Heading back into California to the Mendocino Ridge AVA, the 2022 Chardonnay DuPratt Vineyard comes from a high elevation site at 1500 feet, and this is the first vintage of this wine they’ve produced. In the glass, it reveals a ripe golden/yellow hue, and it’s expressive with savory notes of wet stone, Meyer lemon, white flowers, and salted pineapple. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a good deal of intensity and a compact nature on the palate, which has a full-bodied richness though it’s propelled forward and is linear with bright acidity. It should drink very well over the next 8-10 years. Only 100 cases were produced.

From the Anderson Valley, the deep ruby/magenta-hued 2022 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters has a more rugged and umami profile on the nose, opening in the glass to notes of leather, mushroomy earth, dark berries, purple flowers, and pine. It’s medium-bodied but fills the palate and has a saline, mouthwatering feel, with ripe tannins and fresh lift on the back. Drink over the next 8-10 years.

From the far Sonoma Coast, the 2022 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards was aged for 9 months in 32% new French oak barrels. In the glass, it displays a medium ruby color and offers expressive notes of red berries, cranberries, and juniper. There’s a good bit of reduction initially that benefits from a little air at this stage, but it starts to reveal darker notes as it opens, so I would recommend decanting if opening it on the young side. The palate has a wonderful, compact feel, with refreshing lift, fine tannins, and a snappy finish. I personally enjoy the bright and coiled energy that comes through in this one. It’s a lovely wine that is going to drink well over the next 15 years.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Fog Dance is a medium red hue and delivers aromas of candied cranberries, red cherries, bright spices, and fresh flowers. With elegant, fine tannins, a sweet floral finish, and clean freshness (but nothing austere), it’s a charming wine to drink now and over the next 10 years.

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 2022 Sauvignon Blanc also comes from the Jackson Family’s Stonestreet Estate was raised in a combination of stainless steel, new oak barriques, and neutral oak. In the glass, it pours a bright silver/straw color and is floral and tropical with an elegant feel, taking on classic, fresh aromas of grapefruit, quince, ripe peach, and chive. Medium-bodied, it has a similarly approachable feel on the palate while retaining purity and freshness. Juicy and long, with a delicately rounded feel, it’s going to hold on nicely over the coming 6-7 years.

From a higher elevation site, the 2021 Chardonnay Bear Point saw 10 months in 44% new French oak. In the glass, it pours a bright straw/silver color and is forward with notes of lemon-lime zest, wet stone, and green almond. On the palate, it’s fresh and inviting, revealing a linear feel without being austere in any way. It’s pure and long on the palate, with a hint of baking spice on the finish. Drink 2024-2030.

A ripe red color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Van Der Kamp Vineyard saw 14 months in new French oak and is woodsy with savory, almost Rhône-like spice in its notes of cracked pepper, forest herbs, incense, and black cherries. It continues to the palate with refined, coiled tannins, a nice, linear feel, and a rather long, savory finish. It has a touch of gamey richness while staying clean and is a very appealing wine that would be great paired with steak. Drink 2024-2034.

From this vineyard on Olivet Road, around the corner from Parsons, the 2022 Pinot Noir Barbieri Vineyard pours a ripe magenta ruby hue and shows a darker profile, with more savory aromas of licorice, black cherries, rosemary, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it expands on the palate, with broader shoulders, ripe tannins, and an earth-toned grip on the finish. It is going to show its best in another year.

Located in the Sebastopol Hills, the 2022 Pinot Noir Bloomfield Vineyard is packed with notes of resinous herbs, black raspberries, juniper spice, and toasted cedar. Mediumbodied, it offers ripe tannins and a lovely, weightless, elegant feel, with good length on the palate and notes of tea leaf on the finish. It’s going to drink well over the next 8-10 years.

A bright yellow/silver color, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Journey comes from 48% Taylor Peak, 26% Pocket Peak, and the rest from Helena Bench, and it’s expressive out of the gate. Perfumed and floral, with notes of tropical flowers, melon, guava, and candied tangerines, it’s medium-bodied, elegant, and juicy on the palate, with a juicy and rounded feel through the long finish. It’s going to drink well over the next 5-6 years.

A bright silver/green-toned color, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Bennett Valley was raised in 85% puncheon and 15% barrel and is lifted and fresh with notes of lime cordial, fresh quince, wet stone, and chives. Linear, bright, and mouthwatering, it has a lovely chalky texture, medium body, a great, energetic structure, and a long, driving finish. Drink 2024-2029.

Medium yellow with a green tinge, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Helena Bench Vineyard was raised in concrete eggs and puncheons and was made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc. It’s forward in the glass with notes of alpine herbs, pine needles, fennel, jasmine, and lime zest. Medium-bodied, it has a rounded feel, with supple viscosity. It’s elegant and charming, with notes of guava on its long finish. It is going to show its best over the next 5-6 years.

A slightly deeper yellow color, the 2022 Chardonnay Journey was aged in a combination of used and second-use oak with 10% new. The wine shows off a sunny profile on the nose, with notes of chamomile, orange sherbet, and poached pear. It’s juicy and ripe, leaning toward full-bodied, with lovely purity and notes of vanilla and lemon curd lasting on the finish. Elegant and pretty, it’s going to be at its best over the next 6-7 years.

This site includes sections both above and below the fog line. Raised in French oak for 10 months, 10% new, the bright straw/yellow-hued 2022 Chardonnay Cougar Ridge Vineyard offers a perfume of incense, fresh pear, preserved lemon, and savory wet stones. Medium-bodied, graceful, and elegant, it floats on the palate with a stony texture, a floral feelm and just a hint of refreshing saline that floats throughout the wine. Drink 2024- 2034.

A bright yellow/straw hue, the 2022 Chardonnay Kelli Ann Vineyard takes on an elegant and delicate, sunny feel, with notes of yellow apple, mango rind, delicate baking spice, and citrus blossom. Medium-bodied, approachable, and very charming, it has lovely purity on the back palate with a touch of saltiness on the finish. It’s going to drink well over the next 8 or more years

Entirely raised in neutral oak, the medium red 2021 Pinot Noir Afleet is a bit more reserved in the glass on opening hue, revealing a slightly more high-toned note of cinnamon, as well as red berries, minty herbs, and dried flowers. With fine tannins and a more linear, midweight feel, it has a pleasing salty savory note, and it’s light on its feet, with refreshing spice on the finish. Give it another year to let it unfurl and drink 2025- 2040.

Like most of these Pinots, the 2021 Pinot Noir Jolie was raised for 16 months in 15% new French oak. Pouring a youthful ruby red color, the nose opens to notes of fresh sage, ripe cherries, fresh violets, and forest herbs. Medium-bodied, it has elegant, refined tannins, even acidity, and a juicy ripe feel that lasts long on the palate. There’s a floral side to this wine that lasts all the way through, and it has a rather long finish, with notes of dusty dried earth and a refined feel. It’s going to have a wide window for enjoyment over the next 8-10 years.

The 2021 Chardonnay 9 Barrel is a selection of the top nine barrels from the vintage, which for this wine included 20% each from the Saralee's and Kelli Ann vineyards, 10% from Bloomfield, and the rest from growers. It was raised for 15 months in 34% new French oak and pours a golden yellow hue. In the glass, it delivers a compact layered profile, offering aromas of melon rind, white flowers, a hint of flinty wet stone, almond, and pear. Full-bodied, it has lovely finesse and a weightless feel, with mouthwatering freshness throughout. It has a lovely energy that comes through this more decadent style and has a light toasty feel on the finish. Drink 2025-2032.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Nine Barrel saw 15 months in 50% new French oak, and comes from the vineyards of Barbieri, Bellflower, Piner, Saralee's, and Grower. It pours a rich magenta/ruby color and boasts more savory and brooding notes of cedar, black cherries, sappy earth, and black truffle. Medium to full-bodied, it has ripe structure, with ripe, present tannins, a grounding feel, and good acidity to keep it fresh and structured enough to last over the next 10 years.

A deeper magenta/ruby color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Fog Veil comes from the three neighboring vineyards of Barbieri, Bellflower, and Piner. One of the warmer areas La Crema picks from, the wine takes on deeper aromatic notes of black cherries, turned earth, and root beer spice, with a hint of blue fruit shing through. Leaning toward fullbodied in terms of its expansive feel, it has ripe tannins, good richness throughout, and a structured, ripe feel. It’s a richer style to enjoy over the next 6-8 years.

A bright red hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Cloud Landing comes from the top of the knoll of this vineyard, which is located in the Petaluma Gap, with a lot of fog and wind influence as well as clay-heavy soils. The wine reveals spicy aromas and a touch more oak in its profile, with a lifted feel to its notes of cinnamon, pine, red berries, and dark minerals. Medium-bodied, it has a juicy and floral profile on the palate, with an approachable feel, although it has fine tannins and good freshness of acidity. It’s going to drink well over the next 8-10 years