At a time when so many California pinots are pivoting to sweetness it is a real joy to find one that so naturally and effortlessly expresses California's ambiant, sunny charm. This sports a fine, fragrant, generous and pure nose of pinot red cherry/raspberry fruit, florals and very finely tuned oak (nine months French). It is medium bodied, glossy and almost satiny smooth with polished tannin, precision acidity and a touch of heat. The fruit stays focused and true and runs to excellent length. The only issue here will be how quickly the bottle will be drained.

The SeaLift Vineyard is located in Annapolis, four miles from the Pacific Ocean, a rugged and windswept place, classic for Sonoma Coast when it comes to growing pinot noir. La Crema is lucky to work with this fruit and from a wonderful varietal vintage the aging is pretty much complete for a testament wine of trenchant beauty, ability and promise. The fruit sweetness is at peak and elastic, the sea air and fog thickened acids so nurturing to outturn a wine really complete in its layering, energy and balance. Showing perfectly right now with three to four years ahead for extended effect. Probability runs high for a unique set of secondary coastal character to prolong and transmogrify the beneficial consequence. Drink 2022-2026.

Ripe and forward, with gently mulled raspberry and red cherry fruit laced with singed vanilla and wood spice. Fan-friendly finish. Drink now.

Delivers a mix of pomegranate and raspberry, with a streak of red licorice. The lightly toasted finish has a slight rustic edge. Drink now.

Swanky oak adds top-note aromas of cedar and spice to the redcurrants and blueberries on offer here, as well as some dark-stone notes. The palate has such convincing structure with powerful fruit-tannin drive carrying deep, saturated blueberry and plum flavors long. The wood will bed down in time. Try from 2025.

Attractive brambly red fruit, as well as gently sappy notes and fresh bracken. This smells quite pure and fresh. The palate has athletic tannin structure that swirls around a central core of ripe red-fruit flavors. Well structured and drinkable. Drink or hold.

A bold and ripe merlot that offers much in the way or ripe plum and blueberry fruit, as well as assertive, cedary oak influence. The palate starts fleshy and squares up through the mid-section with bold tannins peaking before a burst of red-plum fruit through the finish. Drink over the next five years.

Peach and lemon curd, spice and lime zest, subtle toasted nut thing happening. It’s rich and glossy, but tight in acidity, delivering a wine of quite some volume, that’s also nicely balanced. There’s a savoury and saline character too, a little flintiness, grapefruity acidity, and a long lightly buttery finish. Very good. I like it.

La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2020 delivers consistent quality and value for a mass-produced wine. The cool climate Sonoma Coast with its Monterey Bay influence helps in acidity and extended growing season for intensity of chardonnay flavors. Oak and malolactic certainly are present, but in a controlled and appropriate way for this style of high-production California chard. Pair with pork; poultry, roast chicken; butternut squash risotto; rich fish; crab, lobster, shrimp, scallops in buttery, creamy sauce vegetarian fare. Can work at dessert with key lime pie. Cheese—gruyère, cheddar, bleu cheese, camembert, sheep’s milk cheese.

Two proprietary blocks contribute, later and earlier ripening. Hand picked, basket pressed and fermented spontaneously in French oak puncheons (25% new). Sea spray, rooibos, quince and lemon pith. Stone fruits tucked amidst the fray. A fine, textural, forceful and filigreed finish, marked by a burst of fruit weight.

The 2021 vintage from Monterey has a wonderful nose of pear and citrus, which awakens the senses to the flavors of apple, Meyer lemon and a touch of melon. The finish is clean and crisp, and the alcohol content is 13.5%, with Norm’s score being 90.

The 2019 La Muse is a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc and 5% Malbec. Deep ruby-purple, it explodes with cassis, violets and aniseed, with wafts of thyme, tobacco and iron, offering new nuances with each return to the glass. The full-bodied palate is powerful and refined, with loads of rounded tannins, focused freshness and ethereal character. It's exceptionally expressive and structured and should be very long lived in the cellar.

The 2019 La Joie is an elegant expression that offers power, freshness and expressive, floral character. A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, it has a deep ruby color and opens slowly from black cherries and blueberries to accents of violets, ground coffee and licorice. The full-bodied palate has generous, grainy tannins, detailed, perfumed flavors and bright acidity, finishing with an alluring iron character.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard explodes with violets, aniseed and cast iron, with a deep core of crushed blueberries and black cherries, evolving continually with each approach to the glass. The palate is stunning with its intensity and lift, pure fruits, pixelated tannins and focused acidity that drives the very long finish. Its exceptional balance and super pure flavors, plus that characteristic streak of iron that appears across the Anakota portfolio, really take the 2019 Helena Dakota to the next level.

A barrel sample blend of 80% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot and 5% Malbec, the 2020 Le Désir has an opaque ruby-purple color and slowly unfolding scents of blueberries, plums, mint chocolate, braised meats and cast iron. The palate is lifted and restrained, with bright freshness, powdery tannins and a violet and iron-laced finish.

The 2002 Le Desir, a blend of 53% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec, is surprisingly youthful at this stage. Medium to deep garnet in color, it has singular aromas of grilled plums, chanterelles, oolong tea leaves, dried roses, laurel leaves, leather and saline. The palate is seamless and powdery, with a deep core of fruit, bright acidity and a very long, floral finish. It's very expressive and at an ideal stage for drinking, although it will continue to hold over the next decade in bottle.

The 2002 La Muse, a blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, has aged gracefully, with a medium garnet color and complex aromas of dried cherries, smoked meats, mushrooms, graphite, leather and soy sauce. The palate offers juicy acidity and Griotte cherry fruit, softened tannins and a layered, very expressive finish.

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, the 2002 La Joie is fully mature and drinking beautifully, with the alluring, savory tones of a well-aged Cabernet: dark berry fruit, shitake mushrooms, coffee grounds, graphite, leather and underbrush. The palate retains a core of dried blackcurrants, while its tannins have softened and integrated, and gentle bursts of acidity carry umami-like flavors of meat drippings, iron and soy sauce. It will continue to provide pleasure over the next decade.

Deep ruby, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard offers its cassis aromas slowly, continually unfolding to accents of lavender, cured meats, chargrill, coffee and loads of savory spices. Matured 12 months in 70% new French oak, the palate is surprisingly lifted and silky, soaring with youthful fruit and spices, focused acidity and a streak of graphite driving the long finish. 1,379 cases were made. Hélène Seillan notes that the oak is sourced from about 15 different forests in France, and its singular, spicy, integrated oak is part of what makes this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon so distinctive.

The 2020 La Joie is a barrel-sample blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec. Opaque ruby-purple, it takes several minutes in the glass to begin to open from black cherries to lilac, licorice and cast iron. The full-bodied palate is silky and fresh, its bright acidity intensifying floral nuances on the long finish.

The 2006 La Muse is in the prime of its life and at an ideal stage for drinking. A blend of 86% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec, it has soaring, complex aromas of dried red and black cherries, black truffles, dried sage and old leather, plus wafts of dried roses and mint. The medium to full-bodied palate is beginning to soften gently, its rounder tannins and acidity complementing its arresting layers of truffle and savory maturity. It will continue to hold in the cellar over the next decade.