This dark ruby colored Merlot from Mt. Brave shared top honors in a recent mini-blind tasting that we conducted. It opens with a very inviting blueberry and black cherry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and rich. The flavor profile is a chocolate covered cherry cordial with notes of blueberry. We also detected some hints of oak and vanilla mixed in. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins show very nice length. The Panel suggested pairing this very good Merlot with short ribs.

Follows exceptional form & sleek styling of previous, with pure seam of citrus, saline acidity & taut structure. 2016 more new oak (60% vs 30%) & richness but still sublimely fresh. Stellenbosch, Robertson & Overberg vines. 4.5 stars.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Aromas of blackberry, pomegranate and oak-driven toast and tobacco. Mid-weight plus in heft, offering an onslaught of ostentatious, spicy purple and black fruits, yet sleek, polished and very agreeable in the mouth. There is more tannins evident but they are entirely supportive. The wine sports impressive length on the generously fruity finish. Still enjoyable when tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle. This wine needs more time in the cellar.

In Bordeaux, 2016 is considered a great vintage, ranked 94 to 98 points by some critics. In tasting the 2016 Château Lassègue you understand immediately that the vintage produced wines of rich, ripe fruit. The aromatics pale in comparison to the 2012’s, but the wine’s fullness, richness of texture, apparent roundness in your mouth, and seamless balance are impressive. Before you label the wine as California-style in your mind, let me add that fine notes of minerality permeate the wine’s taste, a signature of Bordeaux. And as ripe as the fruit is, that fruit is still fresh, not overripe, not baked, not jammy. Counter-intuitively, while the older vintage benefits from aeration, the 2016 is beautiful in the glass from the get-go.

It is said beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but this 2016 is undeniably a beauty recently lying in the soil at Cambria Estate Winery in California’s Santa Maria Valley, a Pinot Noir hotbed. Radiating pretty ruby with brick-red hues, Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir has something to offer in every direction. Mainly, it embodies great depth of character while really wanting to please, and it does.I have known and drank Cambria Estate wines for a long time, appreciating that their wines have always displayed quality. I was anxiously anticipating the 2016 version of Julia’s Pinot Noir.The intensity of multidimensional flavor that Julia’s delivers didn’t require great heft. Quite the contrary, Julia’s 2016 is barely mid-weight. Those who refrain from trying this wine will forego an opportunity.The nose on Julia’s opens with a slight tang reminiscent of Burgundy, while clearly speaking to Pinot Noir’s varietal character. This introduction is quickly followed by subtle and complex aromatics in the form of dried apricot, raisin, and a trace of pastry spice. With concise intensity the palate presents cranberries, rhubarb pie, and a hint of pomegranate. Shows fine-grained well integrated tannins and refined purity of fruit with notable balance. Displays clear focus while broadcasting amicability.Julia’s is very responsive while continuing to evolve in the glass. This highly inviting Cambria Pinot Noir incurs nuances of change, seemingly adapting to the drinker. At 30-minutes the rich vibrancy intensifies with further intricacies! Next day – at least as fresh and complex as before.Julia’s Vineyard lies on the Cambria Estate which is roughly in between the Bien Nacido and Nielson vineyards. The vineyard was named after Proprietor Julia Jackson (Jackson Family Wines). The soil constituents are fossilized seashells, limestone, shale, and sand nurturing sustainably farmed vines half a century of age.The regime included a seven-day cold soak in stainless, malolactic fermentation in barrel, and eight months in 28% new French Oak. Alcohol reads 14.2%. The winemaker is Jill Russel. User friendly on the pocketbook. A perfect pair with barbecued St. Louis-style ribs.

This red is smooth and richly structured. Wood aging still shows and it needs aging to realize its full, ripe potential. Juicy berry flavors and spice come together in a wine that will be impressive as it ages further. Drink from 2022.

COMMENTARY: The Ex Post Facto story provides a looking into the heart of the grape and its source. Vintner Greg Brewer committed to the wine's totality. When I approached the 2018 Ex Post Facto Syrah, I had an idea that this wine probably has no rules, except what it wanted to be. TASTING NOTES: This opaque, concentrated wine, comes forth with omnipresent ripe red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Enjoy this wine at a slow evolving dinner with fragrantly-spiced, braised meat, and fresh veggies reflecting the colors of the rainbow. This wine is intense and focused.

McLaren Vale Delivers Top Mediterranean Styled RedsBeautifully fresh, peachy stone fruit and a wet-stone edge with flinty lemon peel and lightly spiced bread dough. There’s a very attractively fleshy feel on the palate, wielding both succulence and weight, as well as a bright, fresh and mouthwatering finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

McLaren Vale Delivers Top Mediterranean Styled RedsThis is a fresh, juicy glass of ripe apples, pears and light white peaches, delivered in a crisp, flavorful, mid-weight frame. A blend of mostly grenache blanc (74%), roussanne, clairette, picpoul and bourboulenc. Incredible value in this South of France-style white. Drink now. Screw cap.

McLaren Vale Delivers Top Mediterranean Styled RedsIf you’re after a very consistent, very good-value grenache, then this is a wine you should be buying by the case. It has such impressively energetic aromas and flavors of red and darker berries and a beautifully articulated frame of fine, sturdy tannin. Mouth-filling fruit pervades the finish. Screw cap.

McLaren Vale Delivers Top Mediterranean Styled RedsA striking wine for its extreme depth, as well as freshness. Ripe dark plums and blackberries bathe the nose and palate. This is lead in a fuller-bodied direction and makes a very youthful, bold and stoic impression on the palate. Fine now, but better in three to four years. Screw cap.

COMMENTARY: The 2018 Cenyth Rosé of Cabernet Franc is a straightaway success. This wine is fresh and bountiful. TASTING NOTES: This wine brightens the glass with fresh strawberries in its aromas and a little bit of earth in the flavors. Enjoy its lively and persistent personality with fresh salmon and avocado handrolls.

Deep ruby to the rim. Distinctly sauvage scents of cassis, blackberry, cherry, meat, boudin noir, leather and minerals. Thick, fine-grained and suave but also quite powerful; a bit wilder in the middle palate than the Désir, with the leathery quality drying the finish a bit. This, too, is extremely young and powerful but boasts a creamy sweetness already. More obviously tannic than the last, barely avoiding dryness on the end, but then this is more of a Pauillac blend. Not as satisfying as the Désir but quite broad on the palate. This very wild wine may be a bit leathery and rude for some tasters. Turned drier with extended aeration. Both of my samples were downright sauvage.

Bright ruby to the rim. Musky aromas of mountain blackberry and minerals, plus a whiff of leather and a violet high note. Plush, broad and utterly seamless on entry, but with the lively violet element giving definition to the fully ripe, sweet black fruits in the middle palate. A wave of fine tannins dusts the palate and teeth on the sweet but youthfully medicinal back end, which boasts terrific, slow-building length. This beauty delivers wonderfully plush fruit and considerable power without coming across as hot. (from a vineyard planted at 750 feet)

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Moving to the Chardonnays, the 2018 Chardonnay Bear Point Vineyard comes from the Alexander Valley (as do all the releases from this estate) and spent 11 months in 57% new French oak. Buttered orchard fruits, honeyed toast, spice, and some subtle oak notes all emerge from the glass. A richer, yet beautifully balanced Chardonnay, it's already drinking nicely yet should evolve for a solid 4-5 years, possibly longer.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018I love the appellation series from this estate and tasting through them is a great way to learn about the difference in regions on the West Coast. Starting with the 2018 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, it comes from multiple sites and saw 15% stems and 20% new French oak. Its deeper ruby/plum hue gives way to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir with a fresh, nicely structured style as well as terrific notes of black raspberries, strawberries, dried herbs, wood smoke, and earth. It's balanced, has nicely integrated acidity, and is just a smoking good Pinot Noir.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018From the Russian River and 40% destemmed and aged nine months in 30% new French oak, the 2018 Pinot Noir Parsons Vineyard offers a great nose of mulled black raspberries, red plums, new leather, candied violets, and peppery herbs. Juicy, fresh, and medium-bodied on the palate, it has wonderful balance and is a delicious Pinot Noir that's going to keep for 5-7 years as well.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018The 2017 Chardonnay is terrific, with pretty pineapple, white flowers, and white peach notes as well as a medium-bodied, elegant style on the palate. Coming all from the Alexander Valley and brought up in 39% new French oak, it's beautifully done and should have 4-6 years of prime drinking.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Another Russian River release, the 2017 Pinot Noir Fogveil comes from three estate vineyards: Barbieri, Olivet, and Piner. Aged 14 months in 37% new French oak, it gives up medium to full-bodied notes of baking spices, mulled raspberries, black cherries, candied flowers, and toasty oak. This rich, nicely concentrated 2017 has a great mid-palate as well as texture and is another beautiful wine in the lineup.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Coming from a site in the Russian River and brought up in just over one-third new French oak, the 2017 Pinot Noir Bellflower is another spicy, complex Pinot Noir that has a great core of ripe strawberry and raspberry fruit to go with lots of spice, floral, and earthy notes, medium to full body, a rounded texture, and a great finish. It's a polished, layered, seamless wine from this team, and one of my favorites in the lineup.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018From the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Sable Mountain Vineyard offers more melon and a touch of pineapple fruit as well as subtle background oak, medium body, nicely integrated acidity, and a richer, Montrachet-like character. It's one of the standouts here and well worth seeking out.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Named for Don & Jennifer Hartford's son MacLean and from a vineyard located east of the town of Occidental, the 2017 Pinot Noir Maclean's Block spent 17 months in 38% new French oak and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Spiced cherries, mulberries, dried flowers, black tea, and some forest floor/autumn leaf notes all emerge from the glass, and it's one of the plumper, more sweetly fruited, and slightly straightforward wines in the lineup. Nevertheless, it brings the fruit and texture and is a textbook Russian River Pinot Noir.

A fine example of tempered California chardonnay produced in one of cooler northern appellation of Russian River. Crisp pear, apple blossom, toast and almond are delicately expressed on the nose and palate. Tension from acid adds lift and definition to the wine while the judicious use of oak gently balances the fruit. A sophisticated new world chardonnay that will equally please lovers of classic white Burgundy.

From the cooler Russian River Valley providing some of California's best chardonnays, comes a ripe, rich yet elegant version with a fine beam of acidity buoying the California opulence. The nose is generous and custardy with peach/mango fruit, tobacco-like spice, a hint of fresh mint and citrus. There is gloss to the texture but again this fine acidity keeping it all alive. The focus and length are excellent.

Cenyth Sonoma County Rosé is a story that goes beyond wine. While the wine is well-made and reaches the head of the class in its genre, the vision combines nearly two decades of friendship and the understanding of the place that makes it all real. Hélène Seillan and Julia Jackson, the architects of Cenyth, are the reason why this wine is a cut above others. The 2019 Cenyth Rosé of Cabernet Franc is fresh, beautiful, and seamless. Its aromas and flavors of mineral, tart cherries and mineral notes stay persistent and crisp in the finish. Pair it with grilled chicken thighs over a bed of baby spinach and arugula.