Hints of cedar and vanilla accent cherries and raspberries on the nose of the 2017 Ironheart Shiraz. It showcases the vintage's cooler character in its red fruit, but doesn't lack for ripeness or power. It's full-bodied, supple and velvety on the palate, with great persistence on the mouthwatering finish. Stylistically, it's a hypothetical blend of the 2015 and 2016 vintages—and a nicely balanced Shiraz for drinking over the next decade-plus.

The debut vintage, the 2017 The Nest Cabernet Franc is a stellar effort. Perhaps because of the cool vintage, it captures those elusive herbal-floral notions that make Cabernet Franc special, with scents from black tea to violets accenting the cherry fruit core. It's medium to full-bodied, with creamy-supple tannins and bright acids. Engaging and complex, it finishes long, vibrant and refreshing. Bravo!

My favorite vintage of this wine to date, the 2017 Roux Beaute Roussanne displays lovely honeyed aromas and scents of orange marmalade and pineapple. It's medium to full-bodied, with a plush, silky feel on the palate and long, white pepper-laced finish. Two-thirds of the final blend spent 131 days on skins, while one-third underwent normal, off-the-skins white winemaking. It should drink well for at least 4-5 years.

The 2017 Ovitelli Grenache spent 138 days on skins in its ceramic eggs. It's floral and roseate on the nose, with notes of cranberry and pie cherry as well. Medium to full-bodied yet taut on the palate, its slightly grippy tannins ultimately turn soft and delicate on the long, tart finish.

In its first vintage, the 2017 King's Wood Shiraz has made a splashy debut. Made with 25% whole clusters and aged in a 25-hectoliter foudre, the nose boasts subtle shadings of dried spices and cracked pepper set against a backdrop of boysenberry and blueberry. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied, silky but firm in feel, with a crisp, mouthwatering finish. A modern, stylish take on South Australian Shiraz worth trying, especially for consumers who haven't kept up with regional trends.

Produced in ceramic eggs (hence the name), the 2018 Ovitelli Grenache comes from a vineyard block just adjacent to the High Sands block. Scents of Provençal herbs join strawberries and raspberries on the nose, while the medium-bodied palate is fine and silky, with a long, long finish. This remarkable effort spent a whopping 158 days on the skins post-fermentation, resulting in an exceedingly elegant tannin structure.

The 2017 High Sands Grenache comes from a cool vintage and hence had a longer hang time than most others and a higher pH, which makes it paradoxically more approachable than some warmer years. Delicate raspberry and strawberry nuances mark the nose, as the bulk of the wine was aged in older barrels, with some spending time in ceramic egg as well. It's medium-bodied and silky in texture, with a lingering red-fruit finish.

Produced from a 50-50 mix of whole clusters and destemmed fruit, the 2017 Elder Hill Grenache features aromas of ripe cherries and dry earth. Matured in older (four or more years old) Burgundy barrels, it's medium to full-bodied, framed by soft, dusty tannins. Savory notions of dried spices—pepper, clove and allspice—linger elegantly on the long finish.

The 2017 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty classically made and styled, with notes of cassis, cedar and vanilla on the nose. Befitting the cooler vintage, it's a bit more medium-bodied and streamlined than some other years, with ample acidity and firm tannins on the crisp, tangy finish. It's a structural wine, rather than a generous, plush one, that's for sure, but it should come good in a few years' time.

Half the 2018 Roux Beaute Roussanne was fermented in ceramic eggs and stayed on skins for 193 days; the other half fermented in eggs, but with no skins. The final blend incorporates 40% skin-contact component and 60% off-skins. There is a subtle "skins-y" note on the nose, accenting the pear and pineapple fruit. This is a medium to full-bodied wine despite weighing in at only 13.5% alcohol, with a slightly creamy, silky texture and a dry, gently tannic finish.

While I'm rarely a fan of Australian Merlot, Hickinbotham does a better job than most with this finicky variety. Its 2017 The Revivalist Merlot is a bit herbal on the nose, blending those green shadings with tomato and red plum scents. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied and supple, but with firm acids and a crisp, mouthwatering finish that picks up cedary nuances. It should be uncommonly long-lived—drinking well for up to a decade or so.

The product of a cool vintage, Hickinbotham's 2017 Brooks Road Shiraz is a tart, intense offering. Scents of mixed berries and pastry crust mark the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is tight and taut, juicy but a bit ungenerous. The finish suggests more potential, offering mouthwatering acidity and fine-grained tannins. I'd suggest holding this for at least another year, giving it time to relax a bit and reach its potential.

The second vintage of this wine, the 2018 King's Wood Shiraz comes from a single east-facing parcel, includes 25% whole clusters and aged in a 2,500-liter foudre. At only 13.5% alcohol, it may surprise people who are expecting a traditional South Australian style of Shiraz, but it's meant to. Spicy and slightly herbal on the nose, it offers boysenberry fruit and an uncommon sense of balance. Medium-bodied and suave in feel, it's an elegant, refined style of Shiraz that can be consumed over the next 6-7 years.

Easy to drink, and lip smacking good, may be the best way to describe the initial offering of Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc from LaCrema. This 2019 Sauvignon Blance is another good choice for a "Smooth Operator", summertime wine.The nose is quite fragrant with a fresh apple scent accompanied by a brisk citrus breeze. The flavors are ripe golden delicious apple, with a little melon and a tangy lemon backbone. The finish is clean and pleasant, although it fades a little bit at the end. The alcohol content is 13.5%, and Norm's score is 89.A bottle of the 2019 LaCrema was a great choice for our broiled salmon and zucchini- yellow squash medley. This one would also be a great choice for a chilled shrimp salad. Bring on the Dog Days of summer, we are ready for it!

What to drink this weekend, a chilled red like Les Cadrans de LassegueI often reach for chilled white wine in the type of swelter we've been having the past few weeks. Sometimes, it slips my mind that red wines can be chilled, too. So I'm grateful for the sample of Les Cadrans de Lassègue 2016 I was sent, the reminder that a chilled red is a summer treat, and the pairing suggestion that was spot on.This Saint-Émilion Bordeaux is light, fresh and fruity. A 90 percent Merlot/10 percent Cabernet Franc blend, it's aged in 30 to 40 percent new French oak for 6-8 months. Violets, fruits like cherry and plum, and some herbs and earthiness show on the nose. It's a balanced wine all the way - medium body, acidity and tannins allow the wine's fruitiness to shine when you sip. A fantastic value for its $30 SRP.

Wine of the Week: Beat the heat with sauvignon blancs Every time I try the 2018 Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma County, I am momentarily transported back to a porch overlooking the Russian River Valley. The wine is partially fermented in neutral oak and has a touch of Semillon blended, which accents the charming scents of white peaches, melon and nectarines in the bouquet.Bright flavors of melon, Lychee and passion fruit dominate on the front of the palate, while grilled nectarine notes accent the crisp finish. Enjoy with your favorite rocking chair or hammock.

If you need a change from the Red Blends you're currently drinking, give this Bordeaux blend from Italy a chance. It has the powerful depth of fruit and grippy tannins you love and heightens everything on the palate with good acidity. This is a wonderfully balanced wine that can go a few more years in the bottle, but can also be enjoyed now.

White pinot noir is becoming more popular in California. Whole clusters of grapes are immediately pressed after harvest, so the wine has no time for color. Viscous with white peach and sweet apple flavors with hints of white raisins and honey.

Zepaltas combines co-fermented pinot noir and pinot gris – the two “Ps” – to create a unique wine that for us was like a cross between rosé and Beaujolais. Bold and fruit, it has a candy-like appeal and juicy strawberry flavors. Zepaltis calls it a “super fun wine to chill.”

Lighter in color, this medium-bodied and elegant wine has a Burgundian feel. Low in alcohol at 13.1 percent, it has raspberry aromas with cherry flavors.

The most complex and boldest of the pinot noirs, the Afleet has a reserve quality. Rich, layered and tannic, it shows off floral aromas and an earthy combination of red and black fruit.

The meat, the bones, the sinew, the pucker, seems to be a theme for the top flight reds of Yangarra. The soils kept alive with biodynamic activity, a plot here set aside for this wine. Holds 35% new oak but smells a bit more, tastes a bit less. This is beautiful, held to medium weight but with a cornucopia of spice an absolute and dominating feature. Garam masala, Chinese five spice, paprika in there and a dash of white pepper, it’s hauntingly scented and flavours are fresh albeit doused in this souk. Ripe and dark fruit characters, a touch of rum n raisin, dried plum and earthy berries. Shale-like minerality here too. Magnificent length unfurling over layers of fine, silty tannin and cool, faintly herbal acidity. Shapeless but tight, lacy and yet stacked with flavour, this is such a great shiraz.

Ye olde bush vines and biodynamic farming. All old oak here. Inky thing this release. More brooding. More/different tannin. Quite rich and ripe feeling, slippery texture segues to sheets on sheets of grippy, puckering, powdery tannin. It’s quite brutish and rough house as a release under this High Sands guise, not lesser for it, but misses a little of the finesse of previous. Booze soaked cherry scents and flavours, a bit breathy and warming in sniff and tongue, around this, lavish spice, ripe fruit, dried fruit and savoury things like salted liquorice, salt bush and faint game meat characters. Packs in plenty of detail, lots to sink teeth into.

The Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard is an elegant wine offering a medium ruby color and aromas of black cherry fruit. On the palate it displays a beautiful silky texture with perfect balance and acidity, round firm tannins and a lengthy finish. A gorgeous wine! Premier Pacific Vineyards developed this vineyard in the early 2000s. It’s located due east of the Van Duzer corridor, which allows cool Pacific breezes to flow through, decreasing temperatures beginning in the late afternoon, helping grapes retain acidity, thickening skins, and firming tannins. Jackson Family purchased the 115 acre Zena Crown vineyard in 2013, their first foray into Oregon. The southwest facing vineyard is diverse in terms of clones, aspects, and altitude, ranging from 300-650’.

The Pinot Noir Pratt Vineyard-Sexton Ranch is a beautiful wine offering pure dark red berry aromas and flavors. It is soft and delicious on the attack and is intensely flavored of dark berries, black cherry and dried herbs. It reveals an elegant texture and mouth feel and is beautifully balanced with soft round tannins and a long finish. The Pratt Vineyard is south of Graton and west of Sebastopol in an area known as the Sebastopol Hills. It was developed by Jim Pratt in the late 1990s. It’s a southwest facing vineyard at 453’ with 2697 GDD and Goldridge soils.