Lots of dark-berry and chocolate character with hints of smoky wood now. Full-bodied, juicy and flavorful. Soft and round tannins.

Pale gold, with a green hue. Potent scents of pit fruit nectar, seaweed, anise and smoky minerals, with sexy floral and mace notes adding complexity. Stains the palate with intense nectarine and pear flavors that are braced by a strong mineral quality. There's an intensity here that's really impressive. Refuses to let go on the finish, which strongly echoes the anise and floral notes.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate Seco Highlands, aged 10 months in 30% new French oak, has a pale to medium ruby color and opens with some reductive notes of struck match/gunflint. With air, it offers olive, woodsmoke, bacon fat, roasted cranberries, dried citrus peel, tree bark and amaro aromas. Medium-bodied and silky, it's intense and expressive in the mouth, with a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and bitters laced. This needs more time in bottle or a good decant.

I’d sit down and hook into this in a heartbeat. It’s a chardonnay with drinkability written all over it. Stonefruit, tonic water, lemon sherbet, musk and smoky bacon notes come drenched in nashi pear and cream. It’s dry, lively, well-fruited and flavoursome, but the finish has that slightly briny, slightly grapefruit-y edge that makes you want more. Yes please to this one.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Ridgecrest Vineyard is coy in the glass, as coaxing slowly reveals balsamic black cherries, rosemary and spiced citrus. It feels round, with cool-toned acidity and crisp wild berry fruit that gradually saturate the palate while an air of lavender swirls throughout. The finish is structured and long, leaving a coating of gripping tannins offset by a bump of residual acidity as a hint of licorice fades.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Telluric wafts up with a vivid blend of crushed cherries and wild strawberries complemented by nuances of white pepper and cracked chalk. Racy and spry, it offers tart wild berry fruit elevated by tantalizing acidity while a tinge of sour citrus adds lively tension toward the close. The 2022 finishes with chewy concentration and a saturation of edgy tannins. It leaves the mouth watering for more through the long and gently tannic finish.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Triple Black Slopes mixes licorice, lavender and dried black cherries. Silken in form, it offers juicy acidity and a cascade of wild berry fruits complicated by chalk mineral tones. Echoes of wild herbs and inner florals arch across the palate. The finish is complex, with a pleasantly bitter twang and nuances of white pepper.

Light crimson. Fresh pure red cherry, strawberry aromas with hints of bush garrigue. Supple and fleshy in texture with unfold in pure red cherry, strawberry, chinotto flavours, fine loose-knit chalky textures, attractive mid palate richness and fresh mineral acidity. Much weightier than the colour suggests. Crunchy and juicy at the finish. From 1962-planted vines. Drink now – 2028

The Riserva is a big step up from the annata. More savory than fruity on the nose with earthy, tobacco scents. Mouthfiling on the palate with dark plum, cherries, tea and herbal notes. Long and impressively rich finish. A blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from warmer, south-facing blocks; aged 10 months in used French oak barriques. pH 3.37, 14.1% alc

From a site planted in 2009 to Hyde selections, the 2022 Chardonnay Hapgood is zesty and focused on the nose, combing citrus and orchard fruits with accents of sea spray. Silky and saline on the palate, it finishes with a tremendously chiseled energy that recalls the linearity and precision of the nose. A highlight of the Brewer-Clifton lineup, this has room to unwind and still be a livewire.

The 2022 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard Signature Collection is a pretty potent, tightly wound wine, perhaps because of its relatively recent bottling. Crushed rocks, white pepper, slate, citrus peel and strong mineral accents race out of the glass. About 60% of the malolactic fermentation was blocked, which results in a very steely, reticent Chardonnay that needs time to be at its best.

Darkly floral and intense, the 2021 Pinot Noir La Crete smolders up with a burst of crushed ashen stones, giving way to violets, lavender and blood orange. It’s elegant in feel, with silken textures and polished red and blue fruits that gain an energetic momentum. Juicy acidity enlivens the experience throughout. Gently tannic yet potent and long, the 2021 finishes with bitter licorice, wild blueberries and spice hints. La Crete is a selection of parcels from throughout the WillaKenzie vineyards.

The woodland-inspired 2021 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard smolders up with a bouquet of violets, lavender and sage, complementing crushed blackberries as a tinge of dusty earth adds an oldworld complexity. This floods the palate with textures of pure silk, soothingly round and succulent, with ripe red and blue fruits that slowly saturate. It finishes with outstanding length, mixing confectionary spice and wild blueberries. A subtle tug of fine tannin frames the experience beautifully.

Coming from nearly 30-year-old vines, the 2023 Semillon Flavorscape was just bottled, so it has a good deal of sulfur right now, but the estate doesn’t plan to release this until 2030. The nose reveals notes of candied green apple, lime zest, flint, crushed rocks, and fresh herbs. Medium-bodied, with bright acidity, it has a fantastic chalky texture and a weightless feel. It’s going age at a glacial pace, but it was fun to try it so early. It's hard to estimate a drinking window, though, since it’s got another six years before release. 250 cases were made.

From grapes grown on volcanic soils and crafted mostly from whole clusters, the 2021 Pinot Noir The Sum has layered, spicy aromas of tar, licorice, forest floor, aniseed and wild berry fruit. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated but still youthfully wound and latent. It has chalky tannins and mouthwatering acidity and finishes long and spicy. It deserves several years in the cellar to unwind. 887 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Upland is dark-fruited and wild on the nose: wild raspberry and blackberry are accented by touches of mossy bark, dried herbs and Angostura bitters. The medium-bodied palate is structured by luxuriously silky tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity that brighten its slowly unfurling flavors. It has a long finish that segues from red fruit to spice and floral perfume, and its seamlessness and complexity point to a long life in the cellar. 214 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Cascade has pure, layered scents of cranberry, raspberry, dried roses, licorice and dusty earth, with wonderful spicy tones emerging as it airs in the glass. The light-bodied palate's concentrated, spicy flavors are structured by suede-textured tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has a long, floral finish. 156 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Dropstone opens with raspberry and blackberry fruit that gives way to forest floor, potpourri and bitters on the nose. The medium-bodied palate offers expansive, alluringly perfumed fruit. It has a silky frame, fireworks of fresh acidity and a long finish with a fan of spicy accents. 254 cases were made.

An 80-20 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Caladan's 2021 Cabernet Franc is largely drawn from Jackson Family vineyards on Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain, with adjuncts from Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder. Scents of red raspberries are joined by hints of roses, dried herbs, cedar and mocha on the nose, while the palate is medium to full-bodied and framed by dusty tannins yet with some mouthwatering ripeness on the long finish.

A jeweled, rich ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Skycrest Vineyard was aged for 14 months in 20% new French oak and offers concentrated aromas of blackberries, mocha, mountain herbs, and sappy earth. It has a robust structure and a full-bodied slanting feel, with ripe tannins, brooding depth, and roasted notes of toasted cedar lasting on the finish. It is going to do well with another year or two in the bottle. Drink 2026-2036.

Heading north to the Anderson Valley, the 2022 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard comes from the 667 and Calera clones and is a youthful magenta/ruby color. It shows off notes of raspberry liqueur, nutmeg, violets, and mossy earth. I really like the structure in this win, which is medium-bodied and has well-defined tannins and a mouthwatering spice on the palate, with fresh acidity that holds on. Drink 2025-2035.

A deep magenta/ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Parsons' Vineyard comes from a small 8- acre vineyard and is more introspective on the nose, with notes of tarry earth, black cherry, pine, and deep root beer spices. Medium-bodied, it has a broader feel om the palate, with ripe tannins and a long finish. There’s good persistence in this wine, and it’s more expressive on the palate. It will likely improve with another 6-12 months in bottle.

A youthful magenta/purple color, the 2021 Merlot Jackson Estate Jackson Hills comes from the clay and gravelly hillsides in Bennett Valley and leads with decadent aromas of graphite, plum, boysenberry, fresh tobacco, and crushed violets. Raised for 18 months in 53% new French oak, it’s full-bodied and builds in structure, with ripe tannins, a hearty and more robust, mountainous feel, and a rather long finish. It’s quite firm in the glass at this youthful stage and deserves another couple of years in a bottle. Drink 2026-2040.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Hapgood is expressive and detailed. The nose opens with ringing tones of tangerine and pomegranate, plus nuances of tobacco leaves, mossy bark and dark spices. The light-bodied palate has a silky texture and softly tangy acidity that adds a shimmery quality to its core of spicy fruit, ending with an ethereal finish. It will benefit from 2-3+ years in bottle.

The 2021 Chardonnay Hapgood is scented of toasted meringue and apricot with accents of beeswax, cashew and citrus blossom. The light-bodied palate has a rounded texture which tempers its tangy acidity, and it has a deep core of youthfully reticent, saline-driven fruit. It will benefit from several years in bottle to unfold.