theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America.

The 2004 Bouchet Cabernet is meaty and round up front, loaded with cherries, ruby fruit and savory, caramelized character. The fleshy middle body rolls into a finish of sweet toasty cream. The name for the 2004 “Brown” Cabernet Sauvignon was taken from the vineyard owner Steve Brown and reflects the single vineyard source of the grapes. They were grown in North Napa, where the river begins to narrow and the banks offer generous oak canopies that cool the breezes drifting up valley. The Brown vineyard continues to be one of the latest to ripen, offering plenty of hang time to insure fully mature Cabernet flavors.

The 2005 “Garnacha” is 100% Grenache from the town of Sanger California, (Saroyan Vineyards) just south of Fresno. The 50-year-old vines offer incredible varietal flavors of pomegranate, raspberry and orange zest. The silky round mouth feel is punctuated with a tart freshness. The bouquet is fresh like blackberries and watermelon candy. Unfortunately, the source of this fruit is no longer with us, as Ralph Saroyan and his mother, to help meet the housing needs of the growing Fresno Valley, have given their vineyard so that young families in the area will have homes to live in. In this wine, however, we can still recall the sun-soaked vineyards that were.