The Jeff Cohn Cellars’ wines that I was tasting at Fine Wine Source were getting better and better with each tasting.  There is just something so gratifying when one is tasting wines with people that know what they are talking about.  I have been to wineries, where the tasting room staff, could not really answer some of my questions.   So, to be with a staff that can talk about the wines, is a plus.  After all the years that I have been in retail, I can tell you, that there are some people that could just as easily sell a necktie as a box of nails in a hardware store, alas most people in retail, have no passion for the product, so it is so gratifying when one finds passion.  I find passion for wine in the staff at Fine Wine Cellars and it is obvious that Jeff Cohn has passion for his wines.  His passion may even increase now that he is situated in the Sonoma region and has a tasting room to show his craft.

I have to tell you about the Jeff Cohn Cellars Grenache El Diablo Vineyard 2015.  Jeff Cohn has sourced from this vineyard since 2010.  The “Fallen Angel” Vineyard is considered the perfect site for Grenache and the vines are from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape suitcase clone and is in the Russian River Valley AVA.  The vines are planted in both parallel and perpendicular terraces to take advantage of the natural climate.  The wine was aged for sixteen months in large neutral oak barrels.  There were one-hundred-fifty-eight cases produced of the wine.   A good nose promising peppers and spices, in a medium bodied wine with more of a red cherry taste and a nice finish delivering more spice.  A very nice bottle of wine.

The Jeff Cohn Cellars Smoke & Mirrors 2015 is a red blend that carries a California AVA and has been part of his portfolio of wines going back to his JC Cellars era.  The wine is a blend of thirty-five percent Syrah, twenty-nine percent Zinfandel, fifteen percent Petite Sirah, fourteen percent Grenache and three percent Carignane.  This was a bigger wine, with a nose of dark fruit and spice, a chewy wine with several layers of texture and nuance with rounded edges and a bit of a sweet finish.  This one would be just easy to drink with friends even before the appetizers come out.