The crisp light/pale gold no oak Diatom Bar-M Chardonnay by Greg Brewer is beautifully detailed and is a totally unique expression with fresh and vivid white peach and mixed citrus fruits leading the way along with delicate spring blossoms, clove spice, quince paste, wet chalk and sea shore elements. Brewer continues his obsession in Chardonnay purity with his Diatom label, a very singular journey or vision quest, more like a Jules Verne novel and Captain Nemo rather than Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab! There is a zen like quiet to these wines, as all the outside world is hushed, again like being on the Nautilus where all the madness of the world and noise are silenced and the wine reveals itself in the grapes truest form and nature. Brewer, founding winemaker at the legendary Brewer-Clifton and known for Burgundy style Pinot Noir and Chardonnays from cru sites in the Sta. Rita Hills, is one of Santa Barbara’s most respected and influential winemakers, he also crafted the acclaimed wines at Melville and over the years has produced some fabulous stuff. These Diatom wines are no compromise and ultra precise Chardonnays, they are intellectually challenging that try to dig down to the core essence of the varietal and the individual vineyard site, but they are also wines of quality and a pleasure to experience, in particular with raw foods and highly focused ingredients, like hyper fresh sushi and masterfully executed, they deserve that perfection to show themselves at their best. People want to compare these wines to terroir particular wines like Chablis, which I can understand, but you can’t explain them that way, they wines that unto themselves. Each year brings a new revelation and understanding of terroir and of Chardonnay self with these Diatom wines, they are fun and thrilling examples of what is possible.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe pale to medium ruby-purple colored 2016 Block 6 Pinot Noir is scented of prosciutto, warm blackberries and crushed black cherries with accents of tar, loamy earth, bitter citrus peel, amaro and nori. The palate is light to medium-bodied with a lacy frame and tangy opposing acidity, finishing long and bitters-laced.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageMedium ruby-purple, the 2016 Pinot Noir Conifer has a layered, perfumed nose of dried hollyhocks, lilac and lavender with accents of fir, bay leaf, forest floor, blood orange peel, tea leaf and woodsmoke over a core of crushed blackberries and black cherries. The medium-bodied palate is silky, intense and very fresh with a grainy frame and long, floral finish.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePale ruby-purple, the 2016 Pinot Noir Block 14 has a lovely nose of crushed stone, sliced blueberries, boysenberries, red currant and savory cranberry with accents of bergamot, lilac and dusty earth. The light to medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled with perfumed fruits, silky and fresh with a long finish.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageYouthfully slow to open, the medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Emery takes time to offer up dried tobacco leaves, Earl Grey tea leaves, dried lavender, cranberries and pomegranate aromas with notes of blackberries, fragrant earth, citrus peel and amaro. It's medium-bodied and silky with slowly blossoming fruit, spice and earth layers, firmly framed and fresh with a long, layered finish. This will benefit from another year or two in bottle.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Aliette comes from Pommard and Wadensvil clones. Medium ruby, it offers crushed blackberries, black cherries, loamy earth, oolong tea leaves, bergamot and lavender on the nose with touches of clove and dried leaves. It's medium-bodied and silky with restrained, perfumed fruits, a grainy frame and juicy freshness, finishing long and nuanced. 700 cases produced. This will benefit from another year in bottle, but it's perfectly approachable now.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Kiana is scented of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries and blackberry pie with allspice, loamy earth, cured meats, dried herbs and flowers and red berry sparks. The palate is medium-bodied and silky with intense, earth-laced fruits, a firm frame of grainy tannins and great freshness to oppose the density of flavor, finishing long and nuanced. This merits another year in bottle.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and youthfully coiled nose. With time, it offers notes of lavender, licorice, cranberries, pomegranate and blackberries with an earthy core and nuances of black tea leaves and citrus peel. Medium-bodied, silky and intense, it has fragrant fruits with a fine-grained texture and juicy freshness to lift the long, layered finish. This will benefit from another year in bottle.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePenner-Ash's medium ruby-purple colored 2017 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is a beauty! It has a perfume of blood orange peel, dried roses, woodsmoke and black tea leaves with a core of red currants, licorice, red cherries and cranberry sauce with saline touches. The light to medium-bodied palate is delicately styled but intensely flavored and juicy, finishing very long and very perfumed.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Upland has a medium ruby-purple color and a perfume of autumn leaves, spiced cranberry sauce, warm blackberries, fragrant earth, tangerine peel, violets and lilacs with notes of stone and dust. The palate is medium-bodied, silky, intense and fragrant, with a firm frame of grainy tannins and lip-smacking acidity, finishing long and nuanced. Give it another year in bottle.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Cascade is medium ruby-purple in color and scented of candied blackberries, warm cranberry sauce, allspice, nutmeg, tree bark, black tea leaves and forest floor with oodles of lilac and rose petal perfume plus touches of aniseed and charcuterie. The medium-bodied palate is intense, spicy, grainy and layered with seamless freshness and a long finish. This has the stuffing and structure to benefit from another year or two in bottle and to age well over the next decade.

Sourced from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, the 2016 ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir starts off with a beautiful bouquet of red currant with forest floor, cran-cherry and touches of cardamom that all combine nicely on the nose. The mouthfeel here is really good as this silky Pinot Noir glides across the mid-palate. Bright bing cherry pie, cigar box, blood orange and suggestions of peat moss all come together on the palate. Bright, with a good sense of minerality, this beautiful Pinot Noir will have a long life in the cellar.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Sky Crest is supple and wonderfully nuanced. Apricot, lemon confit, white flowers and light tropical notes all run through this pliant, creamy Chardonnay. Drink it over the next handful of years.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Stormin' is a wonderfully complete wine that captures so many of the qualities that make these wines so appealing—sweetness, perfume and depth, to name a few. Rose petal, blood orange, mint and sweet red cherry all grace this super-expressive Pinot.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Unforgettable is bold and savory in feel. Black cherry, sage, menthol, spice and lavender infuse the 2017 with striking layers of nuance as well as dimension. This is such a gorgeous, captivating Pinot.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block is a powerful, heady wine. Exotic spice, blood orange, mint, cedar and new leather infuse the 2017 with quite a bit of character. The aromatics are especially deeply-pitched. Then again, the MacLean's Block is one of the wines in this range that gets a dollop of whole clusters.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail, also from Anderson Valley, presents a darker profile and more muscular tannins than the Velvet Sisters Pinot tasted alongside it. Spice, leather, coffee, a savory herbs play off a core of dense fruit. Powerful and explosive in the glass, the 2017 needs time to soften, but it is very clearly a special wine in the making.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is bright, fruity and beautifully focused. Sweet red cherry, raspberry, mint and earthy notes grace this expressive, coastal Pinot Noir from Hartford Court. This mid-weight, gracious Pinot has so much to offer.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard balances nervy tension with a good deal of mid-palate richness. White flowers, mint and white pepper add a brilliant upper register that gives the wine a feeling of energy and vibrancy.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Chardonnay Sevens Bench, from a site in Carneros, is rich and ample in feel. Tropical overtones add nuance to a core of orchard fruit, lemon confit, spice, butter, almond and chamomile overtones.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Chardonnay Stone Côte Vineyard is soft, pliant and super-expressive, with lovely stoniness that gives the wine a feeling of structure and mineral-laced persistence. This is such a pretty wine. Apricot, orange confit, mint and honeyed notes all come together effortlessly.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesIn 2018, the Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard is wonderfully approachable and inviting. Floral notes, red and purplish fruit and blood orange infuse this mid-weight, silky Zinfandel with tremendous character. The Jolene's is one of the more lifted, succulent wines in the range.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Zinfandel (Russian River) is bright, punchy and full of the energy that makes this vintage so compelling. Succulent dark cherry, plum, chocolate, lavender, licorice, spice, menthol and pine add aromatic character to this bold, dark Zinfandel.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Maggy Hawk is bold and expansive in the glass, with terrific textural resonance and body but, as always, it is done in the mid-weight style that is typical of these wines. Sweet dark red cherry, red plum, spice, blood orange and cedar add aromatic nuance as the wine turns delicate with aeration.

Offers a memorable mix of pure raspberry, cherry and pomegranate flavors that are lush and polished, set on a velvety frame, with notes of chai tea, white pepper and fresh sage, showing terrific harmony on the long, expressive finish. A hint of freshly grated nutmeg lingers. Drink now through 2035.