Matured 15 months in 35% new French oak, the 2019 Pinot Noir Fog Dance Vineyard is stunning, with the intensity, energy and detail of a Pinot Noir that promises a long life ahead in the cellar. Medium ruby in color, its aromas are pure and dynamic, a core of dried cherries, rhubarb and orange complemented by layer after layer of earth, floral, flinty and savory nuances. Medium-bodied, it combines powerful, hedonistic fruit with a silky, seamless feel as it glides across the palate, and its stunning floral perfume defines the extended finish. Located in the Green Valley district of the Russian River Valley, the Fog Dance Vineyard has been farmed organically for 15 years.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard, aged 16 months in 33% new French oak, has a medium ruby-purple color and loads of aromatic complexity, with pure scents of blueberries, rhubarb, violets, white pepper, conifer, tobacco and moss. The medium-bodied palate explodes with intense, fragrant fruits supported by silty tannins and soft bursts of fresh acidity. It's long, detailed and expressive. It deserves another 2-3 years in bottle despite all that hedonistic, floral fruit. The Far Coast Vineyard is north of the town of Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast, where vines are planted at an elevation of 800-1,000 feet.

The 2019 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is complex and intense with soaring aromatics and a very concentrated, spicy expression. It has exotic scents of apricot, ginger, grilled pineapple and blood orange, hinting at some possible botrytis. It makes for a singular expression and complements the satiny, expansive palate. It offers layers of tropical tones, honey, exotic spice and seamless acidity, and it finishes with tremendous length. The Seascape Vineyard is located at 1,150 feet in elevation, west of Occidental, and faces Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was barrel fermented and matured for 13 months in 27% new French oak.

The 2019 Chardonnay Jennifer’s Vineyard, from Wente selection vines planted in 2005, was barrel fermented and matured in 30% new French oak for 13 months. The nose offers delicate, classy dark spices with a core of white peaches and touches of roasted almonds and honey. The medium-bodied palate is dynamic, beginning with broad honeyed flavors before its tangy acidity brings all that ripe fruit into focus on the very long, stony finish.

The 2020 La Muse is a barrel-sample blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Opaque ruby-purple, it has pretty aromas of cured meats, coffee beans, aniseed, underbrush and Morello cherries, with a streak of graphite. The full-bodied palate is powerful, with a dense core of black cherries and blueberries, a touch of chew to its tannins and bright acidity.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard comes from vines planted at 1,150 feet in elevation, facing the Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It features lush aromas of cranberries, blood orange and rhubarb, along with touches of loamy earth, tobacco leaves and woodsmoke. Medium-bodied with a very silky texture, it has refreshing acidity, generous spicy layers and a long, energetic finish.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s is juicy and alluring! It has a medium ruby-purple color and floral-laced strawberry, red cherries and raspberries on the nose complemented by integrated new oak spices. The medium-bodied palate is grainy and fresh, with intense, deep red fruits and a very long, ethereal finish. It has potential to develop in bottle over the next decade, although it's difficult to resist those alluring, perfumed fruits. It matured 15 months in 34% new French oak, and 307 cases were made.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block comes from a specific block in the Arrendell Vineyard in the Green Valley district of the Russian River Valley, with 25-year-old vines planted in silty soils. It has a medium ruby-purple color and a plethora of crushed raspberries, blueberries, cranberries and strawberries, plus touches of pepper, lilac and savory herbs. The medium-bodied palate explodes with hedonistic berry fruits, gliding across the palate with a silky texture and bursts of fresh acidity that call you in again and again for another sip on the long finish. It was matured for 15 months in 33% new French oak, and 211 cases were made.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Docker Hill was matured for 15 months in 24% new French oak. It has a medium ruby color and loads of fragrant aromas: strawberries and raspberries, white pepper, saline and licorice, with tones of black tea leaves, bitters and garrigue. The energetic, medium-bodied palate is intense, layered and floral, with silty tannins and bursts of fresh acidity that highlight its floral perfume and lingering spicy layers.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1975, which have been part of the Hartford Court program since 1994. It spent 15 months in 43% new French oak and is a touch reductive to begin, opening to dark berries and kirsch with tones of mushroom, iodine and tar. The medium-bodied palate is firm and broody, with intense, earthy fruits, loads of grainy tannins, seamless acidity and a long, mineral-driven finish. It's the most youthfully coiled Pinot in the lineup of Hartford's 2019s, so give it plenty of time to unwind in bottle or a long decant.

The 2019 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, from vines planted in 1995, was barrel fermented and matured in 31% new French oak for 14 months. It's one of the best iterations I've tasted, combining expansive flavor and texture with precise, laser-like acidity. It offers delicate, pure scents of apricot, dried tarragon, white pepper and citrus blossoms with a stony undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate has dynamic energy from its oily texture and shimmery acidity, and it finishes with tense, mineral-driven flavors. It has much more to give as it unfurls in bottle and will be long lived in the cellar.

The 2019 Chardonnay Stone Côte was barrel fermented and matured for 14 months in 35% new French oak. It's an incredibly intense, expressive iteration with continually unfurling aromas of candied lemon, crushed stone, dried herbs, orange blossom and beeswax. The medium-bodied palate is silky yet concentrated, with loads of mineral-laced fruits, seamless acidity and a very long, layered finish.

The 2019 Chardonnay Radian Vineyard was barrel fermented and matured in 22% new French oak for 14 months. Youthfully shy on the nose to begin, it opens slowly to spring blossoms, quince and white peaches. Medium-bodied and silky, it slowly unfurls its rich, ripe citrus fruits and floral layers, with seamless freshness and a touch of texture that draws out the long finish. It deserves another 2-3 years in bottle to unwind.

The 2019 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes from vines planted on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma coast. It was barrel fermented and matured for 14 months in 39% new French oak. It is bursting with aromas of white peaches, tangerine, ginger and honeycomb, with exotic spicy undertones. The medium-bodied palate is satiny, expansive and intense, with tangy acidity that pulls out highlights of candied citrus and an array of spicy accents. It has a very long, textural finish and loads of personality!

The 2018 Syrah SeaLift Vineyard is a glorious first rendition of a Sonoma Coast Syrah from Copain, matured in 16% new oak and inspired by the wines of Pax and Arnot Roberts, says winemaker Ryan Zepaltas. It has a deep ruby-purple color and alluring scents of crushed blueberries, red cherries, milk chocolate, mint leaves and thyme. Full-bodied, fresh and layered, the palate offers intense fruits with pretty floral and botanical nuances, and its powerful but refined structure points to a long life ahead in the cellar as it continues to unfold over the next decade.

When I was at Yangarra, we tasted the component parts of the 2020 Ovitelli Blanc straight from egg. For those of us who have been to the estate, I am certain you will join me in saying that there is much to love and admire, from the organically/biodynamically farmed and certified vineyards (and winery) to the understanding of the inherent benefits of the McLaren Vale region and its suitability to Rhone varieties, all the way through to the eggs, the amphorae and the other good-looking ceramic vessels in the winery. This is a place of specificity and purpose, responsible for wines of poise and impact. So, to the wine. Composed of 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 9% Piquepoul and 4% Bourboulenc, all components contribute to the whole. You’ll find white spice, flowers, chalk, white tea, apricot kernel, green apple skins, a faint whiff of honeydew melon and nashi pear. The acidity is threaded throughout it all in such a way that it pulses with life, but the main event is still the phenolics, which is a pretty cool balance to strike. In terms of white wine, this is the future of McLaren Vale.

As an Australian, it is hard to read “Roux Beaute” and not think “you beaut.” Thankfully, the internal rhyming suggestion is apt. The 2020 Roux Beaute Roussanne is concentrated and broad, with layers of phenolics in the mouth—bitter almond, green apple skin, white flowers, caper berries, cheesecloth, brine and feijoa, even custard apple, perhaps. It's good. It's really good. It shows that textural breadth and depth can still be lively and bright. This is an exciting wine and very well handled. You beaut.

The 2020 Dry Riesling comes from vines planted in 1997-1998 at around 1,000 feet in elevation on a southeast-facing block, where fruit is farmed to avoid botrytis. Harvested at 21.3 brix, it was kept on its lees in 600-liter Austrian and German barrels and stainless steel until bottling. It offers expressive aromas of lime candy, white peach, dried chamomile, beeswax and petrichor. The light-bodied palate is focused and mineral-driven, with pleasantly candied fruits and a touch of phenolic texture drawing out the finish. Well-balanced, it captures sunny California fruit with lots of freshness and focus.

The 2006 Le Desir, a blend of 49% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec, is offering a fine balance of concentrated fruit and mature savoriness. It has a deep garnet color and singular aromas of Morello cherries, mint chocolate, coffee grounds, aniseed and black truffles. The palate is still muscular, with gently chewy tannins, fresh acidity, intense fruits and complex savory layers on the finish. It will continue to evolve in bottle over the next decade.

The 2006 La Joie is made up of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Deep garnet, it opens with a flourish of savory spices: mushroom, green olive, decaying leaves and tea tree oil mingle with tones of iron and old leather. The palate is holding onto a core of dried cherry fruit, juicy acidity and grainy, softening tannins, finishing long and layered. It's a touch more mature than the La Muse at this stage, although it will continue to offer pleasure over the next 5-8 years.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2019 Pinot Noir Sea Lift is pure and expressive on the nose, with scents of blueberries, bergamot, violets and tea leaves, plus tinges of fragrant earth and Angostura bitters. The medium-bodied palate explodes with intense, floral-laced fruits. It offers addicting bursts of refreshing acidity, a silky frame and an array of dark spices defining the long finish. Lovely! It was bottled after 10 months in 38% new French oak, and 256 cases were made.

The 2017 Merlot Keyes Vineyard, aged 19 months in 25% new French oak, has a medium to deep ruby color and slowly blossoming aromas of crushed black cherries and blueberries, sage, violet, cured meats, thyme and coffee beans. The full-bodied palate has a fine, grainy tannic frame, detailed, perfumed fruits and a long, elegant finish. So classy!

The 2019 Pinot Noir Stormin' was matured for 16 months in 48% new French oak. It has a medium ruby color and lush scents of black cherries, blueberries, bergamot and turned earth. The palate is silky and fresh with youthfully coiled fruits and a long, spicy finish. It could use another 2-3 years in bottle to unwind.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Nine Barrel, aged 14 months in 40% new French oak, has a medium ruby-purple color and alluring scents of cranberry sauce, blood orange, blueberries and cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate boasts concentrated berry fruits, grainy tannins, bright acidity and a long, spicy finish.

The 2018 Chardonnay Nine Barrels, matured 14 months in 50% new oak, has pretty scents of apple pie, roasted almonds, brioche, jasmine and top notes of Meyer lemon. The satiny, medium-bodied palate offers a dichotomy of of concentrated, creamy fruits and bright acidity, and it finishes long and flavorful.