Made by Greg Brewer and already bottled, the 2023 Chardonnay comes from the Mission Hills Vineyard just outside of Los Alamos. Its vivid medium gold hue is followed by a vibrant nose of salted citrus, tangerine, exotic flowers, and subtle spice. Medium-bodied, pure, rounded, and beautifully balanced, it has plenty of power and density, integrated acidity, and a great finish. This impeccably made Chardonnay should be snatched up by readers, as it competes with wines at two to three times the price.

Ripe golden fruits, honeyed minerality, a kiss of iodine, crème brûlée, and white flower notes all emerge from the appellation 2022 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills, and as always, it competes with the best out there, offering medium to full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a great finish. Sourced from the 3D, Machado, Hapgood, and Perilune vineyards, it will evolve for 15 years in cold cellars. 3,805 cases.

More exotic notes of tangerines, orange blossom, toasted almond, and grilled pineapple all emerge from the 2022 Chardonnay Machado, a juicy, medium to full-bodied, textured, vibrant Chardonnay that has bright acidity and a great finish. It's a singular Chardonnay that will evolve for 10-15 years as well. 213 cases.

Leading off the reds, the 2022 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is incredibly expressive and open, with a great nose of spiced red fruits, iodine, spring flowers, rose, and baking spices. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Pinot Noir with a round, layered, elegant mouthfeel, rock-solid acidity, and a great finish. As always, it’s a terrific value in top-notch Pinot Noir and will have 10-15 years of longevity. 4,969 cases.

Malbec with a splash of cabernet sauvignon (7%). The malbec was planted in 2013. Fermented as whole berries with pump-overs, with 17 days total on skins; matured in French barriques (60% new) for 15 months then blended and aged for two months in older oak. Deeply coloured and flavoured, it feels like a good amount care has been taken here to extract the bountiful flavours without too much grip. It is there and with authority, as the variety dictates, but it’s in lockstep with silky, mildly plush fruits. Dark berries, mulberry, raspberry, a floral hint and integrated oak notes, clove and pepper.

Very deep, bold and bright purple-red colour, with a spice-box bouqet that includes pepper, clove, dried herbs and lead pencil, the palate full-bodied and well rounded with abundant but not overbearing tannins that provide very good framework. A rich concentrated and densely packed red that will age superbly.

Aromas of dried strawberry, cedar, black chocolate and dust. Medium-bodied with creamy and refined tannins. Spicy and citrusy at the end. Drink or hold.

This Pinot Noir is a brilliant garnet color with juicy and candied red fruit. The characteristic Petaluma Gap saline dusting comes through, alive and well, but subtly instead of aggressively.

Unfined and unfiltered, and only 325 cases were produced, the Seascape Vineyard sits high on a ridge over the Sonoma Coast among arboreal surroundings. The Pacific Ocean is directly below, so the vines benefit from the cooling ocean influence and impart garrigue flavours and those of mushrooms, oak chips, and chalkiness. The mineral character is a lovely component that gives dimension.

The strong aroma of buttered popcorn, caramel candies and freshly cut banana slices is accompanied by a rather viscous texture and flavours of tropical mangoes, papaya, lemongrass and pineapple slices. It's a rich take on chardonnay without the heft that often accompanies such weight. Sevens Bench sits on a ridge at about 80m in elevation in Carneros, which is an AVA that historically lends richness to the mouthfeel of its wines. The secondary sensation on the palate is minerality. Sevens Bench lends the minerality to an otherwise fruit and acid-driven wine. Will drink well for up to six more years.

There is a green bitterness on the finish and some herbal notes up front, which offer a great complement to the tropical bananas and papaya notes that prance about this wine.

A pretty blend of dusty rose, ground cloves, sage and wild strawberries makes the 2021 Pinot Noir Ʃ The Sum impossible to ignore. This is more savory than sweet and full of zesty character, with depths of saline minerals and exotic spices that cascade across the palate. Waves of tart blackberry slowly saturate. The 2021 leaves a web of fine tannins that flex upon the sense, finishing with medium length and a pleasantly bitter tinge that resonates. The Sun is produced using about 50% whole cluster fermentation.

The 2021 Chardonnay Pas de Nom blossoms in the glass with an array of dusty dried flowers, stone dust, incense and spice. This is sleek and racy in feel, with a pleasant inner sweetness contrasted by saline minerals and exotic spice. Crisp orchard fruits combine with tactile mineral tones to create a crunchy sensation toward the close. The 2021 tapers off with fantastic length and a salty tinge, leaving hints of sour melon and lemon sorbet to mingle on the palate. This is beautifully integrated, having refined in 45% new French oak.

Sporting a medium ruby color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Conifer is a very expansive wine in its aromatics, with enveloping aromas of – well, you guessed it– pine resin and sappy forest herbs, woven together with framboise, wildflowers, and mossy earth. It was aged for 17 months in 65% new French oak barrels. Medium-bodied and linear, it has fine tannins and crisp, ripe acidity, with a savory finish and a hint of umami richness underneath that’s going to shine through well with time in the cellar. I love this wine now, but it will have the ability to age gracefully if stored in cool cellars. Drink 2024-2040.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Ridgecrest Vineyard comes from the oldest vines in what has become the Ribbon Ridge AVA, planted in 1980. The wine is a ruby/magenta color and has more powerful and layered depth on the nose, with notes of woodsy earth, crushed cherries, black raspberries, crushed flowers, and pine needles. It has a little more sapidity, with more depth on the palate, and while it’s still medium-bodied, it saturates the palate with wonderful intensity and retains a lot of pure character. It holds onto its great, red-fruited undertones with its refreshing acidity, but it’s very well-balanced. I’m very impressed with this wine from Kate. Bravo. This might be the best wine they made this vintage. Drink 2025-2040.

The 2014 Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton sports a bright golden yellow hue and offers expressive notes of beeswax, gunflint, ripe apples, candied ginger, and candied orange. Leaning a bit more to full-bodied, this wine is in a great place, and Shane Moore thinks it’s quite similar to the 2013, his first vintage of this wine. It has mouthwatering freshness, with a delicate, oily texture and more orange peel notes. Very well done, it’s showing very well now, but it can be enjoyed any time over the next 5-6 years.

A medium golden hue, the 2021 Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton is floral with notes of jasmine, poached pear, lemongrass, and wet stone. Medium-bodied, it has a rounded, supple, and silky texture, with wonderful stony mineral underpinnings and a fresh ripeness of acidity. It carries balanced tension and a seamless feel. It is going to drink its best over the next 8-10 years.

A well-composed, balanced and harmonious 100% cabernet franc. On the nose it showcases aromas of blueberries, dried herbs, gunpowder and some black pepper. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Lively and voluptuous with a delicious purple fruit character. Vivid and succulent with a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

A blend of mainly cabernet sauvignon and merlot with a dollop of petit verdot from the Sexton vineyard, planted in Gruyere in 1997. A deep, bright magenta. Aromas of red cherries, black plums and floral notes together with hints of thyme and rosemary lead onto the medium-bodied, gently structured and balanced palate. Far from a monster, this is a wine to enjoy now (with food) and over the next five to seven years.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Emery is characterized on the nose by pretty, tricolored berry fruit and alluring accents of forest floor, juniper, aniseed and tobacco. The medium-bodied palate features layered, floral fruit structured by clay-textured tannins and vibrant acidity. It's powerful and inviting, and its structure and detail point to a positive evolution in bottle. 430 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Aliette opens dramatically with time in the glass, its aromas segueing from tar and forest floor to pure red cherry, cranberry, licorice and lavender. The medium-bodied palate features a concentrated core of fragrant red fruit. It has a finely astringent texture, vibrant acidity and a long finish with a fan of spicy accents. 425 cases produced.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Cuvée is dark and savory on the nose: red cherry and cranberry are accented by tones of tar, forest floor and amaro. The medium-bodied palate explodes with generous red fruit and complex spicy accents. It's structured by finely astringent tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity, and it has a long, expressive finish. 1,500 cases produced.

A barrel selection, the 2021 Pinot Noir Pas de Nom offers notable purity and complexity this vintage. It opens with detailed aromas of blackberry, raspberry, black tea leaves, woodsmoke and lavender. The medium-bodied palate's layered flavors are framed by chalky tannins and vibrant acidity that give it a weightless feel, and it has a very long, fragrant finish. 229 cases produced.

The nose on this bottling is quite complex, ranging from waxy, dried lemon peel to hints of sour cream to intense honeysuckle aromas. The palate is viscous yet buoyant in citrusy acidity, leading into a salty finish.

This brand's wines are consistently engaging even at this more widely available appellation cuvée level. Crisp cherry, raspberry, bay leaf and fennel aromas lead from the nose into a palate that's alive with juicy red fruits and wild, peppery herbs.