USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two The 2016 Dropstone Chardonnay opens with very pure notes of lemon zest, red delicious apples and tangerine peel with honey toast, flowers and hay plus crushed rock accents. The light to medium-bodied palate is fresh and lively with a touch of creaminess to the texture, offering wonderfully concentrated ripe fruits and creamy/toasty accents, juicy acidity and a long finish.

Deep ruby-red. Musky, complex nose combines redcurrant, flowers, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and spices. Then wonderfully intense and voluptuous, saturating the entire palate with dark fruit, spice and saline mineral flavors. Lovely definition here. Most impressive today on the brisk, very long, firmly built finish, where the ripe tannins are in perfect balance with the wine's fruit. This wine was neither fined nor filtered for the bottling.

(91% cabernet sauvignon and 9% merlot): Bright ruby-red. Restrained but complex aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, espresso, Cuban tobacco and sexy oak. Penetrating black- and blueberry fruit flavors are given precision and lift by a strong floral element. Lovely juicy, firmly structured wine that really requires at least five years in bottle to express itself. Not fat but boasts terrific definition and energy, not to mention superb persistence. In the style of the 2007 Cardinale but with even more grip. A distinctly adult style. Winemaker Chris Carpenter describes 2008 as a lighter year, and thus the selection for this wine was 95% from mountain fruit and the other 5% from To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville.

Bright, deep ruby. Vibrant, complex aromas and flavors of cassis, licorice pastille, spices and flowers. Penetrating, dense and juicy, with a slowly building sweetness that carries through to the very long, tannic, gripping finish. Still youthfully imploded but with the structure for an extended evolution in bottle. Classic 2007 in style.

Medium ruby. Aromatic nose combines wild blackberry, Cuban tobacco, chocolate cake, smoke and minerals. Concentrated, lush and impressively sweet, with snappy raspberry and mineral flavors dominating. This is kept fresh by harmonious acidity but is also lush, seamless and expansive. Finishes with broad tannins and impressive sweetness and persistence. This St. Emilion-style blend is still very young and may prove to be the best of the 2001 trio made under the Verite label.

Ruby-red. Brooding, perfumed aromas of dark fruits, violet and chocolate. Sweet and intensely flavored, with lively acids framing the currant, black raspberry, mineral and dark chocolate flavors. Very densely packed wine, with the sheer material to support its big, ripe tannins. Give this plenty of aeration if you plan to open a bottle anytime soon. Or, better yet, lay it down for six to eight years.

Dark ruby-red. Black cherry, mocha and licorice on the nose. Ripe, broad and dry; suave and sophisticated. Flavors of red berries lifted by floral and mineral components. Densely packed, backward wine, finishing with substantial dusty tannins.

Bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, bitter cherry, licorice and leather. Youthfully tight yet already quite penetrating; today the wine's licorice and fresh herb notes dominate its underlying dark fruit flavors. More backward than the 2011 La Muse, even austere today

Bright yellow. Pineapple, medicinal herbs and crushed rock on the nose. Very dense and tactile but less immediately fruity than the Upper Barn. Pineapple and grapefruit flavors are accompanied by strong saline and rocky elements. In a very dry style but broad, rich and long. The hardest of these chardonnays to taste today but a wine with considerable potential.

Pale, bright yellow. Initially closed nose opened to reveal steely, Puligny-like white peach, nutmeg, mint and crushed stone aromas. Dense but airy and dry; tactile and silky-smooth but with a lovely light touch. Today this very subtle young wine is showing more minerality than primary fruit. Finishes broad and weightless. Give this a couple years in the cellar. This stunning set of chardonnays made by winemaker Graham Weerts, who is from South Africa, was one of the revelations of my tastings of California wine this spring.

Bright ruby-red. High-toned, sexy aromas of black cherry, blueberry, licorice, graphite and sweet oak. Plush, sweet and pliant, with a wonderfully polished texture to the intense flavors of brambly dark berry, coffee and licorice. Finishes lush and very long, with building, fine-grained tannins and considerable elegance. This will be even better for five or six years in the cellar.

Medium ruby. Reticent but very pure aromas of blueberry, cassis, licorice and menthol. Shockingly rich and sweet but very young, showing superb concentration to its cassis flavor complemented by sexy oak tones. This really vibrates on the very long finish, where the wine's powerful mountain tannins are buried in fruit. Less showy today than the Howell Mountain cabernet but with outstanding long-term potential.

Good medium ruby. An essence of cabernet on the nose, with blackberry, licorice and floral aromas complicated by an exotic suggestion of fruity tropical chocolate. Then large-scaled, fat and sweet in the mouth, with highly concentrated black raspberry and chocolate flavors. The powerful mountain tannins coat the front teeth. Like a cabernet syrup today, in need of at least seven or eight years of aging and likely to be long-lived.

Good full ruby. Elemental, extremely primary nose features grapey blackberry, licorice and violet pastille. Big, sweet, broad and creamy; a huge, powerful wine with slightly rustic flavors of dark chocolate and minerals. Finishes with compelling sweetness of fruit, and very broad tannins that arrive late. From a block of vines that was recently torn out due to phylloxera. The richest of this trio of cabernets. Winemaker Chris Carpenter notes that the intention here is to make three wines of place by using neutral winemaking techniques. The only difference among the wines is maceration times, he added. All three of these bottlings are close to 15% alcohol.

The loamy soil and ripe black-berry aromas trigger happy summertime gardening memories. There also this interesting savory note floating about that reminds me of a cross between hoisin sauce and black pepper. The blackberry flavor is tart, and this time it is matched with earthy oregano and black tea. The tannins are firm, but not chewy.

This is very good Pinot Noir by any standard, though the quoted price of $85 (pulled from the website for the 2023 rendition rather than this 2022) may be pushing its luck by a bit. With that noted, it displays very good proportionality, with naturally sweet fruit notes (dark cherry first in line, as usual) set off very well by freshening acidity and fine-grained tannins, both of which come off as natural extensions of the fruit component rather than distinct elements that are “sticking out” in sensory terms. The wood employed during elevage is also very well integrated, making this a very successful wine. I doubt that anyone would fail to enjoy it thoroughly, even if they were the one picking up the check in a restaurant or being rung up at a retail cash register.

An impressive version, offering tangy tangerine, mango, citrus and melon flavors that are plump and expressive, with notes of orange sherbet, peach preserves and ginger, plus a touch of crème anglaise that adds to the feeling of richness. Vanilla and toast accents round out the profile. Drink now through 2033. 200 cases made.

The 2022 Siduri Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills delivers a layered and expressive profile that captures the windswept tension of the appellation. Raised in 25% new French oak over 10 months, it opens with a burst of ripe cranberry, dried hibiscus, and raspberry preserves, woven with flinty undertones and a trace of crushed seashell. The palate brings a supple yet structured frame, where notes of red currant and cherry compote unfold alongside hints of sassafras and graphite. There’s a savory pull beneath the fruit—think sun-dried herbs and dusty loam—that adds dimension and intrigue. Despite its density, the wine carries a cool-climate elegance with lifted acidity and a persistent mineral streak that refreshes through the finish. About 100 cases made

Started as an experiment in 2017, this is a terrific wine that far exceeds expectation of an entry-level offering. The Capensis 2022 Stellenbosch Silene Chardonnay is a medium- to full-bodied white with generous softness and volume to support aromas of orchard fruit, white flower and salty mineral. Graham Weerts refers to his winemaking philosophy as an "adapted Burgundian methodology." For example, he does not inoculate for malolactic fermentation, but 10% to 15% goes into a secondary spontaneous fermentation. "This is a South African twist on Burgundy," he says. All vineyard sites give lots of acidity. He also works on pressure and takes the best from whole-bunch pressing. The rest is sold off as bulk. The wine remains on the gross lees for up to 12 months, with stirring once a month. He creates a reductive environment "like a baby in the womb." Silene goes into bottle immediately, whereas the Capensis Chardonnay spends an additional six to eight months in stainless steel tank to "scar up," as he puts it. This is a release of 30,000 bottles.

The 2022 Cabernet Franc is 100% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little youthfully subdued, slowly emerging from the glass with notes of baked red cherries, mulberries, and pencil shavings, plus touches of clove oil and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate has a firm backbone of chewy tannins and bright acidity framing the berry preserves flavors, finishing savory.

The 2022 Malbec is 100% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it rockets out of the glass with powerful notes of baked blueberries, dark chocolate, and violets, leading to a core of preserved plums and spice box. The full-bodied palate is rich and juicy with a light chewiness to the texture and a lively line to give lift to the fruity finish.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec, 1.5% Merlot, and 0.5% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, notes of blueberry pie and prunes jump from the glass, leading to hints of Chinese five spice, unsmoked cigars, and cedar. The full-bodied palate is dense and chewy with a lively line and firm finish.

Quite light in color in the glass with a lovely, classical nose of wild strawberry and red rose. Beautiful on the palate as well with great fruit and minerality. For me, this is a classic rosé, fruit, acidity, balance, verve; it has it all

Taut and nervy, with lively notes of pine needle and savory that poke out from a core of gently mulled strawberry and raspberry fruit. A brisk oyster shell accent leaves a mouthwatering echo on the finish. For fans of the minerally style. Drink now through 2031.—J.M.

Piercing aromas and flavors of cherry, pomegranate, blackberry, violet, mineral and sweet spices mark this racy red. Solidly built, with dense, finely wrought tannins and a long, detailed aftertaste. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2043.—B.S.