USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two A barrel sample, the 2017 Pinot Noir Pierre Leon is pale ruby-purple in color with a nose of blueberry, black cherry and black berries with notions of tobacco, soil and herbs framed by classy new oak. Medium-bodied, it's lively and vibrant in the mouth, with wonderful sweet dark fruits, layers of exotic spice and savory notes. It has firm, powerful, grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity carrying the very long, layered finish. This is very promising.

Saturated ruby. Brooding aromas of crystalized blackberry and cassis, licorice, minerals and violet. Very intensely flavored and bright, with terrific underlying structure; already boasts impressive complexity. Finishes firmly tannic and very long. For the first time, this wine is completely from Sonoma County fruit.

Today the 2011 Le Desir is much more aromatically expressive than it was last year. Savory and floral notes meld into sweet tobacco, mint, licorice and dark red fruit, all in a sexy, nuanced wine bursting with intensity. I can't wait to see how the Desir, and the rest of the 2011s here, turn out once they have been bottled.

The 2011 La Muse is a beautiful wine. Here the fruit shows redder-hued tons of dark raspberry, plums, mint, crushed rocks and savory herbs. The 2011 isn-t as exuberant as most other vintages, instead it is a wine that impresses for its length, inner energy and long, impeccable finish. Today, the 2011 comes across as a bit compact relative to most versions, but it has considerable potential. This is a terrific showing. The blend is 89% Merlot, 7% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Franc. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.

Bright, full ruby. Pungent, slightly raw aromas of black cherry, minerals, menthol, licorice and nutty oak. Then fat and sweet but closed; unusually backward for young merlot. Best today on the sweet, perfumed back end, which features building, tooth-dusting tannins.

Grilled herbs, smoke, tobacco, wild flowers and black fruit explode from the glass in the 2011 La Joie. This is a huge structured vintage for La Jose, with tons of intensity and sheer power. In keeping with the style of the year, the flavors are quite savory and earthy. Imagine Old World Cabernet-inflected fruit meets California ripeness. The 2011 has fleshed out nicely over the last year.

Saturated ruby. Mineral-driven aromas of crushed cassis, licorice and graphite. Much more backward than the Muse, and a bit angular and monolithic in comparison. But this brooding young cabernet-based blend also boasts terrific intensity to its crushed black fruit, licorice and violet flavors. Finishes with serious tannic clout.

The inky/purple-tinged 2007 La Joie exhibits the most cedar, fruitcake, incense, tobacco, roasted herb, and creme de cassis characteristics. Graphite-like flavors appear on the palate of this multidimensional, layered 2007. The huge finish (it lasts nearly a minute) reveals excruciatingly high tannins. Despite the sweetness of the tannins, this wine will need 4-6 years of bottle age, and should keep for 30 or more years. (Not yet released) With Bordeaux winemaker Pierre Seillan in charge, owner Jess Jackson has clearly positioned Verite as one of the two or three flagship wines in his impressive empire. These cuvees represent California versions of Bordeaux appellations, with the Merlot-dominated La Muse very Pomerol-like, the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated La Joie a hypothetical California version of a Medoc, and the St.-Emilion look-alike, the Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend, Le Desir. These wines are fashioned from the finest Sonoma vineyard sites owned by Jackson, and are meant for long-term aging. In 2007, the Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) grown in California’s North Coast exhibit sweet tannins as well as superb fragrance and purity. Yet, Verite’s wines are among the more structured, dense, and powerfully backward of the vintage.

Another famulous offering, the '99 Chardonnay Upper Barn, is still in barrel. It reveals a powerful, smoky, leesy bouquet of buttered tangerines, honeysuckle, mineral, & citrus oils. Authoritative but restrained, with admirable length, this Chardonnay has super potential.

The 2013 Chardonnay Bear Point possesses a lot of minerality, crushed rock, white currant and quince characteristics.

The 2013 Chardonnay Estate Vineyards reveals lots of tropical fruit, especially tangerine oil.

The numerous Chardonnay vineyards are planted at 800 to as high as 1,800 feet (in the case of the Gravel Bench, Upper Barn and Broken Road vineyards). All are 100% Chardonnays largely made from the Old Wente clone with a small percentage of the Hyde clone, and are fermented with indigenous yeasts. Almost all of them spend 10-11 months in various percentages of new French oak, ranging from a low of 44% (the Estate Chardonnay) to a high of 100% (the Gravel Bench Chardonnay. The differences between the various cuvées are very subtle as they are all relatively full-bodied, rich, and aromatic with natural textures. As the scores attest, they are far more alike than dissimilar. My favorites include the 2013 Chardonnay Gravel Bench, which reveals amazing texture and richness as well as a honeyed crème brûlée intensity and striking minerality.

I loved the 2014 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard, and as in 2013, it might be the top Sta. Rita Hills release from Adam. Loaded with notions of spice, white pepper, dried rose petals and dried violets, this beauty is medium-bodied, graceful and pretty on the palate, with perfectly integrated acidity and tannin. It shows the forward nature of the vintage, yet has plenty of class.

Maybe the best wine from Adam in 2014 is the 2014 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard. Giving up the classic minerality that's common from this site, it has lots of sweet black raspberry and violet nuances, medium-bodied depth and richness and a fresh, focused, elegant style on the palate. It showed more tannic structure with time in the glass, yet given the fruit and balance, I've no doubt it will be approachable on release.

A rocking wine that's up with the best from the vintage, the 2014 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard has lots of cassis, blueberry, bramble and crushed rock notes to go with a big, rich and fruit-filled profile on the palate. Despite all the fruit, it always stays lively and fresh, has tight tannin structure and gorgeous purity. Drink it on release and over the following 5-7 years.

Siduri? Big fan. Clos Pepe? Huge fan. This wine? Whoa. Dark cherry and earth dominate the nose with hints of eucalyptus and sage. Whoa. On the palate this is a fruity Pinot lover’s delight: rich fruit, great tartness, and just the right amount of earth. This will never be confused with an Old World Pinot, but holy cow, it’s good. Outstanding.

More structured, with lots of minerality, jammy blackberry and black raspberry fruit, licorice and peppery herbs, the 2015 Syrah Sierra Mar is rich, concentrated and layered. It's another killer barrel sample that will deliver the goods on release.

Scheduled to be bottled early next year, the 2015 Syrah Garys' Vineyard is a seriously good looking Syrah that sports an inky color, terrific notes of cassis, crushed rock-like minerality and wild herbs, medium to full-bodied richness and a great finish. I love its purity of fruit and it will certainly be an outstanding Syrah and have a decade of longevity.

One of the gems is the 2016 Zinfandel Carlisle, which has terrific complexity in its peppery, spice, incense, and assorted darker berry fruits. This beauty is medium to full-bodied, layered, and nicely textured, with moderate tannin. Still aging in 20% new French oak, it’s going to deep for a decade.

.possesses copious quantities of sweet blackcurrant, licorice-tinged, black cherry fruit in its aromatics and flavors. Full-bodied, deep, and moderately tannic, this wine rolls across the palate with a layered effect. Moreover, the tannin tastes sweeter and the fruit even richer than in the Veeder bottling.

The 2003 Stature Meritage exhibits copious quantities of cassis fruit along with notions of smoke, earth, licorice, minerals, and flowers. This impressive, large-scaled, rich, age worthy 2003 should evolve for a minimum of two decades.

It possesses all the attributes of the 2001, just more of everything. A wine of considerable intensity, it displays a black/purple color as well as a powerful, sweet perfume of toasty oak intermixed with black currants and chocolate espresso, a formidable mid-palate, and a powerful, moderately tannic finish. This blend should hit its prime in 4-5 years, and last for nearly two decades.

One of the most beautiful wines in the Stature series is the impressive 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Stature. Sourced from vineyards such as Veeder Peak and Andy Beckstoffer's To-Kalon Vineyard, it offers up creme de cassis aromas intermixed with new saddle leather, vanilla, spice box, and minerals. Full-bodied, rich, and seamless, this voluptiously-textured, thick, juicy Cabernet Sauvignon can be drunk now or cellared up for two decades.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Highland Estates is a fabulous wine. Dark red fruit, mint, spices, menthol and licorice meld together beautifully in this finessed, elegant wine. The black fruit has wonderful depth and more than enough purity to balance the tannins. This is a promising wine loaded with character and personality. The Highland Estates is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Veeder Peak aged in French oak, 80% new. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard offers striking aromatics to match a bold, succulent expression of fruit. Sweet red cherry, plum, violet, rose petal and spice notes all flesh out. This is a decidedly juicy, fruit-driven style for the Coast. The flavors are incisive and nicely lifted, with an attractive citrus/blood orange note that adds brightness.