finish. Outstanding. Worth seeking out. Only 275 cases produced.
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2005 Mosby
Santa Barbara County Pinot Grigio
Score: 93.0
Pinot Gris/Grigio is so often innocuous, it's a real pleasure to find a complex rendition. This one shows grassy-herbal notes over white peach on the nose. These follow through to the palate with the addition of mineral notes and a pleasant bitterness and minerality through the extraordinarily long finish. It's light, dry and refreshing, with enough acid to work well with most foods. It is also a very good value.
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2005 Mosby
Santa Barbara County Traminer
Score: 88.0
You'll be hard pressed to see the difference between this Traminer and Gewurztraminer. Gewurz simply means spicy, or more to the point, aromatic. This may have a muted nose, but on the palate it shows flavors of Barlett pears, lychee and pink grapefruit rind, as well as mineral notes on the mid-palate. it's seductively silky, dry as a bone, and displays the typical bitterness of the variety in the finish. A mere 333 cases were produced.
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1999 Mosby
Vigna della Casa Vecchia Santa Barbara County Dolcetto
Score: 85.0
"Dolcetto is usually lighter weight than this. Meaning 'little sweet one,' the Dolcetto grape makes a wine often compared to Pinot Noir. This one shows spicy plum and roasted tomato character, with toast and spice notes on the palate, and medium tannin. A big, rustic wine to pair with hamburger or spaghetti."
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1999 Meridian Vineyards
Santa Barbara County Chardonnay
Score: 89.0
"A full-bodied, velvety smooth, dry, tropical fruit style Chardonnay. Papaya and guava fruit combine with crisp acidity and a light smokey background on the mid-palate, leading to a mineral and fruit finish. Consistently a good value and the epitome of the California style."
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1998 Seven Peaks
San Luis Obispo County/Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
Score: 93.0
"A mouthful of this Pinot will send your head spinning-its one of those big, earthy wines, with fresh cherry fruit, a silky texture, and so much depth that its difficult to describe. A very controversial wine with our consumer tasting panel: some felt it was too earthy, others thought the earthiness made it that much more complex."
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1998 Meridian Vineyards
Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir Coastal Reserve
Score: 94.0
"An exquisite nose of deep, lush cherry pie fruit with a subtle, complex background of forest floor and vanilla, medium body and a sensuous texture, soft tannin and a long spicy finish. Great now, it will also age gracefully for a few years."
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1998 Curtis
Santa Barbara County Syrah Rose
Score: 89.0
"Wines are like people; some are young and fresh, supple and graceful; others are mature and complex, or coarse and heading toward senility. This is a graceful young wine with fresh focused raspberry and strawberry fruit, medium body and beautiful structure. A pure pleasure to behold, and to drink as an aperitif. Its not complex, but its a gorgeous young thing. 89"
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1998 Mosby
Santa Barbara county Pinot Grigio
Score: 87.0
"This wine is less Italian than Alsatian in character. I can say that with some authority, having tasted it alongside an Alsatian Pinot Gris. Its dry, with baked peach, red apple and rosemary notes, as well as an earthy background. Robust and flavorful on the mid-palate, it has a short grassy finish. Pair with poultry or pork."
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