This brilliant and almost clear colored Sauvignon Blanc from Matanzas Creek opens with a fragrant white grapefruit and lime bouquet with hints of pineapple, limestone and Granny Smith apple. On the palate, this wine is light to medium bodied, nicely balanced and delicate. The flavor profile is a mild gooseberry and flinty mineral blend with notes of lime. We also detected hints of white grapefruit, pineapple and a touch of peach pit towards the end. The finish is dry and its flavors are pleasantly prolonged. The Panel suggested pairing this very good Sauvignon Blanc with fried scallops or grilled swordfish.

COMMENTARY: The 2019 La Crema drinks swimmingly well, and it is a wine that the entire family will enjoy. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright with aromas and flavors of apples, faint leaves, and flowers. Serve it as an aperitif and light, alfresco meals.

The 2019 Lassegue is a blend of 58% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is being aged in French oak barrels, 75% new. Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, the nose explodes with pristine, fantastically well-defined notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries and crushed black plums with hints of menthol, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon toast and red roses plus a waft of garrigue. The medium to full-bodied palate gives layer upon layer of elegantly styled black and red fruit flavors, supported by exquisitely ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with loads of baking spice and floral nuances.

La Crema consistently delivers a range of ripe and rewarding chardonnays including this popular Sonoma Coast label, which offers expressive fruit and well-defined oak notes on the nose and palate. The smooth texture and persistent finish add to the appeal. Drink now to 2023.

What To Drink Now: Wines for DadThe other thing he loves is a great Bordeaux, with both of us appreciating the character of Cabernet Franc and Merlot-based Right Bank. St. Emilion Grand Cru Chateau Lassegue, Les Cadrans de Lassegue blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc for a velvety, plush wine showcasing ripe plum and cherry, with beautiful floral aromas of violets, melding with toasted spice and crushed stone.

California Wines for Any Summer MealGrilled Anything and Rich Pinot NoirJust as Chardonnay is one of the most versatile white wine varieties, Pinot Noir is one of the most versatile of the red wine varieties.2017 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir derives from Russian River Valley. This California wine has all the hallmarks of a classic Pinot Noir from this region. Certainly a richly concentrated wine with bright acidity from fresh red fruit flavors, forest floor and sassafras. This is a perfect match for any item that’s hot off the grill. Especially roasted meats or prosciutto wrapped avocado bites. These dishes play off the rich, concentrated notes of Bing cherry, sassafras, and baking spice in the wine. Hence it can match with bolder options, like beef stew and pasta Bolognese.

California Wines for Any Summer MealSalty Chips and Effervescent BubblyBubbles make any occasion feel instantly more elevated and special. The effervescence and bright acidity in this California wine offer a refreshing element while flavors like lemon and strawberry linger on the palate. A gorgeous summer day is as good an excuse as any to pop open a bottle of this delicious NV La Crema Brut Rosé. It’s difficult to find a dish that doesn’t pair with sparkling wine – from these lime salted sweet potato chips to decadent caviar and blinis, this wine pairs with everything: A true choose your own adventure-wine when it comes to pairings!

California Wines for Any Summer MealOh So Sweet Key Lime Pie and Balanced ChardonnayChardonnay is one of the most versatile grape varietals, and the elegance of the 2018 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Due to this California wine growing practices, the weather permits both fruit aromas and flavors to develop while retaining juicy acidity. With its generous texture and subtle hint of oak, this balanced wine is ideal for summer. It can also carry you through the rest of the year. Pair easily with light appetizers and mains, including crab, lobster, and scallops in a buttery cream sauce. Additionally you can sip along summer-inspired desserts like Key lime pie.

California Wines for Any Summer MealBright Salads and a Vibrant RoséWarm weather calls for a wine with vibrant fruit flavors, refreshing acidity, and hint of minerality. Like a chilled glass of this California wine; 2019 La Crema Monterey Rosé, it encapsulates all the above! It’s delicious on its own – enjoyed as an aperitif – or can easily pair with seasonal summer fare. With aromas and flavors of strawberry, cran-raspberry, and Mandarin orange, this crisp, vibrant wine pairs with seasonal summer salads. Like this wholesome refreshing chickpea salad, served with creamy avocado.

Oregon’s wine industry growth has been notable and it’s smart for wine fans to watch their offerings. The vineyard count has roughly doubled in the past 15 years with wine sales eclipsing the half billion dollar mark in 2018. The majority of growth took place in Willamette Valley.A few years ago, I had visited WillaKenzie Estate and their tasting room in the Willamette Valley. Oregon’s style of wines have a little different character than California’s for example, mainly due to climate. I thought this would be an appropriate time to revisit Willakenzie’s offerings, as I had really been impressed by their wines as well as the entire estate on my visit. The layout on three declining ridged hilltops is stunning. It’s described in my review, WillaKenzie Estate 2018 Pinot Gris.WillaKenzie Estate is a PN specialist, presenting nine different Pinot Noirs to the market. Although the founder, Bernard Lacroute, hails from a small village in Burgundy, France, initially he came to study at the University of Michigan in the United States on a NASA fellowship, earning an MS in Electrical Engineering as well as a graduate degree in Physics there. He then joined Digital Equipment Corporation and worked on the design of the VAX minicomputer, one of the most successful and long-lived in the annals of computer history. For an encore Bernard joined Sun Microsystems in 1983 as their first Executive Vice President of Engineering where he helped develop the Sun Workstation line, powerful desktop computers designed especially for engineering and scientific use, helping Sun to become a multi-billion-dollar market leader. Eventually, Lacroute became affiliated with the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in Silicon Valley, also founding WillaKenzie Estate in 1992 along with his American wife, Ronnie.Willakenzie’s 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, is translucent pale-purple with ruby-hues in color, light to medium in weight, and offers very fine structuring tannins. It is definitely inviting, in a discreet way, while displaying its refreshing brightness and unique character. At 30-minutes of breathing this wine gains in complexity, intensity, and richness showing just a tinge of black fruit and fig. The 2016 is dark and long in a clearly moderated presentation. WillaKenzie’s 2016 Willamette displays Pinot Noir’s varietal character while delivering aromatic hints of delicate rhubarb, strawberry, and a trace of black plum and mineral echoing on the palate. Give it a try after 24 to 48 hours.This 11,000-case production totaled 21 days of skin contact and was 100% destemmed prior to a four to seven day cold soak. Élevage was 13 months in French oak barrels (30% new). Alcohol reads 14.4%The composition is a 35/65 blend of 100% Pinot Noir grapes from the proprietor’s Jory Hills and WillaKenzie Estate vineyards. Bearing the same name as their soil types, Jory sand Willakenzie, they are almost entirely dry-farmed. The Estate is independently certified LIVE, Salmon Safe indicating environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing in the Pacific Northwest.

Fine pinot noir from CaliforniaIn Monterey County, the inland vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands are idea for pinot noir. Siduri’s vibrant 2017 is a fine representation of the area.

Fine pinot noir from CaliforniaSiduri is a specialist that produces close to two dozen different pinot noirs. Its 2017 Anderson Valley is deep, juicy, broad and welcoming.

From Cabernet to Rose: The 16 Best Wines of the YearCabernet Franc: Vérité 2016 Le Désir, Sonoma CountyUsually just a small percentage of a Bordeaux blend, Cabernet Franc isn’t a varietal often seen dominating a wine. Vigneron Pierre Seillan has long worked with it at Cha^teau Lasse`gue, on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, as well as in Sonoma, with daughter He´le`ne. Their 2016 Cab Franc-based Le De´sir might be the most perfectly balanced of all their vintages, offering gorgeous aromatics: rose petals over blackberry liqueur and fresh mint. Dark-berry and plum flavors are laced with baking spices (anise and clove), and its fine tannins are delivered with an ideal tension of acidity and freshness.After more than 20 years tending vines in Sonoma, the duo has many of what they call “micro-crus” from which to handpick for their blend. In 2016, they were so pleased with the Cab Franc that they increased the amount in the blend to 82 percent (with the remainder being Merlot and Malbec), which allowed them, in their words, to “lift the gravity center of the wine.” The result is a heady, magical wine you want to smell as much as sip.

Less overt lemon & orange fruitiness than sibling, & less new oak (50%) give 2017 a more refined, even stately, bearing, the vibrancy of the vintage showing in the current of limy acid supplying energy throughout. Thrilling now, will improve 5+ years. Own Banhoek grapes plus small portion brought in from Helderberg. 5 stars.

Follows exceptional form & sleek styling of previous, with pure seam of citrus, saline acidity & taut structure. 2016 more new oak (60% vs 30%) & richness but still sublimely fresh. Stellenbosch, Robertson & Overberg vines. 4.5 stars.

The 2019 Lassègue is a property that lies in a prime location, on the slopes along from Pavie and Bellefont-Belcier. Deep in colour, it has a fragrant bouquet with vivacious blackberry, blueberry and crushed violet scents. The oak IS beautifully integrated. A marine element develops with aeration. The palate is fleshy and soft on the entry, an easygoing, nicely balanced 2019 Saint-Émilion. I would have like a bit more backbone and grip on the finish. Crack it open after a couple of years and enjoy over 12-15 years.

From Cabernet to Rose: The 16 Best Wines of the YearCabernet Sauvignon: Cardinale 2016, Napa ValleyWinemaker Chris Carpenter’s self-described approach to Cardinale each year is to blend across great sites in Napa Valley with the goal of maximizing the strengths of the vintage rather than that of one individual vineyard. His 2016 Cardinale Cabernet captures the ultimate potential offered by that remarkable year: a hedonistic wine of the moment with great aging possibility at the same time. Dark and concentrated, it unfolds with spicy anise, briary blackberry and fresh herbs over a crushed- rock character. It’s satisfyingly juicy, with loads of dark cherry, plum and cassis spiked with delicious mocha.But delicious as it is right now, Carpenter says, “it will be one of those vintages that continues to develop in positive ways for years to come. Like Michael Jordan when he played at North Carolina—back then you could just tell there was so much more to come. I feel that way looking at these early-release years of the 2016 Cardinale and where this wine will be 10 to 20 years from now.”

OK, this wine is officially all over the map: this was stellar, similar to the second bottle, while the other two were, well, meh. I bought these back in 2014 from Last Bottle for a fraction of the retail price (~3/5 for the fraction geeks out there), a pretty good deal, even the two lesser-thans. A bit of a golden straw in the glass with lemon peel, slightly browned butter, and hyacinth. The palate is pretty close to glorious with great acidity, still vibrant fruit (even a decade out), and a lengthy finish. Close to a Whoa. Excellent.

9 Winemaker Dads On Favorite BBQ Wine Pairings For Father’s DayCraig McAllister, Head Winemaker at La CremaRecommended Pairing: Grilled pork chops & 2017 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir“My guess is that it will be a quiet day- we’ll probably go for a bike ride around Healdsburg- maybe stopping for ice cream and will follow it up with some grilling in the backyard. I’m thinking a perfect wine for the day will be La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir which pairs fantastically with food off the grill.”

Earthy as you’d expect, as bold as you’d want, and bigger than you might imagine.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Aromas of blackberry, pomegranate and oak-driven toast and tobacco. Mid-weight plus in heft, offering an onslaught of ostentatious, spicy purple and black fruits, yet sleek, polished and very agreeable in the mouth. There is more tannins evident but they are entirely supportive. The wine sports impressive length on the generously fruity finish. Still enjoyable when tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle. This wine needs more time in the cellar.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. The nose offers aromas of blackest cherry, black raspberry, dried herbs and burnt tobacco. Mid-weight in concentration, featuring well-ripened, earth-toned black fruits with a modicum of oak in the background. Fruitladen, with mild tannins, good brightness and a sappy finish. Similar when tasted from a previously opened and re-corked bottle the following day. A hint of warmth appears on the finish as the wine warms in the glass.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Aromas of blackest cherry, earthy flora, oak spice and Herbes de Provence. Both earth and oak accent the hearty core of black cherry and boysenberry fruit that is framed by mild fine-grain tannins. There is a hint of tobacco and mocha. Silky in texture, with some length on the finish. When tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, the earth and oak tenor of the fruit persisted.

This almost clear colored Sauvignon Blanc from the Alexander Valley opens with a pleasant mild tropical bouquet featuring musk melon and papaya, along with hints of fresh cut grass and faint green pepper. On the palate, this wine is light bodied, balanced, clean and delicate. The flavor profile is a mild stony minerality and gentle white grapefruit blend with notes of minerality and lime zest. We also detected some hints of white pepper as well. The finish is dry and it drifts away nicely. The Panel suggested pairing this food friendly Sauvignon Blanc with a bay scallop casserole.

Fairly light pink in the glass. Rather floral in the glass with a bit of minerality and another lovely wine on the palate. Fruity, well-balanced, and tart. Delightful. Excellent.