The 2017s From Sonoma From a site south of Sebastopol planted all to old Wente clones of Chardonnay, the 2016 Chardonnay Jennifer's spent 16 months in 23% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. It’s deeper colored and has a rich, honeyed bouquet of stone fruits, crushed Meyer lemons, orange rind, and crushed rocks. Rich, powerful, and structured on the palate, I expect this singular, exotic white to age nicely.

Tastes like a box of rocks drizzled with citrus oil. Poached pear, orange rind, stony white peach notes, and striking minerality are reminiscent of a Chevalier-Montrachet from the likes of Michel Niellon. With lovely body, acidity, and purity, it should be drunk over the next 4-5 years.

The 2016 Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard is deep, unctuous and full of flavor, yet also has quite a bit of the freshness that is so typical of Russian River Zinfandels, especially in this vintage. The Dina's has a bit more tannin and structure than the other wines in the range, which makes it reticent. Dollops of Alicante add character and personality to this super-expressive Zinfandel from Hartford.

Jolene’s Vineyard comes from head trained vines planted over 100 years ago. It is aged for 12 months in French oak, 55% new and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2015 Zinfandel Jolene’s Vineyard presents black cherry, baked blueberries and blackberry preserves notes with hints of incense, sautéed herbs and dusty earth. Rich, full-bodied and packed with layers of berry coulis and savory flavors, it has a gorgeous velvety texture and great length.

Bright saturated ruby. Extremely dark aromas of crushed blueberry, violet, bitter chocolate, licorice and camphor. Peppery and precise but not green, with outstanding dark fruit and violet intensity accentuated by an electric impression of energy. This seriously tannic Le Desir will need at least eight years of cellaring before it approaches its plane of peak drinkability.

Deep ruby-red. Terrific lift to the aromas of cassis, licorice, mint, minerals and bitter chocolate, accented by herbs and rose petal. The middle palate offers outstanding depth for 2011, as well as terrific definition and energy to the dark berry, nutmeg and cassis leaf flavors. Finishes classically dry, with subtle building length. Seillan told me he uses the malbec for spice, not to add color or volume. A huge success for the vintage.

Good deep red-ruby. Complex aromas of cherry, plum, musky brown spices, licorice and menthol lifted by a floral topnote. Quite dry and youthfully imploded initially, then opened to show a creamy sweetness and growing pliancy to its red fruit and mineral flavors. This has firmed up since I saw it in barrel a year ago, while La Joie has become more harmonious. The most tannic of this outstanding trio of 2007s today, with the structure for a long and positive evolution in bottle.

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice and cedar on the nose. Broad and round but backward, with a distinctly medicinal reserve to the flavors of black fruits, menthol and smoke. The middle palate is currently dominated by the wine's spine and yet the very long finish is lush and sweet. The least obviously minerally of these three 2006s today, but offers great potential.

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot) Bright ruby-red. Black and blue fruits complicated by licorice, minerals and fresh herbs on the nose. Rich, broad, lush and full, even if it conveys less easy sweetness and personality today than the Muse (but then this is Seillan's Pauillac-style blend). Best today on the sensational back half, which features a major coating of suave tannins and an extremely long, aromatic finish that reverberates with subtle floral tones. Interestingly, this cabernet-based wine has a higher pH than the merlot-based Muse: 3.78 vs. 3.64.

Good bright ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of cassis, black cherry, graphite, iron, tobacco, menthol and spice cake. Lush and broad on entry, then sweeter and lusher in the middle palate than the Muse, with a captivating chocolatey quality and outstanding volume. As rich and full as this is, there's no sense of excess weight. Finishes long, dense and palate-saturating with major dusty tannins. This Pauillac is sweeter and deeper than Seillan's Pomerol, a comment on the comparative quality of cabernet sauvignon and merlot in California's North Coast.

Very pale yellow. Captivating nose combines exotic apricot, white plum, crushed rock, brown spices and a lavender high note. Intense and tactile on entry, then tightly coiled and penetrating in the middle, a step up over the foregoing wines in its impression of acid spine. Very powerful, youthfully aggressive, palate-staining wine that will need time in bottle to open and expand. Less thick and sweet at the same stage than the 2008, but at the same time more glycerol than the 2009 Gravel Bench. A great example of a California chardonnay, by which I mean that I would not mistake it for Burgundy in a blind tasting.

This first red release from Capensis is a classy and classical Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon from the Helderberg that is varietally labelled but also draws on the salt and pepper complexity of a 9% Merlot and a 6% Cabernet Franc addition that was matured in French oak, 30% new, for 14 months before bottling. Picked before the rains, this 2023 displays perfumed aromatics of violets and rose petals, sweet cedar and smoky Christmas spices, lead pencils, red and black berry fruits, and subtle notes of graphite and oystershell. In the mouth there is a deliciously fresh acidity that supports lush, supple sweet tannins and a medium weighted, concentrated black berry fruited finish that slowly recedes to reveal a stony, classically dry mineral finish. An excellent debut effort. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.

Vibrant, with youthful aromas of apple, pineapple, and Meyer lemon layered with white flowers, fresh caramel, and crème fraîche. The palate offers pomelo, grilled navel orange rind, crushed clove, sedimentary nuances, and an ocean breeze, culminating in citrus oils and saline zest. Best to cellar until 2035 or aerate and drink now. Pair with poached John Dore, crispy potatoes, and pea tendrils.

Rich aromas of dark cherry, black raspberry, cinnamon, red Darjeeling tea, red licorice, and dried florals. The youthful flavors include black strawberry, black plum, allspice, brûlée, pink grapefruit peel, and white pepper, finishing dry and savory. Cellar until 2035 or decant and enjoy.

A lighter hue in the glass, this is a wondrous Pinot Noir, starting with earth-laced aromas of cherry sorbet, cola and porcini dust, pairing savory edges to the ripe fruits. The palate is very complex, showing rooibos tea, sage brush, and red-plum flavors that work into elegant harmony.

Bold and potent aromas of black plum, blackberry, and baking spice are layered in savory smoked-meat elements on the nose of this bottling. The palate shows a range of red fruits, from baked cherry to ripe watermelon, with nutmeg and clove spicing up the midpalate as orange peel enlivens the finish.

The 2023 Chardonnay Broken Road Vineyard comes from the Alexander Mountain estate at 1,800 feet of elevation. It’s deftly balances generous, expressive, rounded peach/nectarine fruit with a tense line of minerality. “Polished power” is the phrase that comes to mind. Aging in 15% concrete adds such lift and clarity. The 2023 is a beauty through and through.

The 2022 GSM Hawks Butte is a co-fermented equal-parts blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre from a site in the Yorkville Highlands in Mendocino County. It's gorgeously expressive. The Syrah is really out in front today, showing off its violet florals, orange peel and black-licorice-like spices, with a measure of seamlessness and textural polish to the mountain structure that really works. Juicy acids leave the mouth watering on the finish. The Rhônes win the day in the range at Copain this year.

The 2023 Grenache Brosseau Vineyard is beautiful. Kirsch, rosemary, rosewater, slightly candied raspberry fruit and chalk join together effortlessly, cruising across the palate with weightlessness and clear definition. It’s a very precise, pure reflection of place—exactly what wine is all about.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota is darker, more plush and more put together than the Montana, but it’s also a very young, inward wine. Layers of mocha, asphalt, crushed rocks, bay laurel, espresso bean and blackberry fruit present a smooth, unified front. There’s a lot of power beneath the surface, but the 2022 will undoubtedly need several years to blossom. This is a very attractive wine that ticks all the right boxes.

The 2024 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard, from the far reaches of the West Sonoma Coast, is a standout in this range. Subtle coastal character leads the charge, delivering lifted notes of crunchy pomegranate fruit, salty sea air, ripe orange zest and chalk. The mid-palate benefits from a bump of fruit richness, all riding atop a wave of measured acids as everything tightens up and gains focus on the long finish. This is a beauty.

The 2023 Chardonnay Fog Dance is exuberantly aromatic and absolutely delicious. A sweet, plump mid-palate meets with a wash of gently salty acidity as nuances of toasted spice, ginger, golden apple and tarragon gently broaden in the glass. The deft juxtaposition of freshness against weight here is a cut above. 

The 2023 Chardonnay Sevens Bench Vineyard, from Carneros, kicks off with a flicker of struck-match reduction before settling deeply into the palate with a complex array of orange curd, walnut oil, ripe golden apple and chamomile tea. The acidity is nearly buried by the textural heft, and yet the wine keeps marching ahead slowly and intentionally, never once feeling weighed-down. Ultimately, the 2023 is on the understated side aromatically, built more on textural intrigue and internal balance than anything else. It's a style I find wildly attractive.

Hailing from Anderson Valley, the 2023 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is tightly wound and loaded with minerality. Dark cherry fruit, graphite and crushed rocks emerge with coaxing, taking on a more brambly berry character as the wine begins to loosen its grip and relax its shoulders. A gentle, saline-tinged acidity runs beneath the 2023's dusty core, wrapping up with a graceful framework of fine, powdery tannin. Classy

The 2023 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards is one of the highlights of this sizable range. Big-boned but more floral and calibrated than the MacLean’s tasted alongside, the Land’s Edge impresses from start to finish as it churns out layers of pressed rose petal, orange zest, red licorice and split pine. The 2023 exudes polish. A brief stay of nine months in barrel yielded a pure, transparent wine that speaks of place