Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018s The 2018 Pinot Noir La Encantada Vineyard is the most exuberant of these Pinots from Siduri. An explosion of sweet red berry fruit, blood orange, incense and spice gives the Encantada striking exoticism. Silky tannins wrap around the pliant, creamy finish. The 2018 is such an enticing, alluring Pinot.

Densely built in cassis, dried herb, cedar and sage, this lovely wine from the great appellation shows structure and grip in its youth. Dusty gravel adds to the weight and texture, with ample acidity to keep it fresh in the glass.

This wine is a beauty, balancing a band of subtle flavors with a polished texture and vibrant acidity that give it a lively presence on the palate and a lingering finish. Mild baking spices and toast in the aroma give way to baked apple and cream flavors that are delicious to linger over.

A rare 100% varietal bottling, this impresses vintage to vintage, this time as a thick concentrated expression of dusty, brooding dark fruit and herb. The full-bodied intensity rides serious structure and refined oak, with accents of leather and sage. This will do well to cellar; enjoy best from 2027–2032.

From the relatively cool 2017 vintage emerges a Cab of elegance and class. It’s layered with heady characters of mint, tobacco, licorice root and cherry cordial, with floral nuances and a spine of polished, high end oak. Sculpted with fine, firm, talc-textured tannins, there’s a lovely lift of acidity and purity of fruit. Drink through 2030.

This is a beautifully expressive and textural Grenache, from a subregion celebrated for this variety. The nose is like a sea swept Mediterranean hillside: fresh red berries, scrubby sage, thyme and softly fragrant wildflowers. All focus should be on the palate, which is beautifully layered in juicy fruit, savory herbs and taut, fine tannins. There’s elegance yet structure to take this many years into the future. Drink 2021–2035.

Lisa Valtenbergs blends this wine from parcels on the Jackson family’s Alexander Mountain Estate, a 5,500-acre property on the western slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. This is a classic California chardonnay in the best sense: A fresh, oak-guided beauty in shades of green-gold and white. Oak contributes a hint of butterscotch sweetness to an otherwise savory wine, layering scents of white roses, apples and wildflower honey through a lasting finish. The wine feels gracious, perplexing, intense and pure.

Deep red colour, with a tinge of purple remaining. There are herbal and blueberry essence aromas, a hint of kola and evidence of liberal oak, while the palate is full-bodied and firm, tight, tannic and authoritative, with density and length. Some talcy notes from oak, too. The palate and finish are firm and serious. The wine has depth, density and structure well outside the usual Australian merlot realm. It just needs time to build more complexity.

Very deep, bright red/purple colour, the bouquet a beautifully balanced mixture of red and darker berries, spices and pepper, plus some earthy, mineral notes. It's medium to full-bodied and smoothly-textured, not tannic or alcohol-hot, but harmonious. Intensity with elegance is the key. A delicious drink, the tannins fulfilling their structural role with traces of ironstone and graphite.

Slightly lighter in the glass than other Syrahs, this bottling is immensely savory, showing cracked pepper, crushed rocks, dried blackberry and black plum on a well-focused nose. It’s very fresh on the palate, with snappy black raspberry and a dusting of white pepper, with warming hints of baking spice into the finish.

This appellation blend offers a more affordable way to experience the delicious and dynamic style of winemaker Greg Brewer. Intense aromas of black cherry, flower petals and cola are unabashedly fruit-forward, yet there’s spicy tension as well. Rich cherry and pomegranate flavors lead the palate, yet the underlying eucalyptus, black tea, root beer and wild thyme elements set it apart.

Uplifting aromas of honeysuckle and grapefruit peel meet with chiseled wood and seashore aromas on the nose of this smallbatch, single-vineyard offering from Greg Brewer, who only made two barrels. Dried lemon peel and apple-flesh flavors meet a hint of briny seaweed on the palate, which is enveloped in a fascinatingly leathery grip, quite unique for a white wine. Drink now through 2038.

Limpid yellow. Powerful, mineral-tinged Meyer lemon and pear scents show fine definition and complementary, building notes of anise and smoky lees. Vibrant and focused in the mouth, offering sappy citrus and orchard fruit flavors and deeper buttered toast and honeydew qualities that emerge on the back half. Shows impressive energy and finishes silky and very long, featuring lingering vanilla and floral nuances.

Shimmering magenta. A highly fragrant bouquet evokes fresh cherry and red berries, potpourri and savory herbs, and a smoky nuance emerges as the wine opens up. Sappy and penetrating on the palate, offering appealingly sweet raspberry, boysenberry, cherry and floral pastille flavors accented by allspice and vanilla flourishes. Concentrated yet lively as well, showing impressive finishing power, repeating florality and smooth, well-judged tannins.

Saturated garnet. Vibrant, mineral- and spice-driven raspberry and boysenberry scents are complemented by a suave floral nuance and an exotic touch of blood orange. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering energetic red and blue fruit and spicecake flavors that show excellent clarity and reveal deeper cola and mocha flourishes on the back half. The floral note builds steadily on the penetrating, berry-dominated finish, which is given gentle grip by polished, sneaky tannins.

Vivid ruby-red. A suave, assertively perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red and blue fruits, candied rose, vanilla and exotic spices, plus a hint of cola in the background. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering appealingly sweet black raspberry, cherry and boysenberry flavors sharpened by building spiciness. Finishes impressively long and lively, with slowly mounting tannins and resonating florality.

Brilliant magenta. Intensely perfumed cherry, black raspberry, boysenberry and incense aromas take on vibrant mineral and spice notes with air. Stains the palate with concentrated yet vibrant red and blue fruit, floral pastille and cola flavors that turn spicier through the back half. Suave, polished tannins build smoothly through the impressively long, energetic finish, which emphatically repeats the floral and cherry notes.

Shimmering magenta. Mineral- and spice-accented red berries, cherry cola, incense and a hint of vanilla on the highly perfumed nose. Juicy, appealingly sweet raspberry and cherry flavors show very good depth as well as energy and pick up a floral pastille nuance on the back half. Finishes very long and smooth, displaying subtle tannins, strong persistence and resonating mineral character. 38% new oak.

Bright ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh dark berries, incense, cola and potpourri, and a lively mineral overtone builds in the glass. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy cherry and black raspberry and spicecake flavors and a suave vanilla accent. Shows solid thrust and spicy lift on the strikingly long, gently tannic finish, which leaves sappy berry preserve and floral pastille notes behind.

Limpid ruby-red. Suave, spice-and smoke-accented aromas of black raspberry, cherry cola, pungent flowers and incense reveal a subtle mocha nuance. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering appealingly sweet boysenberry, cherry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that show impressive depth and an undercurrent of energizing minerality. Delivers power as well as vivacity on a long, penetrating finish framed by velvety, slow-building tannins. 59% new oak.

Limpid ruby-red. Expressive red and blue fruit preserve, cola, candied rose and baking spice scents are complemented by a smoky mineral overtone. Concentrated and sappy on the palate, offering appealingly sweet, oak-spiced black raspberry, boysenberry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors that spread out slowly through the midpalate. Conveys a deft marriage of concentration and energy and finishes with sneaky tannins and strong, spice-driven persistence.

Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020A more conventional expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz in context – a wine that lovers of traditional McLaren Vale Shiraz are going to adore. Includes 3% Malbec, intriguingly. Dark dense and chunky – it’s a wine of fudgey ripe flavour and shows it’s alcohol and ripeness more than any other wine in the range, the overall effect a wine of unquestioned impact but a bit simple and warm compared to the others. I’m comparing everything to a high mark, a higher expectation for McLaren Vale reds – when this is ultimately a superb, impactful, highly polished full bodied wine. Best drinking: now to twenty years. Would I buy it? I’d share a bottle.

Dark garnet color in the glass. The nose opens slowly to reveal enticing aromas of blackberry, blueberry-pomegranate, earthy flora and a hint of oak. A flood of blue and black fruits envelope the palate in a mid-weight plus style. The layers of fruit saturate the taste buds, creating a magnetic attraction, yet the wine is not cloying or sweet. There is admirable harmony with a favorable compliment of oak. The fruit really hangs on through the long, long finish that is symbolic of a special wine.

Good luck finding a better Bordeaux at this price! Les Cadrans de Lassegue delivers the goods from a Grand Cru site at half the price or less of any worthy competition, with rich, earthy character complementing classic Merlot aromas and flavors seamlessly. Additionally, the inclusion of 10% Cabernet Franc isn’t lost in the mix, showing cherry and mild herb hints, particularly in the finish. Nicely done!

This was purchased by me on release back when it was merely expensive. Today, this is one of the top guns of the Kendal Jackson empire and the pricing has gotten prohibitive for the newer releases. If trying this blind, a good guess might have been a 1999 Bordeaux, maybe Graves or maybe even 1998. it was quite good and certainly just about at peak. A 60/40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Purple/ruby in color with just a hint of browning at the rim. The nose has some brett but plenty of cassis, cherries and an earthy funk too. On the palate, this is complex. Layers of fruit (cherries and black cherries), with earth and tobacco. Just the slightest remnants of tannins. Nice finish. Very tasty yet also contemplative. It drinks fine on its own but is better with some food. Stews or casseroles but a steak would be fine. This should be drunk sooner than later but well stored bottles should have five to seven more years before slowly moving downhill.