Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Pinot Noir Hapgood is marked by very strong stem component, which is likely the result of a cold site in a cold year and 100% whole clusters. It will be interesting to see if more fruit emerges.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018s The 2018 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County) is bright, lively and absolutely delicious. I would prefer to drink it over the next few years, while the red berry and floral flavors retain their youthful vibrancy. This is a fabulous appellation-level Pinot.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County) is a delicious wine that shows how compelling this vintage is. Sweet red cherry, mint and rose petal are beautifully lifted. The 2018 is vibrant, detailed and enticing.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is a gorgeous appellation-level wine. Apricot, tangerine oil and tropical accents grace this delicious, inviting Chardonnay from Nielson. Best of all, the 2018 should be a terrific value.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2017 Pinot Noir Barbara's Clone 667 is dark and ample in the glass, with a real sense of resonance that comes through. A veil of reduction makes the 2017 hard to read today. Perhaps time in bottle will help. If opened young, I would give the 2017 quite a bit of air. I imagine the 2017 might have more to offer than what is evident today.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2017 Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley) is soft, fruity and delicious. Sweet red cherry, raspberry and crushed rose petal are nicely pushed forward. Drink this easygoing Pinot over the next few years.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard is very aromatic and lifted in style, but it is also light in color, depth and structure. This is a decidedly fleeting, ethereal style. I would prefer to drink it over the next few years.

Oregon was the first state in America to grow Pinot Gris and WillaKenzie has wisely made it part of their portfolio. Their 2018 WillaKenzie Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley has a nose that is full of ripe green apple, melon and honeysuckle aromas. The slightly creamy mouthfeel supports luscious flavors of green apple, pear and tropical fruit. The textured finish is long and crisp with hints of tangerine acidity on the back of the palate.

Strawberry and a tiny note of raspberry, with red rose on the nose. Very nicely balanced with with a lift of lemon.

This Pinot Noir-based rosé from Willamette Valley is light and austere with white strawberry, pink grapefruit, and fleshy lemon.

Also from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Gran Moraine (part of the Jackson Family Wines‘ Oregon collection) bottles this small-lot wine of sparkling Pinot Noir and releases it once annually. Aromatics run the show in the clean and crisp bubbler, with rose petal, just-ripe strawberry, brioche and pear notes transferring to the palate. Orange and tropical fruits meld with sharp acidity that makes this a match-made for triple cream cheese.

For those who prefer a New World style, here is a Pinot with more fruit in the bottle. The 2017 La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir shows bold, ripe cherry fruit flavors with smooth tannins and an easy-drinking medium body. La Crema is a popular California label that is approachable, with solid brand consistency. This is a crowd-pleasing Pinot that is widely available and perfect for entertaining.

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersCabernet and FamilyTop 2021 Cabernet and Family Wines

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersCabernet and FamilyTop 2021 Cabernet and Family Wines

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersCabernet SauvignonTop 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersShiraz2021 Best Shiraz Wines

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersShiraz2021 Best Shiraz Wines

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersShiraz2021 Best Shiraz Wines

The Best of the Best: 2021 Varietal WinnersGrenache and Family2021 Best Grenache And Blends

From Block 31, the highest elevation at 210m, with the deepest sand. Hand-picked, mechanically sorted, 50% whole berries, open-fermented, 21 days on skins, 11 months on lees in French oak. A rainbow of aromas, leading me to abort my first mental description because I'd already run out of breath.

Hand-picked, 75% destemmed and berry-sorted, 25% whole bunches, wild-fermented, on lees in French oak (35% new) for 15 months then a barrel selection to showcase the characteristic ironstone it grows in. A magnificent wine with length to its stride and a lightness of foot.

From vines planted in '71. Hand-picked, destemmed, fermented separately on skins for 18 days, matured for 15 months in high quality French barrels. The best shiraz and cabernet are selected to showcase this long-time Australian blend. If there's a better one, I haven't seen it. This is a beautiful wine, red and black fruits holding hands as they so brilliantly throw off the shackles of the hot vintage.

From the 12.3ha east-facing Block 12 on an ironstone sandy outcrop. Hand-picked, open-fermented with 25% whole bunches, matured in a 25hl French foudre for 15 months. Vivid crimson-purple through to the rim. An incredibly fresh wine that literally dances in the mouth, juicy streams of bright red flavours - this from '18, not a vintage known for delicacy. Fantastic bargain.

From the '71 contour plantings, hand-picked, 50% crushed, 40% destemmed, 10% whole bunch, gentle extraction during 18 days on skins, no pressings used, 6 months on lees, then racked to foudre and puncheons (30% new) for 9 months. This oak use will continue in all releases post '18. Extremely complex and intense, but perfectly balanced red and black fruits, tannins a feature.

The perfume, the nuance, the power. This takes the merlot grape and knocks it out of the park. It's ripped with both fruit flavour and tannin, it's smoked with an appropriate level of oak, and it feels authoritative through the finish. In short, it's a pearler.