From vines planted in 1997 (the first crop from Garys' Vineyard was in 1999) and all Pisoni clone (which is rumored to be from la Tache), the 2014 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard offers textbook notes of dried earth, savory red and black fruits, dried flowers and a hint of bouquet garni. Medium-bodied, supple and elegant on the palate, it has a killer texture, impeccable balance and a great finish. I went back to this bottle after three days of being open and it was still terrific.

Vivid purple. Assertive aromas of black raspberry, cherry cola and spicecake pick up floral and woodsmoke nuances with air. Juicy, focused and alluringly sweet, offering juicy red and dark berry and cola flavors that deepen and spread out slowly on the back half. The floral note comes back emphatically on the strikingly persistent, fruit-driven finish, which features even tannins and a touch of star anise.

Limpid ruby. A heady, exotically perfumed bouquet evokes candied red and dark berries, Indian spices and rose pastille. Sappy, penetrating and alluringly sweet, offering juicy black raspberry, spicecake and cola flavors and a suggestion of licorice. Displays impressive power as well as elegance; smooth tannins come up slowly to frame the sappy, extremely persistent fruit and floral notes.

From a site on the edges of Santa Rosa, this vineyard-designate shows a wealth of baked strawberry and is noteworthy for its vibrantly fruity aromatics. Ripe, velvety and lush on the palate, it delivers sensually and deliciously, with a lasting imprint of cola spice on the finish.

Full ruby-red. Fresh red berries, candied flowers and Asian spices on the highly perfumed nose and palate. Shows impressive energy and focus but doesn't lack for depth of flavor. I like the blend of power and vivacity here. Racy, appealingly pure Pinot with excellent finishing clarity and smooth tannins that emerge slowly.

Medium-deep ruby color; earthy, spicy aromas with dark cherry notes; rich though tight black cherry flavors with savory spice and grilled game notes; good structure and balance. Rich, tight flavors highlight this Pinot. Originally published in issue #103.

Medium-deep ruby color; earthy, spicy aromas with dark cherry notes; rich though tight black cherry flavors with savory spice and grilled game notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Rich, tight flavors highlight this Pinot.

Medium ruby color; forward, spicy cherry aromas with some earthy notes; rich, ripe bright cherry flavors with some spice and oak notes; silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Bright, forward Pinot with a lot of flavor. Originally published in issue #99

Brilliant ruby-red. Smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola and mocha, with a floral quality building with air. Dense and velvety in texture, offering sappy red and dark berry flavors and complicating notes of star anise and candied rose. Silky tannins give grip to the long, sweet, expansive finish, with the floral and cola notes echoing strongly. This sexy wine is dangerously drinkable right now.

Delivers a rich, focused, dense core of blackberry, black licorice, cedar and lavender, gaining depth, length and persistence on a long, full, layered finish.

Delivers a rich, focused, dense core of blackberry, black licorice, cedar and lavender, gaining depth, length and persistence on a long, full, layered finish.

Coming from three separate blocks in the vineyard (two of which are completely exposed to the brutal Sta. Rita winds), the 2013 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is juicy and fresh, with lively black cherry, currants, violets, spring flowers and spice characteristics giving way to a terrific palate. Medium+-bodied, silky, refined and layered, with excellent mid-palate concentration and overall balance, it's another terrific 2013 that will drink nicely for 5-7 years.

Vying for top honors among Siduri’s impressive lot of 2013 Pinots, this involving and very well-crafted offering is as long on precision and winemaking polish as it is deep and defined in its optimally ripened, distinctly cherry-like fruit. It is at once ripe and lively with exemplary balance and a long, layered finish, and, while big on flavor, it is wonderfully lively and always light on its feet. It is the kind of Pinot that will grow and last for a long time, but, even though there are good reasons for waiting, it is absolutely delicious right now.

Ripe raspberry juice is spiced heavily with cloves rendered in butter and flashes of black pepper on this wine by Adam Lee. It’s fresh and flavorful on the powerful palate, with lots of black spice, vibrant berry juice and fresh thyme on the edges. This wine is alive with energy and verve.

All types of tea, from black to nettle to Greek mountain to chamomile, show on this wine’s herbally powered nose, with bits of sagebrush and wild berries thrown in for good measure. Tea elements also power the palate, along with cranberry fruit and raspberry leaf, held together with grippy tannins, at least for this grape.

Fresh raspberries, red cherries and even blackberries arise on the juicy nose of this wine from Adam Lee, but it’s lifted by wild mint, hummingbird sage and damp coyote scrub. The palate is very herbally spiced, with thyme, marjoram, black cardamom and charred pine, laid across dried strawberries, cranberries and sour cherries, all tied together by serious grip…

Ruby-red. Lively and sharply focused on the exotically perfumed nose, displaying aromas of raspberry liqueur, cherry and potpourri. Juicy and delineated on the palate, conveying very good depth and alluring sweetness to its mineral-accented red fruit preserve and floral pastille flavors. The sweet, penetrating, gently tannic finish clings with striking vibrancy and floral persistence.

Showing the tension and focus that's common from this vineyard, the 2013 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard is harvest from three different blocks in the vineyard, with the harvest between each block spanning as much as five weeks. Bright, perfumed and lively, with excellent ripeness in its cassis and black raspberry fruit, violet and wet stone aromas and flavors, it opens up nicely with time in the glass and has beautiful minerality that comes through on the finish. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and structured, with notable tannin, it should benefit from a year in bottle and have upward of a decade of overall longevity.

Winemaker Adam Lee goes big on this bottling from the vineyard planted by the two Garys (Pisoni and Franscioni), showing bacon fat, blackberries and graphite on the nose. Once sipped, it veers more tart, with cranberry and just-ripe raspberry picking up some complexity from thyme herbs.

Vivid ruby-red. The nose offers an array of fresh dark berry and floral scents, along with suggestions of cola, incense and allspice. Sweet and expansive on the palate, displaying intense black raspberry and lavender pastille flavors that deepen and spread out with aeration. Smooth tannins come up slowly to add grip to the long, fruit-driven finish. Distinctly suave Pinot with serious sex appeal.

Brilliant ruby. A complex, mineral-accented bouquet of red fruit preserves, incense and rose oil, with a smoky note emerging slowly. On the palate, sweet, penetrating raspberry and rose pastille flavors deepen with air while maintaining vibrancy. Distinctly suave and open for business, finishing with wonderful clarity and length and no rough edges.

Medium-deep ruby color; rich and forward aromas of cherry and spicy oak; deep, vibrant black cherry flavors with spice and dark chocolate notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Deep, rich Pinot with a lot of spice and structure.

All about finesse and elegance, the 2013 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard is a classic expression of the vineyard. Giving up beautiful notes of Bing cherries, rose petal, mint and sappy flowers/underbrush, the acidity that's so common from this vineyard is nicely woven into the wines fruit and structure. Medium-bodied, elegant and silky, it has a lip-smacking finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. Enjoy this pretty, deftly textured and elegant Pinot Noir over the coming 5-6 years.

Brilliant ruby. A heady, exotically perfumed bouquet of candied raspberry, cherry-cola, anise and woodsmoke. Sappy, penetrating and alluringly sweet, offering palate-staining red and dark berry flavors and a hint of mocha. Smoky minerals add lift and cut to the strikingly long, incisive finish framed by silky tannins.