The 2022 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard is burly and rough-hewn, with a forceful kick of tannins. Luckily, there’s enough pure fruit and energetic acidity to support it. Lavender, thyme and pomegranate add lift and complexity, finishing with a dusty, cocoa-powder-like grip. This is nicely done, if a hair imposing. That said, the 2022 feels like the kind of wine Sierra Mar wants to make. Give it a year to settle down.

Deeply structured and a bit brooding at this point, with blueberry and plum flavors accented by sandalwood, black tea and stony mineral notes. Finishes with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031. 330 cases made.

Supple and polished, with delicate raspberry and cherry flavors highlighted by orange peel and zesty cinnamon tones that finish with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031. 1,500 cases made.

This wine is zesty and lively, with aromas of yellow apple, sweet pear, Meyer lemon and vanilla cream. Other notes waft through, including white grapefruit, tangerine, guava and allspice. Layers of dried herb, rock and minerality bring everything together. Pair with skate wing in brown butter sauce.

The nose is rich and powerful, with notes of preserved lemons, apricots, nectarines and flint. The palate is full-bodied and textured, with bright acidity and fresh notes of lemon curd, lime zest and biscuits. Made from multiple vineyards on this mountain estate with an average vine age of 25 years. Drink or hold.

The 2022 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is everything an appellation-level wine should be: attractive, inviting and easy to drink. Crushed red berry fruit, mint, white flowers, orange peel and exotic spice overtones are beautifully lifted throughout.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Machado is a pretty wine with understated density and terrific balance. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and blood orange fill out the layers. Machado is the most reticent of the vineyard designates. It will be interesting to see what time brings here.

The 2022 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is a fabulous introduction to the range. Served last in this series of Chardonnays, the appellation Chardonnay is perhaps a bit more floral and lighter in body, but other than that, it is in no way inferior to the vineyard designates. This is beautifully done.

The 2022 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard is a very pretty, gracious wine. Light tropical accents, tangerine peel, white pepper and chamomile all grace this airy, lifted Chardonnay. In 2022, winemaker Jill Russell opted for more lots aged in steel and less oak to match the lighter style of the year.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Element is redolent of crushed red berry fruit, cedar, mint, spice, tobacco and dried herbs. Aromatic and medium in body, the Element is classy to the core. It hails from a single block on the property and was aged entirely in neutral oak.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Julia’s Signature Collection is an intriguing wine. Dark cherry, spice, new leather, blood orange and anise lend an exotic flair. Clone 23 Pinot on this hillside block yielded an especially inward, driving Pinot in 2022.

The 2023 Syrah Tepusquet Vineyard is a tasty, mid-weight offering from Cambria. Black cherry, cloves, black pepper, licorice and dried herbs are nicely pushed forward. This shows a good energy and fine balance, with and attractive combination of forward fruit and whole-cluster savoriness.

The 2021 Chardonnay Signature Collection Katherine's is slightly bigger than the classic release, with more Meyer lemon, toasted spice, orange, and exotic flower-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's nicely balanced, has a layered, opulent texture, integrated oak, and a great finish.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Signature Collection Julia's has a more oak-driven style, yet it's not overbearing, and it has a solid core of ripe red fruits grounded by spicy oak, savory flower, and underbrush nuances. This carries to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir that's nicely balanced, has fine tannins, integrated oak, and a great finish. It’s a beautiful Pinot Noir to drink over the coming decade.

Always a great value, the 2022 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard is light gold-hued with classy notes of ripe stone fruits, flower oil, toasted bread, and honeyed orange-like nuances. With medium-bodied richness, a round, lush mouthfeel, beautifully integrated oak, and a great finish, it tastes like it costs two to three times its price. Drink bottles over the coming 3-4 years. Talk about a serious house white.

Lively red and black berry fruits, sage, ground pepper, conifer, and cedarwood notes all emerge from the 2022 Syrah, a 100% Syrah that's all from the Perilune Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. Not destemmed and brought up in neutral oak, it's medium-bodied, has a supple, elegant mouthfeel, the more broad, rounded style of the vintage, and outstanding length. It’s another brilliant wine from winemaker Greg Brewer that readers will love.

Bright medium-deep red-purple color with a savoury bouquet that suggests terracotta earthenware, dried herbs and a note of well-worn leather. The wine is full-bodied and firm on the tongue with assertive tannins and the overall feel is of a very savoury style of red, quite idiosyncratic and also appealing. Some cellar time would be to its advantage.

Light to mid yellow/straw colour; the funky bouquet includes some vegetal and savoury undergrowth nunaces as well as some burnt matchstick. It's very savoury on palate, drying and textural, with fine tannins and a trace of finishing bitterness that doesn't mar it. A very good food wine, thanks to its structure and savouriness.

Restrained aromas of nectarine, apricot blossom and wet stone converge on the nose of this bottling. There’s a crushed oyster shell texture to the palate, where baked apple and lemon flavors arise.

Juicy red and black fruit, and yuzu, too, as well as some seaspray from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Sealift spent 10 months in oak barrels and is ready to drink now.

Sweet raspberry and cherry fruit leather, vanilla and an open wood fire on the nose, but the palate is somewhat muted, only leaving hints of Earl Grey tea and artificial candies towards the finish, without a distinct mid-palate texture or flavour.

A cat pee funk that has come to be known as typical for Sauvignon Blanc is present here, and it emanates from the glass unapologetically, alongside white grapefruit, both lime and lemon zest, yet a slight and subtle flavour profile with an aqueous, silky texture.

The 2021 Chardonnay Desiderium tempts the imagination with a spicy bouquet that blends cardamom and fresh vanilla bean with ground ginger and young peach. This displays contrasts, with salty mineral tones up front enhanced by brisk acidity that gives way to ripe orchard fruits and lemon custard. The 2021 cleans up beautifully, long and staining yet still somehow fresh, leaving hints of candied lime and mint lingering. This is the inaugural edition of the Desiderium, from vines planted in 2014. I’m very excited to see what future vintages will reveal.

A darkly alluring mix of blackberries, sage, tangerine zest and dusty earth wafts up from the 2021 Pinot Noir Dropstone. It sweeps across the palate with a savory presence, round and pliant, showcasing ripe red and black fruits over a tactile core of minerality. Sour citrus puckers the cheeks as the 2021 finishes long, yet only lightly structured, and with a pleasantly bitter tinge.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Triple Black Slopes opens in the glass with a dark and earthy blend of mint leaves and camphor, giving way to black cherries and hints of rum cake. This is a lifted and graceful upon entry, yet concentrated within. Vibrant acidity and crisp red and blue fruits swirl beneath an air of sweet lavender. It finishes with admirable length, yet still fresh, leaving the mouth watering as traces of licorice taper off.