Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir 3D is a deep, powerful wine endowed with tremendous intensity. Next to the other Pinots in the range, the 3D feels quite virile. White pepper, crushed rocks, savory herbs and chalk give the 3D a beguiling upper register to play off its dense fruit and imposing structure. Veins of salinity give energy and brightness. This is such a compelling and promising wine.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2017 Chardonnay Hapgood begins with fresh pear and quince, opening to hazelnut, crushed shell and sweet hay with warm white peaches and white blossom hints. Light to medium-bodied with a lovely interplay of ripe fruits and mineral notions, it has seamless acidity and a very long, energetic, honey-nut finish.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases The 2016 Proprietary Red Wine is composed of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 9% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers fragrant underbrush, cloves and cinnamon stick notes over a core of warm cassis, blackberry pie and cedar chest plus a waft of Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, the palate packs a powerful punch of black fruits with loads of spicy accents with a plush texture, finishing long and toasty.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2017 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail reveals gregarious notions of raspberry tart, Morello cherries, wild blueberries and lilacs plus nuances of cracked black pepper, baking spices and root beer. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers impressive elegance and energy with loads of restrained red fruit and earthy nuances, finishing long and plushly textured.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Already bottled, the 2018 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyard features bold baked pears, fresh Golden Delicious apples and lemonade scents with touches of chalk dust and allspice. Medium-bodied, the palate has a racy line lifting the apple and pear flavors, finishing on a chalky note.

Napa Valley's 2017s The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is a richer, broader, more concentrated wine, yet it also has a serious amount of tannins. Lots of dark chocolate, blackcurrant, forest floor, and espresso notes all emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated, impressive effort that’s going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and have 20+ years of longevity. The blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% each of Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2017 Cabernet Franc is fabulous. Bold and dramatic in scale, the 2017 hits the palate with serious fruit intensity and tons of pure richness. Super-ripe red cherry, red plum, menthol, wild flowers, chocolate and mocha build as this racy, voluptuous wine shows off its alluring personality. The 2017 needs time in bottle to develop its full range of aromatics, but it has a ton of potential.

Lean but flavoursome, if that is possible. Textural and intense but rapier-like through the finish. Needs time but has it going on. Citrus and stone fruit, steel and cedar. The most subtle of lactose notes. This will shine in time.

A nest of cabernet franc.Strong fruit, strong tannin and strong oak. It’s balanced within its own world but this is a heavy hitter. A big serve of resiny vanilla, mint, chocolate, steel and redcurrant, with plum notes drenching the palate. Dry, rusty herbs, the leftovers from a couple of summers ago combine with florals, old too, dried too. Less oak would have been good but this is a wine set up to age. Strong arms, this one. Ropes of tannin territory.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Docker Hill from a site in Mendocino, is brisk, finely cut and full of character. Bright red/purplish fruit, blood orange, cinnamon and spice are all finely sketched. Deceptively medium in body, the 2018 has terrific energy and tons of class. It is a typically nervy Pinot from this part of Northern California.

The 2017 Armoniza is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 14% Malbec, all from Knights Valley. The flavors are bold and punchy in this super-expressive, vibrant red. I would cellar the 2017 for at least a few years, as the acids are bright while the tannins are searing. There is plenty of fruit behind that, but it needs time to emerge.

Checking in as a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the dense purple-hued 2017 Red Wine gives up classic 2017 savory red and black fruits as well as lots of chalky minerality, notes of lead pencil, graphite, and tobacco, full-bodied richness and depth, and building yet polished tannins. This gorgeous 2017 has some charm today yet will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and have two decades of overall longevity.

The 2019 Zinfandel Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard is a darker, slightly more earthy release that has darker berry and blue fruits to go with medium to full body, a structured, tannic mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and a big finish. It's going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age yet keep nicely through 2031 if stored correctly.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 Pinot Noir Marin County was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 44% new. Pale ruby-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with vibrant black raspberries, pomegranate and Bing cherries notes followed by nuances of underbrush, wild sage and truffles. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and refreshing with tightly wound red berry and earthy layers and fine-grained tannins, finishing with an herbal lift.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 35% new. Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, it bursts with juicy raspberries, Morello cherries and pomegranate notes plus hints of rhubarb, dried Provence herbs and lavender. Medium-bodied, the palate is soft-spoken and elegantly played with a plush texture and lively finish.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThis is a new vineyard source for Hartford Court, located in Mendocino County. The 2018 Pinot Noir Docker Hill was aged for 15 months in French oak barrels, 28% new. It gives up gregarious notes of raspberry preserves, Morello cherries and red currants with suggestions of underbrush, lavender and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has great tension and is wonderfully nuanced with loads of red berry and earthy layers textured by fine-grained tannins, finishing with a lively lift.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesComposed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard was aged 27 months in French oak barrels, 68% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers scents of Black Forest cake, black currant jelly and blueberry pie with hints of dusty soil, dried lavender and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm, grainy texture and lovely freshness while chock-full of black fruit preserves, finishing long with mineral suggestions.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Upland has a medium ruby-purple color and touches of flint on the nose, opening slowly to perfumed red and black berry fruits. The medium-bodied palate is firm and very juicy, packed to the gills with earth-accented fruits, and it finishes long and flavorful. Give it another 2-3 years in bottle.

The One With The Quietest Personality. Shy chardonnay with green apple, green mango, nectarine, grapefruit juice and white almond. That’s the story. Juicy in the palate with a nice little chalky pucker to it. Feels quite translucent in texture, a bit diffuse, but that grip and chew to finish counters that quite nicely. Perfume is sedate but pretty with all that character there when you seek it out. Fresh feeling, nice shot of minerals through the core, finishes pleasing albeit a little steely and resinous, and cool. Easy as. Good stuff.

This year’s it a single vineyard release from Tarraford. Roughly 30% whole bunches, no fining, no filtration. It builds in the glass quite beautifully. It seems juicy and free-flowing at first but gradually the strings pull tighter. Garden herbs, boysenberries, cloves and red cherries, the balance between its various aspects pitched just so well. It tastes as though it’s hardly trying but that’s what it wants you to think. It’s a savoury shiraz done very well; it’s going to improve over time rather than merely holding; it’s buoyant and succulent and things like that.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2018 VintageThe 2018 Chardonnay Machado opens with bright, high-toned notions of saline, iodine and crushed shell, accenting a core of tangerine, quince and chamomile. The medium-bodied palate has broad fruits in a satiny texture, and it zeroes in with bright freshness on the long, mineral-laced finish.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyThe 2018 Pinot Noir Rita's Crown Vineyard saw a touch of stems (20%) and was brought up in 70% new French oak. It's a firmer, more focused, structured wine with lots of darker fruits, crushed stone, graphite, and herbal aromatics, medium to full body, bright acidity, firm tannins, and a kiss of background oak. It's mostly potential at this point and is going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age. I think it's a terrific wine, though.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyLastly, the 2018 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard was all destemmed and brought up in 45% new barrels. It shows a touch of its élevage, with plenty of spicy oak as well as pretty red and black fruits, violets, and dried flower-like aromas and flavors. With medium to full body, good acidity, and a clean, classy style, give bottles a year or so and enjoy over the following decade.

Semi-opaque in color, the Siduri Clos Pepe Vineyard offers a spicy dark fruited nose. It is full bodied and elegant on the palate with excellent concentration of ripe dark red cherry fruit complemented by herbal brambly notes. A wine packed with flavor. Located in Hwy 246 and planted in the mid-1990s to mostly the Pommard clone, Clos Pepe has established itself as one of the top vineyards of the Sta. Rita Hills.

Vintage Retrospective: The 2001 Napa Valley CabernetsBright, dark red to the rim. Slightly wild scents of dark fruits, black cherry, spice cake, licorice and coffee bean. Supple, fine-grained, savory and dry; less open to inspection and more tannic at first blush than La Joie, with its sweetness dominated by its tannic spine. Finishes pungent and long but a bit brutal, with less sweetness than La Joie and substantial tannins dusting the front teeth. I can see this wine softening further with another few years in the bottle. Will it expand or will it always remain tannic? This is Pierre Seillan's St. Emilion blend but I find this vintage more Medoc-like in style.