USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2016 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard opens with black licorice and peppercorn hints over a core of crushed blueberries and black cherries, warm blackberries, turned earth and a lilac hint. Light to medium-bodied with luscious black and blue fruits in the mouth, it's framed by soft baking spice, firm, grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity, finishing long on an earthy note.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2017 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple with a nose of black and red cherries, crushed stone, licorice and cranberry with touches of potpourri and warm earth. The palate is light to medium-bodied with concentrated, energetic spice-laced fruits seamlessly framed by grainy tannins and juicy freshness and finishing long and flavorful.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Entirely whole-cluster fermented, the 2017 Syrah has a medium ruby color and pretty nose of pipe tobacco, blackcurrant, dried black cherries, chargrill, smoke and garrigue with hints of peppered meats, crushed blueberries and loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied and silky, it gives restrained ripe fruits in the mouth, fleshing out to savory layers, with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long. Yum!

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County This comes from a smaller section within the 3D vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills and is all Hyde selection. The 2018 Chardonnay Santos Road has a vibrant nose of warm white peach and nectarine, orange blossom, tangerine, cut hay and hints of lime peel, hazelnut and crushed stone. Light to medium-bodied, it's precise, citrusy and mineral-driven in the mouth with juicy freshness and a long, energetic finish.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2018 Chardonnay Bar-M has an open nose of quince, warm hay, green apple and pear, baker’s yeast, acacia and dried chamomile with white peach and nectarine plus hints of lime peel and crushed stone. Light to medium-bodied, it has a wonderful core of spicy fruit and wicked minerality in the mouth, amplified by juicy freshness and a long, energetic, layered finish. Yum!

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2016 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color and wonderful nose of sweet red cherries, raspberry preserves, rhubarb, warm cranberry and strawberry jam with cola, black tea leaves, amaro, dust and dried earth with orange oil and dried flowers hints. Light to medium-bodied, it has restrained fruit in the mouth with lots of spicy notions, a frame of grainy-textured tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long. This saw 45% new oak, and 225 cases were produced.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Made using 45% new oak, the 2016 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color and opens with oak aromas of chocolate and nutmeg, fleshing out to potpourri, black tea leaves, cocoa, red cherry sparks and black cherries with savory/meaty accents—that oak is present, but there's plenty else here of interest and depth. Medium-bodied, it's lushly fruited in the mouth with tons of spice, very finely grained tannins and wonderful juicy freshness, finishing long and chocolaty. Give this plenty more time in bottle.

Tasting the Traumatic 2017 Vintage (And Others) in Northern California A pinpointed cabernet franc with blueberry and raspberry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a delicious finish. Shows a stone undertone. Pretty finish. Drink or hold.

Tasting the Traumatic 2017 Vintage (And Others) in Northern California Aromas of plums and fresh mushrooms with balsamic undertones. Hints of dried sage and other herbs. Medium body. Savory and fresh. Holding on beautifully. Drink or hold.

Tasting the Traumatic 2017 Vintage (And Others) in Northern California The red fruit with clay, tile and dust are very attractive here. Some spearmint and fresh herbs. Medium to full body. Firm tannins frame the wine. Subtly flavorful at the finish. Drink or hold.

Warm and rich in feel, with a multilayered beam of plum and cassis flavors, laced with smoldering vanilla bean, tobacco and loam notes. Black licorice details lurk in the background. Ends with a broad swath of fruit and smoke. Drink now through 2032.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County This comes from half Swan and half Pommard clones planted in sand in a warmer, more eastern part of the Sta. Rita Hills. The 2017 Pinot Noir 3D is pale to medium ruby and has aromas of pipe tobacco, perfumed earth, dried flowers and woodsmoke with ripe red and black cherries, rhubarb and raspberry preserves. Light to medium-bodied, it's saline on entry, fleshing out to warm, perfumed fruits, with fine, grainy tannins and juicy freshness, finishing long and earthy.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Pale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir 459 has a perfumed nose of violet, lilac, blueberries, woodsmoke and tobacco leaf with a core of red cherry jam, raspberry and strawberry preserves, rhubarb and licorice. Light to medium-bodied, it has a good core of nuanced fruits framed by grainy tannins and juicy acidity, finishing long and perfumed.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2017 Chardonnay Machado features scents of red apple skin, hay, crushed stone, warm peaches and apricots plus hints of citrus blossom and hazelnut. It's light to medium-bodied, mineral and precise on entry, fleshing out to ripe, honeyed stone fruits balanced by juicy acidity and finishing long.

The Jackson family planted this ridge west of Occidental, a site neighboring the Cobb family’s Coastlands Vineyard and fully exposed to the Pacific. The cool site translates into a musky chardonnay, as if the fog-infused grapes never ripened much past orange-blossom scents. Yet the wine feels fully mature, its rich textures held tight by firm acidity. Distinctly a wine of the coast, it’s ready for Dungeness crab.

The 2015 Zena Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir underwent 50% whole cluster fermentation and is sourced from vines set on Jory soils. The nose shows really good range from blood orange zest to nutmeg to shades of white truffle that all excite in the glass. The silky texture glides through the mid-palate. Showing copious red and dark fruits with wild mushroom, this beautiful wine is drinking marvelously now but will have a long life in the cellar.

Aged in 100% French oak for 10 months, this is a Pinot with definite echoes of Old World flavors. Cola, tea and baking spices are apparent on the nose with predominant black plum flavors and a hint of chocolate or cocoa. Round, integrated tannins lead to a lengthy finish.

This midnight purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Galerie is showing very nice right now. It opens with a fragrant ripe blackberry bouquet with hints black licorice and oak. On the palate, it is medium to full bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is an extracted blackberry jam with notes of minerality and black licorice. I also detected notes of boysenberry, refined graphite and vanilla oak with just a hint of espresso and black cherry mixed in. It is a very complex wine. The finish is dry and its well-managed tannins are very nicely extended. Our group really enjoyed this Cab with our steaks at the Taconic in Vermont.

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Shimmering ruby-red. Powerful, oak-spiced cherry, blackberry and violet scents are complemented by suggestions of savory herbs and candied licorice. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering ripe dark berry and cherry-cola flavors that pick up vanilla and exotic spice nuances on the back half. Finishes very long and spicy, with a resonating floral note and steadily building, youthfully chewy tannins. (61% new French oak)

From a single block of over 55-year-old bush vines in Clarendon, one of the coolest parts of McLaren Vale, this lithe and evocative Grenache offers an abundance of cherry, blueberry and dried flower aromas. Backed by olive brine, white pepper, fennel seed and flinty characteristics, there's complexity and an autumnal vibe that make smelling this a joy. Things get more serious on the palate, where ultrafine sandy textured tannins support the plump fruit and earthy minerality. Approachable now, this wine will gain even more complexity with age. Drink now until 2027.

Smooth , savory and complex; smooth and rich, elegant and balanced, long and deep.

Voluptuous and gracefully complex, with expressive raspberry and violet accents that build structure and notes of stony mineral toward refined tannins.

The 2009 Napa Valley Cabernets at Age 10 Bright medium ruby. Musky aromas of blue and black fruits, violet, licorice and minerals, complicated by a liqueur-like suggestion and some sexy oak tones. Densely packed and fine-grained, conveying lovely inner-mouth mineral lift as well as a distinct thickness of texture to its flavors of dark fruits, spices and crushed rock. This wonderfully suave yet penetrating Cabernet offers a terrific combination of sweetness, vibrancy and definition. Finishes tactile and very long. Delicious!

This is a big wine in every sense, including the price, the amount of alcohol (14.5%), the excessive weight of the bottle, and -- most important -- the wine’s delightfully robust tastes and textures. In this Bordeaux-style blend of red grapes (dominated by Merlot) you’ll find complex and generous flavors of blackberry and dark cherry, plus hints of spice and a touch of chocolate. The tannins are satisfyingly plump and the finish lingers pleasantly on.

Broad aromas of pineapple, pear and fresh plumeria show on the nose of this bottling by Greg Brewer. The palate zips with acidity, delivering flavors of guava, Pink Lady apple, pineapple and more ripe pear.