Siduri Wines, Willamette Valley (Oregon) Pinot Noir 2018: Siduri, named for the Babylonian goddess of wine, specializes in Pinot Noir, especially single vineyard bottlings. According to their website they make only single vineyard wines from a total of 20 vineyards throughout California and Oregon. Fortunately, they have expanded their production and now produce blended wines from three appellations: Willamette Valley in Oregon, plus two from California, specifically, Santa Barbara County, and the Russian River Valley. These additions to their portfolio are a boon for consumers because each of the wines is easy to recommend and reasonably priced — at least for Pinot Noir. Plus, if you taste the three side-by-side, it allows you to taste and discern the differences among the AVAs. Everything except where the grapes are grown is the same: same vintage, same grape, same winemaking team. So, the only difference is the origin of the grapes. The verdict, as you will see, is that terroir is alive and well in the USA. Siduri’s Willamette Valley bottling comes from grapes grown in three AVAs within the valley: Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountains, and Eola-Amity. Racy and juicy, it delivers far more that bright fruitiness. Indeed, savory notes are clear and balance the red raspberry-like quality. A welcome hint of bitterness in the finish adds to its appeal. Less ripe than Siduri’s Russian River Valley or Santa Barbara bottlings, this one shows the understated charm that Oregon’s Willamette Valley delivers.

The Reverse Skin Contact Wine: 2018 Maggy Hawk Edmeades Vineyard White Pinot NoirHow to refer to it: white pinot noir, or non-skin contact red wineThis is a contrarian wine, the rare example of a wine made from red grapes that escapes maceration. This is pinot noir that comes out of the bottle looking like a completely white wine. Is your mind not blown? If it’s not, a smell and sip will surely get the job done. But like our macerated Flora Springs, let’s not get carried away with this one’s revelatory power: much of the best Champagne in the world includes or is made entirely from pinot noir and/or pinot meunier, but pours white as well. The absurdity of skin contact being considered something new or different continues to grow.Maggy Hawk’s winemaker is Tony Rynders, whose distinguished career includes Oregon’s Domaine Serene, a winery that sued him after he left alleging he stole the trade secret of making white pinot noir. See supra regarding Champagne to get a sense of the absurdity of the lawsuit. Tony has consulted for Zena Crown, also in Oregon, which is one of Good Vitis’ favorite Willamette Valley wineries. And, he is the owner and winemaker of Tendril Cellars where he makes a white pinot noir as well. I’ve had what I believe to be all of Tony’s white pinot noirs, and they are my favorite wines he produces.Perhaps counterintuitively, what makes white pinot noir fun is what can make any skin contact white wine fun: a grape you know presented completely differently from what you know. The 2018 Maggy Hawk does exactly that in a very appealing package. Tasting note:The nose offers plush fruit-forward aromas of cherry juice, guava, passion fruit, slate, orange zest and white pepper. Full bodied with round, juicy acid that creates significant structure and weight, it offers flavors of cherry, pineapple, mango, sea mist and loads of sweet tangerine juice and donut peach. This unusual and high quality wine is very enjoyable and almost too easy to drink; drink too quickly and you’ll miss some of its depth. Value: A.

Traditional Skin Contact White Wine #1 : 2017 Yangarra Estate Roux Beaute RoussanneHow to refer to it: Skin contact or macerated white wine, or skin contact or macerated roussane.Yangarra is a historic estate in Australia’s McLaren Vale wine region focused on producing Rhone varieties off its single estate vineyard, which was first planted in 1946. In 2001, the estate was purchased by Jackson Family Estates. A year prior, it took on then-new winemaker Peter Fraser. I got to meet Peter in 2019 and try a new series of high end Yangarra wines, this one among them, that use techniques different from the rest of the winery’s lineup.Half of the grapes for the 2017 Roux Beaute Roussanne go through 193 days of maceration (skin contact) in large ceramic eggs, which allows more oxygen to interact with the wine than the traditional stainless steel fermentation vessel used for most white wine. The remaining 50% of the grapes went through fermentation in ceramic egg, though without skin contact. This approach, combined with the use of wild yeast, gives the wine more structural layers than it would otherwise have, and adds flavors and aromas impossible without maceration. Tasting note:A slightly musty aroma gives way to peach, apple cider, nectarine, petrol and something I can only describe as “dank.” Though medium in body, it floods the mouth with juicy acid and ripe skin tannin, forming a glycerin sensation. Flavors include white peach, apricot, sour tangerine, orchid, white pepper and dandelion.

The grapes for this multi-vineyard bottling come primarily from the Sta. Rita Valley, whose east-west orientation is rare in California where most of the valleys run north-south. Sta. Rita’s orientation allows cool Pacific Ocean influences to reduce temperatures, especially close to the coast, making it an ideal locale for growing Pinot Noir, a grape that prefers lower temperatures to higher ones. Siduri’s Sta. Rita bottling is a fine contrast to their other two, falling somewhere in the middle. Slightly riper and more full-bodied that their Willamette offering, it is more restrained compared to the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, reflecting its cooler environment. This is a great trio. Thanks to Siduri for reminding us that France does not have a monopoly on terroir.

Siduri, known for their single-vineyard bottlings of Pinot Noir has expanded their portfolio to include ones from a variety of vineyards. In this case, the grapes come from throughout the Russian River Valley. Compared to its Willamette Valley bottling, their Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is broader and riper, with dark fruit flavors. There’s no bitterness in the finish in this plush suavely textured wine. The slight increase in stated-alcohol (14.5 vs 14.3%) is noticeable by a hint of heat in the finish. Overall, the greater power and ripeness reflects the warmer Russian River Valley sites compared to the Willamette.

26 Stellar New Rosés to Welcome the Warmer MonthsAny one of these bottles will also sweeten your Mother's Day celebration.This rosé from longtime Oregon producer WillaKenzie measures in with 95 percent Pinot Noir, 4 percent Pinot Blanc, and 1 percent Pinot Meunier. It’s a lively sip, aromatic with honeysuckle, strawberry, stone fruit, and nice minerality. Bright, dry citrus carries the palate under white peach and cherry, with interesting textures through the finish.

26 Stellar New Rosés to Welcome the Warmer MonthsAny one of these bottles will also sweeten your Mother's Day celebration.Showcasing a Bordeaux variety that rarely speaks for itself on the rosé front, this Cenyth covers unusual ground. Wet stone aromas underlie gardenias and pears, opening to exotic citrus—lemongrass and lime—and bright red fruit flavors (especially raspberry).

26 Stellar New Rosés to Welcome the Warmer MonthsAny one of these bottles will also sweeten your Mother's Day celebration.Lovely veins of minerals and earth course through this one from Copain. Cherry and stone fruit blossom aromas lead into briary berry flavors layered with nectarine and hints of tropicals—delicate but vibrant at the same time.

26 Stellar New Rosés to Welcome the Warmer MonthsAny one of these bottles will also sweeten your Mother's Day celebration.Fresh and almost a little briny (that’s a good thing), this rosé from Hartford Family Wines opens with red berries and hints of roses. A downright pretty palate mixes stone fruit and red cherry with bright citrus.

26 Stellar New Rosés to Welcome the Warmer MonthsAny one of these bottles will also sweeten your Mother's Day celebration.Escaping the Burgundy and Rhône rosé families, this barely blushing Sangio version from Captûre opens with aromas conjuring the first of the season’s rain in a dusty orchard—wild cherry and just a hint of bubble gum joining in (that last is a good thing). Beautifully dry, tart, and savory, the palate follows up with more cherry and white peach balanced with grapefruit. It’s long and intense, with lovely, energetic tension.

This complex, intensely flavored roussanne has such seamlessly layered style with a sense of purity and lightness. The stone-fruit, mineral and fresh-cream aromas are tinged with lemon rind and fresh butter. The palate has fine-grained texture with a sleek, fresh delivery of peaches and lemons. Smooth-honed with a long finish. Super. From organically grown grapes. Drink over the next six years. Screw cap.

Lassegue 2010 Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France. Blackberry, plum, brambles, oak spice. Well-balanced with a long finish. Very good.

This Mother’s Day, give mom armchair culture and a glass of wine“Company,” about a noncommittal bachelor, calls for an easy-drinking merlot. The show is set in the 1970s when merlot is still considered cool, long before the 2004 movie “Sideways” gave it a bad rap.Movie and wine recommendation.

This Mother’s Day, give mom armchair culture and a glass of wine“Cats” is at its best with a smooth and sleek pinot noir.Movie and wine recommendation.

This Mother’s Day, give mom armchair culture and a glass of wine“Cats” is at its best with a smooth and sleek pinot noir.Movie and wine recommendation.

The modern Yarra wine style coming out of Giant Steps really comes as no great surprise as this is a team comprising two of this county’s great wine minds developed and honed over decades across multiple industries. It is an odd couple – Sexton’s entrepreneurial eye and drive matched with Flamsteed’s relaxed, and mellow demeanour. Together they make an exceptional team.If you are looking to take a leap into natural wine, don’t miss this brilliant example, of which there are less than 3000 bottles produced. No additions, fermented in clay pots, fermented with wild yeasts and it’s completely unfined and unfiltered, which makes it a touch hazy but nothing to worry about.It smells like just fermented Chardonnay juice with superb purity of green apple and citrus fruits plus an earthy edge. Understated, seamless and balanced, there are nectarine, citrus and floral flavours on a mid-weight palate that is crisp and savoury. It also has a chalky texture with a brilliant and long finish, again showing a unique purity and focus. Stunning Chardonnay.

Pinot Shiraz – who knew? Well the blend has a bit of history in the Hunter Valley but now is making a resurgence in the Yarra too, with Giant Steps and winemaker Steve Flamsteed , as usual at the front of the curve. It is a food wine, made for the table – Australian for Beaujolais, and it is delicious.It is a very pretty bright cherry red and the fruit is immediately attractive. There are layers of cranberry, raspberry, dried herbs and stalky spice with a touch of aged meat thrown in too. The palate shows superb purity, a textural silkiness but is also quite savoury with supple tannins underlying a long and drying finish. While it is delicious, it does not feel ready just yet – this wine has more to give and just needs maybe six months to start showing its best.

From the great estate in the heart of the appellation, this white is richly developed in succulent flavors of pear, pineapple and melon. Balanced acidity boosts the fruit and integrated oak, with touches of nutmeg spice and jasmine that last on the finish.

COMMENTARY: The Ex Post Facto story provides a looking into the heart of the grape and its source. Vintner Greg Brewer committed to the wine's totality. When I approached the 2018 Ex Post Facto Syrah, I had an idea that this wine probably has no rules, except what it wanted to be. TASTING NOTES: This opaque, concentrated wine, comes forth with omnipresent ripe red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Enjoy this wine at a slow evolving dinner with fragrantly-spiced, braised meat, and fresh veggies reflecting the colors of the rainbow. This wine is intense and focused.

A well-made wine that overdelivers on its price, this is creamy in pear and rich, rounded texture, complete and gracefully structured. A hint of flint gives it a stony mineral component that works well in contrast to the fruit, finishing in a burst of nutmeg.

Inviting red fruit and a sharpness of orange peel open the way to a juicy and supple midpalate of robust richness and weight that works well within the integrated tannin and oak. With underlying acidity, it remains fresh on the palate within its hearty fruit and layered texture.

This wine has a creamy midpalate of robust apple and pear that includes nuanced oak and balanced weight. White-flower and jasmine aromas permeate throughout, making for a pretty experience of grace and elegant texture, which finishes in crisp melon.

Steely and crisp in melon, apple and nectarine, this white is integrated in oak with a hint of rich brioche and vanilla. Long and lengthy, it has well-integrated acidity that keeps it fresh in the glass despite its hearty concentration.

Both flavorful and well structured, this nicely balanced wine offers ripe black-cherry, sour cherry and spice elements that are generous but slightly restrained, providing good tension in the texture.

This wine is good and rich while staying balanced. It offers ripe plum and blackberry aromas, abundant fruit flavors and subtle oak spices. It will be hard to beat when a bold, firm wine is called for.