This wine is intense, with aromas of black cherry, boysenberry and allspice. Concentrated Morello cherry, black currant weave into blackberry, vanilla spice, mocha and lush tannins. Aerate and enjoy with braised lamb shank. 

The nose shows aromas of blackcurrants, herb tea, violets and charcuterie. The palate is full-bodied and complex, with finely integrated tannins, bright acidity and secondary notes of red currants, tea leaves, red peppercorns and tobacco. Grown on volcanic quartz. Drink or hold.

The nose displays aromas of blueberries, red currants, tomato bush and licorice. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, fresh acidity and notes of plums, cedar, tobacco and cassia bark. A single vineyard at 300 meters grown on terraces. Drink or hold.

A floral and lifted nose showing lemon balm, orange blossoms and green papayas. The palate is round and textured, with fine acidity, creaminess and notes of grapefruit, mandarins and creme brulee. Grown at 260 meters. Drink or hold.

Deeply scented and dark-fruited, showing aromas of black fruit, spices and tobacco. The palate is tightly bound, with a full body and firm tannins, displaying notes of blackberries, blood plums, sage and spices. Organically farmed for 20 years. Drink or hold.

Perfumed and lifted with underlying notes of dark fruit, bramble berries, tea leaves and spices. The palate is full-bodied with a profound tannin profile, showing notes of dark cherries, stewed plums, cedar and tobacco. Very grippy and drying. Needs some time in the bottle. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.

The 2023 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is a total stunner. Bright, aromatic and vibrant, the 2023 is lights-out, brilliantly marrying the fruit intensity and energy. Apricot, mint and white flowers abound. This is a stunning wine for the price and for its production of around 40,000 cases. All of this fruit is from Mission Hills in Los Alamos.

The 2022 Chardonnay Hapgood is gorgeous. Bright, floral and effusive, the 2022 is impressive. It offers a captivating grip of nervous tension but also a good bit of body. Citrus confit, white flowers, tangerine oil and spice linger. This is impeccably done.

The 2022 Chardonnay 3D is a wine of real density and power. Wente and Mount Eden clone Chardonnay are so distinctive here. Apricot, white flowers, marzipan, mint and light tropical inflections build into the huge, enveloping finish.

The 2022 Chardonnay Fogtide is done entirely in tank, an approach that works especially well here. There’s natural richness and concentration, all of which comes from the age of these old vines planted in 1917. Blocked malolactic fermentation is another choice that paid off here. Citrus peel, crushed rocks, white pepper and slate linger.

The 2022 Chardonnay West Point is another very pretty wine in this range. Fermentation and aging in barrel yielded a creamy, open-knit Chardonnay that is all class. Hints of apricot, chamomile, pastry and light oak inflections build effortlessly. This is classic Santa Maria Chardonnay.

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.