Siduri was a gateway winery for me as it was one of the first California Pinots that I had tried. I visited their tasting room often, swallowed my disdain for the Dallas Cowboys, and spoke to co-founder and winemaker Adam Lee (who is an obnoxious Cowboys fan) on a number of occasions. I was an unabashed fan. Unlike many other Siduri lovers, however, I was thrilled when Adam and (then) wife Dianna sold the brand to Jackson Family Wines several years ago. I was thrilled for the Lees (they got a boatload of cash for all of their hard work) and for JFW as they acquired a premium brand. I was worried, though, as many a like transaction resulted in, well, disaster. Not the case thus far–Siduri is doing quite well, thank you very much. This Willamette Valley wine, at thirty bucks, is an entry-level wine and I dare say that it is better than the equivalent wines produced by Siduri when Adam was at the helm. Rich fruit, great tartness, surprising depth, and a tasty finish. What else would one want? Excellent.

Agglomerated stopper. Part of the Jackson Family Wines Empire and a common wine on grocery store shelves across the country. Despite that, it is pretty darned good. Medium color, translucent, nice nose of fresh cherry and boysenberry. The palate has good fruit up front, followed by a distinct tartness, and a fairly lengthy finish. For around twenty bucks at most locations? You certainly could do much worse than this La Crema Pinot Noir. Very Good.

This is from a 2 hectare block of dry-farmed bush vine Grenache planted in 1946 on Maslin Sands. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins over the whole autumn (158 days post-ferment maceraton) in ceramic eggs. The juice is then drained and matured in the eggs for another 5 months – no pressings are used. This has an intriguing nose that initially reminds me of Barolo. It’s fresh, dry, dusty and a bit spicy, with some rose petal, orange peel and cherry notes, as well as a slight acid lift. The palate is dry, grippy and grainy, but with nice fresh red cherry and plum fruit, as well as a twist of raspberry and tar. It’s very textural: a touch of silkiness, but also some pepper spice and then some grainy, drying tannins with a hessian-like texture. Good acidity, allied to firm but well managed tannins give this real grip: the Barolo analogy stands. It’s youthful and quite profound, and I think it will age in very interesting ways. I’ve not had an Australian wine like this, but I still think it communicates its place very well, albeit in quite a stern way as yet.

High Sands is Yangarra’s Holy Grenache Grail, capturing the essence of their prized old vines. From their McLaren Vale Blewett Springs estate, this biodynamic High Sands block is perched at the top of the ridge, with gnarly old bush vines from 1946 rooted in deep silica sand soils. This was destemmed with 50% whole berry, native fermented, and kept in older French oak for 11 months, prior to bottling without fining. This certainly achieves the trinity of intensity, lightness of being, and structure, with a quiet confidence and nonchalant restraint that lets the finessed purity of this wine shine. Fragrant plum, wild blueberry, sweet wild strawberry, gum tree, and a wash of mineral salts flood the palate, shockingly fresh and finessed for its 14.5%. Tannins are long and lissom, sticky just enough to pin in the fruit to a lingering finish. Though there is a gently ripe sweetness here inherent in grenache, there is a savoury saltiness that rises to match, in the end creating a memorable harmony. Drinking beautifully now, this will certainly continue to hold in your cellar over the next few years.

Medium deep crimson. Blackcurrant, blackberry, graphite aromas with mocha, roasted chestnut notes. Beautifully concentrated and wine with plentiful cassis, blackberry, graphite, fine gravelly textures and integrated mocha, roasted chestnut, vanilla oak. Finishes chocolatey with ample sweet fruit notes. Gently vigorous with superb fruit complexity and mineral length. 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 60% new and seasoned Bordeaux -coopered barriques. Drink 2024 – 2038. The Shiraz component was matured in 1-2 year old puncheons. Final new oak around 50% in the blend.

Deep crimson. Classic blackcurrant, dark chocolate with roasted almond, roasted chestnut notes. Inky deep wine with beautiful blackcurrant pastille roasted chestnut flavours, fine grainy textures and underlying cedar notes. Finishes chalky firm with seductive sweet fruit notes. A highly individual stye with superb definition, fruit complexity, concentration and oak handling. 97% cabernet sauvignon, 3% malbec. Maturation for around 16 months in 50% new and seasoned French oak barriques. Drink now – 2034

Medium deep crimson. Fragrant pure blackberry, musky plum aromas with underlying vanilla notes. Well concentrated and ultra-ripe blackberry, spicy/ hint cloves flavours, some stone fruit notes, fine looseknit chalky textures, very good mid palate volume and underlying vanilla, mocha notes. Finishes slinky and long. Plush fruit, elegant structure. Fascinating wine. Maturation in 30% new and seasoned French oak puncheons for 10 months and then 25hL foudre and a 18hL concrete egg for 8 months. Drink now – 2030

This Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Chardonnay is rich, nuanced, and complex as the nose opens with aromas of baked apple, creamy meringue, ripe pineapple, mandarin orange and fresh peach.
The palate is supple as it is balanced and integrated and exhibits flavours of tropical nectar, orange marmalade, baking spices, ambrosia and vanilla, and offers creamy, long, lingering finish.

Murphy Goode 2019 Pinot Noir, California
Get deeper into wine and food pairing:
From the start wine has been made to be enjoyed with food. So if you are not already, why not make this the year to really get into thinking about food and wine matches? While the reality is that great pairings are subjective, there are strategies to help massage a match. For starters, it helps to serve a food-friendly wine. This California Pinot Noir shows both bright fruit and acidity, two traits that work well to counter richer, even fattier foods. This Pinot’s juicy red fruit, for example, is primed to parry unctuous BBQ ribs, while it’s also deft enough to take-on grilled salmon.
Bottom line: B, Oozes juicy berry and bramble.

Also amazing is the Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico Riserva 2018. This is sangiovese at its best, with cherry and plum sauce on the nose. It's so light and floral that cherry and strawberry flavors vibrantly shine. Part of the original tasting notes featured my take that the wine is not overpowered by wood or tannin.

As a symbol of grenache’s revival in Australia, it’s hard to go past this extraordinary wine, which Yangarra proudly calls “the pinnacle of our estate” (and prices accordingly). Made from grapes grown on gnarly old bush vines planted in 1946 on the highest block of the Yangarra vineyard, where the sandy soils are deepest, this is all about power and finesse: pretty, almost rose-petal perfume, but a deep, mysterious earthy scent, too; sweet, generous, ripe grenache fruit tumbling across the tongue, but also lots of dark, fine, dusty tannin holding it all in check. Superb wine.

Unlike the Fijnbosch Chardonnay, which is a single vineyard bottling, the straight Capensis wine uses grapes from different selected sites in the Western Cape. Showing Graham Weerts' sure touch with the variety, this has enticing toast, cinnamon and beeswax aromas, impressive concentration, chiselled focus and minerality and pear and waxed lemon fruit.

An international style of Chardonnay with a subtle South African accent, Fijnbosch comes from a steep north-facing, clay-rich site in the Banghoek Valley. Dense and concentrated, with honeysuckle, fynbos and saffron aromas, cream, toffee and lemon and lime flavours and lots of extract.

Silene is something of a bargain in the Capensis line up, sourced from the home Fijnbosch vineyard and a number of other growers in Stellenbosch. Sweetly wooded in 30% new oak, it's taut, structured and stony, with toast and vanilla top notes, lots of zip and intensity and pear and lemon zest flavours.

Sublime. What a gorgeous Grenache! Prettiness and class all in one package.
Sourced from the certified organic and biodynamic block adjacent to the famed High Sands, the vines were planted in 1946. Fermented in ceramic eggs and on skins for 176 days, this is Grenache purity at its best.
Glorious fruit, sizzling weight, it's just marvelously executed. Easily my favourite Grenache in the Yangarra Estate range, juicy raspberries run riot with flashes of blueberries. Superfine exotic spices frame the edges and push long to a persistent and ever moreish finish. So bright and vibrant in the glass, it feels so luxurious with its silky touch. The High Sands is the flagship of the range but I'd easily take three of these to one of those. Just brilliant!

Vivino and The Best Pinot Noirs for your Cellar
Russian River Valley, California
Best wines under $40:
2019 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Lovely with red fruit flavors of cherries and raspberries; spicy backbone of clove and pepper.

Lovely with red fruit flavors of cherries and raspberries; spicy backbone of clove and pepper.
Lovely with red fruit flavors of cherries and raspberries; spicy backbone of clove and pepper.

Earthy and spicy with plum and red fruit notes; medium acidity and long finish. It’s the perfect wine to pair with Salmon!

This is a medium-bodied, dark fruit flavored Pinot Noir with good acidity and medium-long finish. Good quality-to-price (QPR) ratio, so buy now!

Splurge for World-Class:
For when you sold your company and you want the neighbors to know that not only can you afford the good stuff – you actually also know what the good stuff is. These wines are incredible, and you will want to share them with people that know how to appreciate the best.
Mt. Brave 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Intricate aromas of kirsch, tobacco, potpourri, pine forest, and smoky cedar. Massively powerful and concentrated dark fruit gives buoyancy to this brooding Cabernet. Firm, fine woody tannins lay a solid foundation for a wine that keeps giving through layers of wet river stones, underbrush, herbs, dried currants and walnut husks. A very precise wine with the freshness of a cool, crisp Spring Mountain morning.

Powerfully aromatic black fruits, dried herbs, dark-roast coffee beans, toasty oak and dried flowers. Full-throttle, structured and dense, with firm, elongated tannins and compact black-toned fruits, scorched earth, iron shavings and crushed cocoa nibs. A long finish of brandied spiced cherries. Since 1995, Lokoya has produced Cabernet from the Veeder Peak Estate at 548m on the western ridges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Incredibly rich and opulent. Sumptuous aromas of ripe cassis, boysenberry, blackberry and mountain herbs. The incredibly vivid dark berry fruit – deep and penetrating – is accompanied by a tapestry of granular mountain tannins that are long and laced with a saline minerality. The finish reveals a plethora of pie spices, blueberry compote, chocolate and very fine oak. A powerhouse Cabernet that is pleasure-packed.

Showcasing the lovely freshness of high-elevation Mt Veeder grapes. Vivid boysenberry and mulberry fruits give way to mountain herbs, dusty minerals and rich toasty cedar. A compact wine revealing black-fruited flavours and savoury herbal nuances alongside sculpted tannins that are pixelated and mouthcoating. An impressively long finish of iron shavings, baked agave and dried chaparral.

Heady aromas of beautiful brown spices, raspberry, boysenberry, leather and tobacco with the nuances of smoky clove, crushed wild herbs and cinnamon. More of the same unfolds on the palate, framed by burly tannins with grit, and finishing with intense pops of red and violet florals. A tremendously poised red with plenty of vivacity and complexity in youth that will only deepen with time in the bottle.