Strong aromas of cotton candy, strawberry bubblegum and baked peach flesh show on the nose of this bottling. The flavors fall in line with those prominent pink touches, picking up more strawberry and ripe plum along the way.

Very fruity and nicely polished, this medium-bodied, unoaked wine offers fresh peach and apple flavors and a rounded texture. A light buttery, earthy aroma starts it off before the fresh fruit moves in.

This is an intensely savory and herbal wine, layered in green-tea and rhubarb flavors. The weight is full bodied, with an opulent structure and firm grippy tannin.

This robust wine has a sweet nose of red cherry, cola and vanilla oak, the texture thick and viscously opulent. Baking spice highlights the finish.

This thick, concentrated red is velvety smooth and creamy on the palate, made in an opulent style that displays earthy stemmy wild berry fruit and black tea.

Sharp, somewhat angular aromas of lime pee, wet stone and lanolin show on the nose of this bottling. Apple and lemon-peel flavors are quite brisk and tart, leading into a marmalade-on-toast finish.

Here, again, Siduri has come up with a nicely balanced wine that displays a good deal of fruity purity, yet, it is fairly straightforward and neither as rich nor as involving as its more generously filled companion from the Russian River Valley. Although it promises a bit less in the way of increased layering with time, its well-defined fruit and firm, food-worthy structure will hold it in good stead for three or four years.

Aromatic, detailed, generous and plush, featuring notes of cream soda and milk chocolate that add a touch of polish to the concentrated kirsch, spiced plum and blueberry flavors at the core. The details of cigar box, espresso and palo santo show appealing precision, exhibiting harmony on the long, expressive finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Drink now through 2035.

Rich plum in colour, this grips right from the off, and moves slowly and carefully through the palate, revealing brambly blue and red fruits, and a lovely sense of energyand uplift. Extremely good quality, with sage and saffron edges alongside layers of fine tannins that close in towards the finish, slowing things down even more. Thiswill age well, and is an elegant yet concentrated wine.

Complex and deeply flavored, with loamy notes to the dark cherry, plum tart and wild berry flavors, which are broad-textured and robustly spiced. The dense, powerfully structured finish lingers, revealings smoky touches and sanguine richness. Drink now through 2025.

Offers a memorable mix of pure raspberry, cherry and pomegranate flavors that are lush and polished, set on a velvety frame, with notes of chai tea, white pepper and fresh sage, showing terrific harmony on the long, expressive finish. A hint of freshly grated nutmeg lingers. Drink now through 2035.

Juicy, plump cherry and plum flavors are framed by black licorice, gunpowder tea, tobacco and fresh sage notes, set across a firm, muscular frame. The tannins become more toothsome on the finish. Drink now through 2035.

Well-structured, with concentrated red fruit and berry flavors, supported by a vibrant lattice of acidity and tannins. Minerally midpalate, featuring savory richness that extends on the vibrantly spiced finish.

Vibrant and snappy, with fresh cherry, black tea and orange peel flavors that pick up speed toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2028.

Big and ripe, featuring concentrated dark cherry, plum and blackberry flavors that are well-knit. Minerally midpalate, with a lively and vibrant finish that offers concentrated cedar and spice notes.

Firm and savory, with good concentration to the toasted herb, cedar and cigar box notes that are muscular and taut. Notes of green tea, rosemary, loam and dried currant linger on the finish. Drink now through 2033.

Snappy, offering hints of licorice to the plum, dried raspberry and spiced cherry flavors. Cedar and spice notes show on the finish.

Light, bright yellow colour, with a metallic, steely note to the aroma, the palate likewise very taut and reserved, bone-dry and borderline austere. There's hints of candlewax and tealeaf, and a faint trace of nuttiness. The finish is very tight and ramrod-straight. It needs more time to reveal its 'true beauty'.

Stone fruit, quince, gently nutty bouquet, echoing barrel contact; dry and pleasingly savoury in the mouth. There is a touch of earthiness and the finish is very dry, tightly-composed and appetising. (Wild fermented and then aged for seven months in barriques and puncheons, 25% new. Certified biodynamic/organic.)

“Our Malbec in 2017 was awesome, it usually gives the spice,” Pierre Seillan told me during the tasting of the 2017s with his daughter and one day successor, Helene. “But this year, we didn’t need it. The alcohol is only 14.2% this year—it has the energy, the minerality. I think it will age for 40 years at least. I think it is the best I’ve made.” Composed of 100% Merlot for the first time this year, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 La Muse rolls sensuously out of the glass with scents of black raspberries, Black Forest cake, boysenberries and cinnamon toast, followed by nuances of a garrigue, forest floor, beef drippings and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the richly fruited palate slowly builds in the mouth to a crescendo of black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by exceptionally ripe, round tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Stylistically, it stands apart from previously vintages, possessing the same magical intensity, but with less weight and more pop.

“The Cab Franc was quite spectacular in 2017. There is a bit more in the blend this year,” Pierre Seillan told me during the tasting of the 2017s with his daughter and one day successor, Helene. A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2017 La Joie has a very deep garnet-purple color. It opens a little closed and broody, giving glimpses of blackcurrant cordial, espresso, charcoal and black truffles to begin, before blossoming out to a whole array of preserved black and blue fruits, dusty soil, crushed rocks and iron ore scents plus a waft of roses. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, with firm, grainy tannins and a lively backbone supporting the muscular fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced. The alcohol weighed in at just 13.9% this year (14% on the label), making for a particularly elegant but no less impactful La Joie!

What was the secret to achieving such impressive ripeness for Cabernet Franc in 2017? Pierre Seillan's daughter and one day successor, Helene, told me: “We make a lot of passes through the Cabernet Franc blocks—more than the other varieties. We drop any fruit that is not ripening at the same pace. We don’t pull out too much leaves, we need those for the ripening.” Blended of 80% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot and 3% Malbec, the 2017 Le Désir has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes galloping out of the glass with all the grace and precision of a thoroughbred, sporting notions of kirsch, potpourri, warm plums and wild blueberries plus hints of chocolate box, cardamom and star anise. The medium-bodied palate (just 13.9% alcohol) is at once powerful and wonderfully elegant, with firm, very fine-grained, exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness supporting the red and blue fruit layers, finishing with incredible length and depth. Wow!

Light cotton candy pink. Luscious red fruit with some peach. Tartness a go-go with a chalky finish. More fruit here as well. Yowza. Excellent.

Julia’s Vineyard was named for Julia Jackson back in 1988, 20 years after the original fog-covered Pinot Noir vines were planted at the Santa Maria site on ancient soils full of fossilized seashells, shale, limestone and sand. The vineyard site is unique in that it boasts one of the longest growing seasons in California, and with that comes consistency of quality. The fruit is always forward here with bright ripe black raspberry and blueberry aromas striped with cranberry, pomegranate, and sweet brown baking spice. A hedonistic, California Pinot Noir that entertains rather than confounds. Salmon, mushroom risotto, roasted chicken all work here. It’s a mix of clones including 4, 2A, 23, 667, 115, 777 and 828 that are barrel-aged for 8 1/2 months in French oak, 31 per cent of which is new.

Look for an earthy wild strawberry, sweet tobacco nose, and definitely on the cool side. On the palate, the fruit is all Pinot Noir — cherries and plums, with an earthy, spicy undercurrent. The tannin is negligible and easily manages most Pinot menu choices: duck, mushrooms, root vegetables, soft cheeses and pork. La Crema Sonoma Coast is a well made, large production Pinot of estate and grower vineyards, but all within the cool, marine swept boundaries of Sonoma County.