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Our Journal

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2018 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2018 Paloma Merlot

On the nose, this wine approaches with a soft, round, plushness of ripe summer berry fruits and a hint of savory sage. In the mouth, the wine sits silky with a presence of savoriness; it is extremely approachable upfront. This is very typical of Paloma wines thanks to...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2019 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2019 Paloma Merlot

Paloma's 2019 Merlot opens with cranberry and rich cassis followed up with a slightly dry mocha aromatic. This wine unfolds like a flower as you taste. It lands in the mouth with small strings of tannin and carries itself on a cool floral body. Its weight is just...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2016 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2016 Paloma Merlot

On first inhale plum, cherry, and sage waft into the nose. The wine is a beautiful Christmas cranberry color with a tint of purple. After letting the wine breathe for a few minutes the soft round notes of cranberry jam with subtle star anise identify themselves. As...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2011 Paloma Cabernet Sauvignon

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2011 Paloma Cabernet Sauvignon

The first puff of aroma off the bottle strikes as bright pink starburst before it settles into something totally different in the glass. As the aromas break open, earthy garden florals fill the air. On the pallet, the acidity of this one hundred percent Cabernet...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2015 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2015 Paloma Merlot

This vintage of Paloma Merlot is a slight deviation from the typical blend of 85/15 with an 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon mix. On the nose, fresh fruits of raspberry and plum waft up out of the glass, followed by an undercurrent of earthy herbs, like thyme and...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: the 2012 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: the 2012 Paloma Merlot

  This wine has an endless supply of aromatics. Plush vanilla and clove rise from the glass with cool earthy undertones and discrete floral notes. Pronounced plum and hot cinnamon spice jump out at you. This wine makes its entrance with a sharp, pronounced violet...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2014 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2014 Paloma Merlot

2014 was the 3rd year in a row of drought conditions for the valley, so the focus for Sheldon, Paloma’s winemaker, was preservation of quality. Only half of the Merlot and none of the Cabernet crop made it into the bottle. While a difficult decision at the time, this...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2017 Paloma Cabernet Sauvignon

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2017 Paloma Cabernet Sauvignon

  The 2017 Paloma Cabernet Sauvignon is unlike other Napa Valley Cabs; its tannins are present, but they don't “hit you in the face” as they say. This mountain Cab uncoils its cranberry pomegranate depth right from the rim of the glass. A deeper inhale brings a...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2013 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2013 Paloma Merlot

  Considered by Winemaker Sheldon Richards to be one of the most complex wines he has ever made and considered by Robert Parker to be deliciously textured and opulent—see Robert’s Review below. The 2013 vintage was a great year for Paloma, as well as the rest of...

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2010 Paloma Merlot

Laura’s Tasting Notes: The 2010 Paloma Merlot

As of October 10, 2023 The 2010 Merlot has a lovely round mouthfeel with a lush plum and strawberry seed finish. It lets the drinker know that it still has aging potential. At thirteen years, it shows no signs of the all too common "candied" profile or thinning out....