2019 Pinot Noir, Perry Ranch Vineyard The nose is delicate floral perfume of lilac backed with dewy elderberry. The palate entry is bright and vibrant with an impeccably polished and balanced core of blackberry and blueberry along with essences of herb and rose petal leading to a sleek, energized finish. Drink 2021 - 2028.

2019 Pinot Noir, Lingenfelder Vineyard The nose is spiced black fruit, taffy with a note of menthol. The palate entry is a supple vanilla and plum backed by deep, polished cola and baking spice throughout. It's a very complete, flavor-packed wine. Drink 2021 - 2026.

2019 Pinot Noir, Soberanes Vineyard The nose is sweet and concentrated dark cherry and plum with a forest floor spice. The palate entry offers nice density with impressions of licorice, sassafras and black plum in the core. Finishes with dried black fruit and polished spiciness. Drink 2021 - 2026.

2019 Pinot Noir, Ewald Vineyard The nose is cool forest floor and dried red berries. The palate entry is bright, focused pomegranate and cherry with well-integrated acidity leading to a sappy dark cherry core finishing with graphite and blossoms. Drink 2021 - 2027.

2019 Pinot Noir, Zena Crown Vineyard The nose is wild blossoms, licorice and crème de cassis punctuated with tobacco and graphite. The palate entry is dry, solid black cherry with a textured core of tannins, menthol and spice. Finishes with lean, delicate red berries. Drink 2021 - 2027.

2019 Pinot Noir, Garys' Vineyard The nose is pure black cherry with notes of graphite and pie spice. The palate entry is forward, polished with a leaner, fresh red fruit in the core, backed by bright textured grapefruit acidity that persists through the finish. Drink 2021 - 2027.

2019 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley The nose is spiced cherry and herbed raspberry leading to a palate entry of broad, polished red plum and desiccated raspberry with a silky-textured core of red and blue fruits. A nice example of classic Russian River Valley from Siduri. Drink 2021 - 2026.

2019 Pinot Noir, Gran Moraine Vineyard The nose is supple cranberry and plum perfume underpinned by graphite, conifer and saline. The palate entry is cool, fresh and focused with a core of briar and camphor finishing with brown spices. Drink 2021 - 2027.

2019 Pinot Noir, Sierra Mar Vineyard The nose is fresh-sawn cedar, licorice, graphite and rust. The palate entry is lean red cherry and raspberry with a tangy, mouth-coating mid-palate texture finishing with vibrant, dry herb and tobacco. Drink 2021 - 2026.

2019 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley The nose is herb, tobacco over saturated blackberry tart. The palate entry is a fine-edged acidity redolent of tightly-wound red fruit leading to a dry, somewhat grippy core. This will be widely available and is a solid, dependable wine. Drink 2021 - 2025.

2019 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley The nose is crunchy and juicy pineapple underpinned by white blossom and faint vanilla. The palate entry is a solid crisp yellow citrus backed by subtle notes of toast and apple. Easy drinking with polished acidity on the finish. Drink 2021 - 2024.

Cambria Estate Winery 2018 Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir is Burgundy style from California: light and fruity, especially nice with a bean salad or grilled veggies.

La Crema Sonoma Coast 2019 Chardonnay is definitely a consistent favourite from California with notes of Meyer lemon, plum and melon. Lovely paired with a Cobb salad lunch on your patio.

Black cherry meets black tea in this mouth-watering wine. The tannins are polished and round and the finish has a savory edge that begs for a grilled lamb chop. Founder and winemaker Greg Brewer was awarded Winemaker of the Year for 2020 (Wine Enthusiast) and his work with Pinot Noir is legendary—this bottling is a great entry point for exploring his wines.

Derived from one of Santa Lucia Highlands most prominent sites, the Siduri Wines Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 displays a transparent medium ruby-magenta hue and the whole array of qualities I associate with the vineyard — bright red and black cherry and currant fruit; exotic notes of sandalwood and crushed cumin seed, pomegranate and sassafras; hints of rose petals and violets; a background of loam and graphite-infused tannins provides grounding, while the other elements contribute to an elevating and balletic character; add subtle touches of cedar and tobacco and racy acidity, and the entire package delivers lovely balance and integrity (plus a silken texture), despite the 14.8 percent alcohol, a trifle high theoretically but merely contributing to a feeling of fullness and headiness. A beautiful drink, now through 2024 or ’25. Adam Lee was winemaker. Founded in 1994 by Adam Lee and his wife, Siduri Wines is now owned by Jackson Family Wines. Excellent.

La Joie is the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant cuvée of Vérité’s trio of La-La’s. Seillan’s “micro-cru” philosophy guides meticulous vineyard work in crafting this Sonoma County blend. Sourced from the Jackson Family’s vineyards in Bennett Valley, Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, and Chalk Hill, the 2018 La Joie is powerful and structured but also gives an impression of weightlessness in its expansive mouthfeel and pillowy tannin. Dried violet, cassis, sweet tobacco, bay leaf, and crushed stone aromas and flavors make for a remarkably long and serious wine that will continue to reveal itself over the course of several decades.

The Anakota wines are made by father-daughter duo Pierre and Hélène Seillan exclusively from a Knights Valley property, as part of the Jackson Family’s Spire Collection. It includes two wines: Helena Montana and Helena Dakota. The former is softer, and the 2018 exudes a gorgeous floral perfume of potpourri, dried rose, and anise. On the palate, sweet spices meld with chewier black fruit flavors, supported by broad, plush tannins.

The Jackson Family’s premium Stonestreet label draws from its Alexander Mountain Estate. Christopher’s Vineyard is the highest-elevation plot on the property and in the Alexander Valley at large. The wine displays the classic rocky density of California mountain Cabernet Sauvignon—concentrated and plummy, with gripping tannin. Slick blue tones and violet lift give further dimension to this brooding Cabernet.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Hapgood is slightly more feminine, with a beautiful perfume of red and black raspberries as well as spice, rose petals, shrimp broth, and iodine-like aromas and flavors. Utterly seamless on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, has perfectly integrated acidity, no hard edges, and a great finish. This is one of those rare wines that blends power and finesse perfectly. Drink this gorgeous, singular Pinot Noir over the coming 15-20 years.

Pure citrus, golden apple, and stone fruits as well as toast, white flowers, and hints of almonds define the nose of the 2019 Chardonnay Machado, a rich, medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, ethereal Chardonnay revealing perfectly integrated acidity, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, and a great finish. It's another magical Chardonnay from this team that readers will love.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Machado is another exotic, marine-influenced beauty that could come from nowhere else. Revealing a translucent ruby/plum hue as well as a thrilling bouquet of redcurrants, framboise, iodine, rose petals, black tea, and chalky minerality, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a bright spine of acidity, present yet polished tannins, and a great finish. It's still tight and youthful, but far from unapproachable. It's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and, if well stored, keep for 20+ years.

Starting with the appellation cuvée, the 2019 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills reveals a medium gold hue as well as classic Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay notes of salted citrus, orchard fruits, toasted nuts, and brioche, with ample chalky, flinty minerality. Clean, pure, medium-bodied, and brilliantly balanced, it stretches out beautifully on the finish and is a thrilling Chardonnay that's unquestionably in the same realm as the single vineyards.

Similarly hued, the 2019 Pinot Noir 459 offers a Gevrey-like array of darker berry and cherry fruits as well as forest floor, leafy herbs, black tea, and scorched earth. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully structured, with a tight, vibrant profile that will benefit from short-term cellaring.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Truly Rita comes all from the Dierberg-Drum Canyon Vineyard and was aged in just 14% new French oak. Its deeper ruby hue is followed by a richer, medium to full-bodied, stunning Pinot Noir that offers ample black raspberry and redcurrants fruit as well as forest floor, black tea, sappy flowers, and a kiss of salty, mineral-like nuances on the palate. I love this, and it's balanced, brings ample texture, and has a good spine of acidity as well as a great finish.

From a valley floor site in the Sta. Rita Hills and aged in just under 30% new French oak, the 2018 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard offers a classic Burgundian nose of ripe cherries, sappy herbs, forest floor, and loamy soil. It's another classic Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir delivering lots of salinity, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a wonderful sense of purity and elegance.