Sonoma Part 4 - Anaba

For our next stop we looked at the map and decided to pick a smaller winery which none of us had heard of before. This lead us to Anaba
Here you can taste the wines inside the tasting room, or the friendy staff are happy to bring the wines to you as you sit on the covered patio and admire the scenery - we chose the second option!
The tastings are $10 each, but the fee is waived if you buy anything. There are 6 wines to try, and then you pick one dessert wine from a choice of three to finish with. As we had 3 people tasting, we each picked a different one and got to try them all.


We started with the 2009 Sonoma Valley Pink, made form 100% Grenache. It was very light and fruity, tasting mainly of strawberries and pink grapefruit.

Next was the 2008 "Coriol" White made from an interesting blend of 48% Rousanne, 30% Viognier, 12% Mersanne and 10% Grenache Blanc which gave nice melon and peach flavours with a hint of lemon.

The 2007 Voignier followed, which was suprisingly dry to the taste but also had nice peach and apricot flavours, with a slight hint of dried fruit.

The 2007 Chardonnay was also surprising, due to the spiciness. It was very full bodied and quite lemony and quite crisp and clean.

Following on from that were two reds, the first of which was the 2007 "JMcK" Pinot Noir. This was very rich and quite jammy, with ripe red fruit, particularly strawberries and cherries, and a nice spicy finish.

Next, the 2007 "Coriol" Red was as interesting a blend as the white - 38% Grenache, 27% Mouvedre, 25% Petite Sirah and 10% Counoise. It has a lovely ruby colour with lots of black fruit and plum flavours, and a peppery finish.

To finish, the 3 dessert wines kicked off with a 2008 Late Harvest Viognier which is made from Botrytis affected grapes so has really intense, rich flavours. It's very honeyed, with flavours of apricot and hints of orange and a flowery note.
The White "Aero" Port is made from Viognier and aged in French oak for 3-4 years. It has rich peach flavours and hints of raisins.
The Red "Aero" Port was also delicious, tasting of rich ripe cherries and toffee. It's made from Syrah grapes.

We bought a bottle of the White Aero Port and the "Coriol" Red, which meant the tastings were complimentary, bargain!

Anaba also have a Port Chocolate Sauce which we all loved, and would be perfect on ice cream or cheesecake.