The Siduri La Encantada Vineyard is a hedonistic wine. Semi opaque, it offers pure and spicy dark cherry and plum fruit on nose with a touch of cola. On the palate it is silky smooth, ripe and rich tasting with a hint of chocolate on the finish. Originally planted by Richard Sanford, La Encantada is located close to the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard on Santa Rosa Rd.

Semi-opaque in color, the Siduri Clos Pepe Vineyard offers a spicy dark fruited nose. It is full bodied and elegant on the palate with excellent concentration of ripe dark red cherry fruit complemented by herbal brambly notes. A wine packed with flavor. Located in Hwy 246 and planted in the mid-1990s to mostly the Pommard clone, Clos Pepe has established itself as one of the top vineyards of the Sta. Rita Hills.

A dark earthy wine, the Pinot Noir Gran Moraine Vineyard offers ripe dark berry and dried dark cherry fruit flavors. It is elegant and superbly balanced with a soft texture, dense extract, and savory notes. Still quite youthful, it displays firm round tannins and a long, rich finish. Yamhill Carlton is located in a relatively warm area of the Willamette Valley with the earliest harvest dates, but Gran Moraine and its 220 acres is located to the west and receives a cooling influence from the Pacific.

The Pinot Noir Barbieri Vineyard offers aromas of dark red berries and plum with spice notes. It has a silky texture and a full mouth feel with considerable purity of flavor. It is an elegant wine, beautifully balanced and persistent on the finish a good sense of refinement. The Barbieri Ranch was originally planted by an Italian immigrant, Italo Barbieri, on Olivet Rd northwest of Santa Rosa. It was later (1970) purchased by the De Loach family and when they filed for bankruptcy in 2003, it was resold to the Boisset family, and the old vine Zinfandel was ripped out in favor of Pinot Noir.

The Pinot Noir Perry Ranch Vineyard is light bodied with a savory mid-palate.It offers a silky elegant mouth feel, pure light red fruit flavors with notes of earth, firm acidity, fine tannins, and excellent focus. A significant portion of the fruit is whole cluster fermented with a significant amount of whole clusters; matured in 40% new French oak. Perry Ranch (formerly part of the Keefer Ranch) is a 16 acre vineyard subject to intense morning fog planted in Goldridge soils and managed by the Dutton family in the southwestern part of the Green River Valley.

Medium to medium dark red. Nice dark cherry and pomegranate with floral notes and an earthy/underbrush edge. Good focus, firm backbone, nice savory and brambly edge. Dry finish. A versatile food wine. Sourced from three appellations: Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountains, and Eola-Amity.

The Pinot Noir Parsons’ Vineyard displays a dark garnet ruby color and intense aromas of dark ripe cherry and plum fruit. It is full-bodied on the palate with big fruit flavors and mouth feel and is rich in alcohol with hints of forest floor, tea and earth. Parsons’ is a relatively warm site located west of Santa Rosa on the Santa Rosa plain.

The Russian River Valley Pinot is a pretty wine, offering very fresh scents of red cherry and raspberry with a slight candied edge. The wine is fruit forward with pure flavors and a suave mouth feel. Finishes with good length.

The Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard displays a medium ruby color. It exhibits lovely freshness with notes of cherries, red plums, tangy mulberry and hints of herbs. It’s a vivacious wine with an uplifted finish. Although technically on the Santa Rosa plain, Lingenfelder is a cool climate, 3 acre vineyard west of Fulton planted in 1996 with a mix of Pommard and Martini clones. About 40% whole clusters on the Pommard which lends a brightness to the wine.

Medium dark ruby. The Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard offers earthy aromas and flavors of cherry. pomegranate and smoky spice. The palate reveals brambly notes of blueberry and blackberry with moderate intensity. The wine is well-balanced with good acidity, fine grained tannins, and a persistent finish. Ewald is a 3.1 acre vineyard of clones 115 and 777 located directly behind the Kistler winery in the Vine Hill area of Forestville. Matured in 30% new French oak for 14 months.

The Pinot Noir John Sebastiano displays a medium ruby color and aromas of spicy and brambly red berry fruit. On the palate it is seamless with an elegant texture, good concentration and a long finish. Planted in 2007, John Sebastiano is a relative newcomer to Sta. Rita Hills; it’s located on the eastern end of the appellation with steep vineyards and highly varied aspects, some exposed to strong winds.

The Siduri Santa Rita Hills displays pretty red fruit with a touch of spice. Full in the mouth, it is nicely balanced with good acidity and a pleasant finish. An easy drinking wine.

Medium ruby red. Red fruit shows on the palate with herbal notes. A light bodied, easy drinking wine showing dried red cherry on the palate.

Red wine might be the perfect fit with breakfast; much like a Bloody Mary. French Toast goes very well with Oregon’s La Crema Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2018. The light oak in the wine melds with the honey and vanilla in the French toast, and if bacon or ham is on the menu, the pairing would be exquisite.

Very deep, dense glass-staining purple colour. A dusty, earthy, oaky bouquet, which turns very sweetly-fruited on the palate, soft and succulent, almost syrupy, but nicely balanced in the final analysis. A big, hedonistic style of shiraz that will age well. (3% malbec, 10% whole bunches, 50% whole berries. Matured in a mix of barriques, foudre and puncheons, 30% new oak)

The 2018 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is medium ruby-purple and dark-fruited on the nose, with black cherries and berries accented by forest floor, mushroom, spices and minty touches. The medium-bodied palate offers bright, earth-laced fruits with a grainy frame, good freshness and long finish.

Medium ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River opens with dark cherries and warm blackberries with accents of potpourri, dried citrus peel and dusty earth. The palate is light to medium-bodied with good concentration of spicy fruits, a soft frame and juicy finish.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Perry Ranch used to be known as Keefer Ranch in the Siduri portfolio, but it will be called Perry Ranch moving forward. Medium ruby, it opens with touches of tar and fragrant earth over a core of cranberries and cherries with nuances of dried leaves and spices. Medium-bodied, it has bright, open-knit, spicy fruits with a grainy frame and long, juicy finish.

It’s no secret that I love wine, food… and all things French. When I received, as a sample, a bottle of Les Cadrans de Lassègue 2016 ($30) located on the Côte de Saint- Émilion, I knew I’d be impressed. This light, fresh wine from Château Lassègue is the estate’s second label launched in 2008 and offers less oak influence than the estate’s flagship wine, Lassègue...Les Cadrans de Lassègue 2016 is a glorious expression of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from 40 to 50 year-old vines grown on clay and limestone soil. On the nose, I discovered intense aromas of blackberries, rich plums, crushed blueberries, black cherries, dried lavender, earth and wet moss. Lush, round flavors of herbs, blue and black fruit, green tea, oak and spice were lifted with bright acidity and soft tannins. A bonus? Its finish offered another beam of acidity and flavor. Aged for 10 months in 20% new French oak, this beautiful, refreshing wine can be enjoyed now or over the next several years.

This light-yellow colored Chardonnay opens with a musty oak, lemon and pineapple bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied and slightly acidic. The flavor profile is an oak influenced baked apple and Bosc pear blend with notes of ginger and cooking spices. I also detected hints of almond butter and chamomile tea. The finish is dry and its flavors linger for quite a while. This rich and flavorful Chard would pair well with lobster bisque.

Soft herbal and berry nose, deep color, rich, lush with velvety texture; dense and complex with notes of spice, toast, blackberry and mocha, long and lovely.

A stunning Classico with deep color, smooth texture and luscious berry fruit; structured and juicy with exceptional length.

This very attractive and fragrant wine composed of predominantly Cabernet Franc (73% - from 16 different blocks of vines, along with 17% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) needs some time to open, despite the fact that it is showing decidedly tertiary aromas. While the aromas are immediately inviting, the palate initially feels a bit tough and reserved. The Franc gives notes of tobacco leaf - even cigar wrapper - along with dried cranberries and cherries. There's also a very evident scorched earth note. So Italian, so Tuscan, this is a wine for a table set with hearty fare. The tannins and acidity hold equal voices here. There is a toughness to both that give an angularity to the wine, despite its full body and ample alcohol - the latter thanks to the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The big positive is that there is no obvious mouth-coating glycerol and the high-ish abv is well contained. The finish lingers with dried sage and savory spices. It's a dramatic, meaty wine that is worth a try when you want a steak knife sort of wine in your glass. Drinking well now, this is hitting its autumn. Drink: 2020-23

Chateau Lassègue is an 18th Century wine estate located in the Saint-Émilion district, arguably Bordeau’s most historic due to winemaking dating from the 4th Century Gallo-Roman era. The Chateau is listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. In 2003 the Chateau was purchased from the Freylon Family by Jackson Family Wines along with partners Pierre and Monique Seillan. Pierre, a French winemaker with nearly five decades international experience, has been involved with JFW on several ventures including being Vigneron for Vérité and Anakota in Sonoma County, California, Château Lassègue and Château Vignot in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, and Arcanum and Valadorna in Tuscany.Merlot, the major constituent of this wine at 60% and the mainstay of Saint-Émilion’s blended wines, was first cited in the mid-1780s relative to Bordeaux’s Right Bank, and by the mid-19th Century plantings were seen on Bordeaux’s Left Bank, as well as in Italy. Since, Merlot has been disbursed widely, not only in France, but also in California, Italy, Chile, and eastern Europe. Often used as a blending partner to soften Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot gained popularity in the USA as a stand-alone varietal when the market realized that aging was not a prerequisite prior to consumption.Merlot prefers a cooler clime than Cabernet Sauvignon, and to produce focused, high quality wine, attentive, knowledgeable viticulturists are preferred. At its best Merlot yields softly textured wines with lush flavors. The winemaking of Merlot generally falls into one of two main styles. One, a slow, longer ferment, is believed to produce a lighter, more elegant wine. The other is a speedier, briefer ferment purportedly yielding wines with a luscious, exotic character and flavors. The particular grapes used may lean towards one of those two styles.The deep roots on Chateau Lassègue’s 40 to 50 year old vines, plus the water retention ability of the Chateau’s clay-limestone soils permitted access to adequate moisture to support development over the dry, warm summer of 2016. Fermentation was in stainless with élevage in 70% new French oak.This 2016 displays a beautiful onyx in color with shades of ruby glimmering through while exposing a violet rim. Aromas of fresh sliced black plum, pungent crème de cassis, black cherries, blackberry jam, and violets. This is a highly concentrated wine, yet the bright acidity and notable fresh fruit lend contrasting finesse to the touch and feel in a well integrated whole. Such a really big wine that keeps on beckoning into the finish, and to the last drop.For an accompaniment, I knew rotisserie chicken would be a good match. But I decided to put some zing in the chicken by frying slices of it briefly on medium-high heat along with, what else, diced garlic cloves! The pairing was absolutely perfect with this Merlot, 33% Cab Franc, and 7% Cab Sauvignon blend!

A damp and salty perfume of fog air over strawberry rhubarb gives this sexy Pinot its unique temptation. There’s an underlying sensuality here, fuller-bodied, and yet maintaining svelte structure and silkiness on top of boosted acidity. A bright and juicy core of bing cherries, along with soft melty marshmallows gives it food porn delectability before floral effervescence and a tiny sprinkle of backend spice caps it off. This is delicious, well-priced Pinot Noir that checks all of the boxes and punches well above its weight class. While it may be devoid of earthier nuances, it capitalizes on incredibly succulent fruit and a lean, clean mouthfeel. This is well-pedigreed stuff, and stands as one of the best Pinots I’ve had in recent memory that lands under $30. A definite repurchase.