The 2018 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard comes from a site not far from the Pacific Ocean, in the Sonoma Coast AVA, and it's one of the bigger, richer wines in the lineup in 2018. Deeper ruby-hued, with a stunning nose of ripe mulberries, Bing cherries, candied strawberries, spring flowers, and orange blossom, this is a spicy, medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated Pinot Noir. Despite being from a cooler vineyard, it brings plenty of richness and sexy fruit, with a certain exotic character. I've always loved this cuvée (although I've always thought the Chardonnay was slightly more successful), but this might be the finest vintage I've tasted to date. Count me impressed. It's going to have 10-15 years of prime drinking. It's one of the finest Pinot Noirs in this report.

Flowery incense, sappy herbs, and sweet earth all define the bouquet on the 2018 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block, and this beautiful, layered, medium to full-bodied Russian River Valley Pinot has loads of framboise and darker berry fruits, subtle spicy oak, flawless balance, and a great finish. It's another incredible wine from this estate readers will absolutely love.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block comes from a cooler section of the Russian River Valley (it comes from a small block in the Arrendell Vineyard) and it shows, with the wine offering a darker, more herbal, sappy style in its black cherry and mulberry fruits as well as candied violet, spice, and spring flower-like aromas and flavors. As with all these 2018s from Hartford Court, the palate is spot on, and it has incredible purity of fruit, flawless tannins, and a great, great finish.

Also from the Sonoma Coast, the 2018 Chardonnay Stone Cote Vineyard offers up an exotic, full-bodied, concentrated style as well as complex lemon and orchard fruits, notes of chamomile, toasted almonds, and baking spice notes, flawless balance, integrated acidity, and a chalky, mineral-laced finish. This magical, thrilling Chardonnay will cruise for 5-7 years (probably longer) in cold cellars, and it ranks with the top handful of wines in the vintage.

Coming from the northern part of California, in Mendocino County, the 2018 Pinot Noir Docker Hill Vineyard has a beautifully savory, complex, medium to full-bodied style offering ample framboise and darker cherry fruits, building, ripe tannins, flawless balance, and terrific, savory herb, earth, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. It's a brilliant wine in every sense.

Incredible purity, medium to full body, bright acidity, and a Chablis on steroids-like character all define the 2018 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard, which is beautifully concentrated and has loads of lemon and citrus fruits, bright acidity, and subtle toast, and spicy oak. It's a brilliant Chardonnay as well as a textbook example of this great (yet diverse) region.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard hails from a single vineyard in Knights Valley located at 950 feet in elevation. It has a brilliant nose of savory red and black currants, dried herbs, saddle leather, and tobacco, with a decidedly Bordeaux-like vibe in both its aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, with ripe tannins on the palate, this is a serious, captivating, incredibly impressive Cabernet that will shine for at least two decades. You could put this beauty in a lineup of First Growth Bordeaux and it would do just fine.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of tremendous character. Bright acids and vertical structure give the 2018 its incredibly distinctive feel. Dark cherry, tobacco, cedar and spice lend complexity, but it is the wine's precision and overall nuance that make the deepest impression. The tiny Pine Mountain AVA is capable of yielding magnificent Cabernets that are all about the energy these sites at altitude confer, as is very much the case here.

A more rounded, concentrated, sexy Chardonnay, the 2019 Chardonnay Red Point Vineyard comes from a southeast-facing site in the Alexander Valley and vines planted in 1994. It's always a bigger, richer wine in this lineup, yet it has beautiful balance, good acidity, and ample minerality in its stone fruits, brioche, honeysuckle, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. It has real class and will keep for at least 7-8 years, if not a decade, if well stored.

Loads of Bing cherries, ripe strawberries, flowery incense, and sandalwood notes emerge from the 2018 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard, another pure, rich, almost full-bodied Pinot Noir in the lineup. It certainly has Russian River Valley levels of fruit, yet there's not much cola character, and it has an incredibly floral, pure, vibrant style.

More mulberries, sour black cherries, bouquet garni, and a distinct yet subtle marine-like character all emerge from the 2018 Pinot Noir Jennifer's, a rich, beautifully balanced, incredibly singular Russian River Pinot Noir. This is another up-front, fleshy, already impressive 2018 from this estate that has the fruit and texture to shine today yet the class and balance to evolve for a decade.

While the 2018 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard comes from a cooler site on the Sonoma Coast, it brings solid ripeness levels in its tropical and honeyed citrus-like fruits as well as notes of baking spices, candle wax, white flowers, and chalky mineral nuances. With bright, integrated acidity, medium to full body, and a great finish, it comes together beautifully with time in the glass and will continue to impress over the coming 7-8 years.

Another Russian River release, the 2019 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyard brings plenty of ripe tropical fruit as well as medium to full body, a supple, layered mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and building spice, toast, and green almond nuances. It's another thrilling, brilliant Chardonnay from this estate. Drink bottles over the coming 5-7 years.

The 2017 Red Journey is fabulous in the way it balances inky fruit intensity with Sonoma savoriness. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage, cloves and menthol infuse the 2017 with striking depth and tons of character. The blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon works so well here.

A big beast of a Cabernet, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard comes from the estate in Alexander Valley (vines planted in 1991) and was brought up in a mix of new and once-used barrels. Blackcurrants, tobacco, candied violets, graphite, and plenty of sappy herb notes emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied, with classic Sonoma minerality, a big, rich, opulent personality, and outstanding length. The tannins are substantial yet polished and ripe, and it has ample mid-palate depth. It will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for at least two decades.

The 2018 Chardonnay Journey is fabulous. Rich, unctuous and beautifully layered in the glass, with notes of lemon confit, white flowers and marzipan that give the 2018 stinking texture. The 2018 Journey is silky, with notable creaminess, depth and textural resonance, all in an understated style that holds tons of appeal.

The 2019 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard brings serious richness and depth yet still has a more mineral-laced, pure, balanced style. Ripe tangerines, white currants, brioche, honeyed minerality, and toast all dominate the bouquet, and this beauty is balanced, with nicely integrated acidity and a great finish. It doesn't match the vibrancy and precision of the 2017 and is more in the softer, more rounded style of the 2018.

The 2019 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard is cut from the same cloth yet seems to have a touch more purity and precision than the Highwire release. Blueberries, candied strawberries, toasted spice, graphite, and spicy wood notes define this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a wonderful sense of purity, ripe tannins, and a great finish.

The 2019 Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard Old Vine is another beauty. Revealing a ruby/purple hue as well as a beautiful nose of ripe blueberries, red plums, flowery incense, and sandalwood, this outstanding red hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, layered texture, perfectly integrated tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s already hard to resist, but I think it has the balance as well as the density to keep for at least 5-7 years, if not upwards of a decade if you’re so inclined. There’s certainly no need to delay gratification, though.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards is another Sonoma Coast release from this great producer. Medium ruby/purple-hued, with an exotic bouquet of black cherries, blueberries, candied violets, and flowery incense, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a juicy, racy mouthfeel, supple tannins, and a great finish. It will benefit from a year in bottle and drink brilliantly through at least 2030.

Coming from the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters has textbook savory, herbal, mineral style as well as wonderful darker cherry and exotic blueberry fruits, medium to full body, loads of floral and violet nuances, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's up-front and fruit-forward, yet it has plenty of tannins as well as remarkable purity and freshness. Drink this singular Pinot Noir over the coming 7-8 years.

Slightly more pear and honeyed peach fruits as well as honeysuckle, sappy green herbs, and a subtle sense of minerality emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard, a more focused, elegant wine from the cooler Green River section of the Russian River Valley. The purity of fruit is spot on, I love its overall balance, and this crisp yet rich 2018 is going to keep for 5-7 years, if not longer.

The 2018 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, which comes from the cooler Green Valley portion of the Russian River, offers a very clean, pure, complex style that's already a joy to drink. Notes of honeyed orchard fruits, spice, brioche, and floral nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated Chardonnay that has good acidity, plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, and a great finish.

I always seem to find a tropical slant in Chardonnay from Carneros, and the 2018 Chardonnay Sevens Bench Vineyard has it in spades, with ample pineapple, honeyed peach, pear, and toasted spice-like aromas and flavors. This is another balanced, rich, medium to full-bodied Chardonnay from this estate that's loaded with character. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years.

From a great vintage for the entire North Coast, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale is all varietal that was brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Lots of sweet cassis, candied violets, vanilla oak, and lead pencil notes define the nose, and it actually reminds me of a wine from Ridge with its focused, mineral-laced, well-oaked style. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it has plenty of tannins, beautiful purity, and outstanding length. It needs plenty of air to show at its best today and will be best with 2-4 years of bottle age. It should have 20+ years of overall longevity.