Coming from both Coombsville and Carneros, the 2020 Chardonnay spent 10 months in 36% new French oak. It’s a classy, outstanding effort offering lots of apple blossom, white flowers, and orange zest nuances in a medium-bodied, bright, juicy style. It’s perfect for enjoying over the coming couple of years.

Dark strawberry, raspberry jam and light herb aromas make for a familiar and complex nose on his bottling. The palate is edgy in texture and brisk in flavor, showing red plum, pomegranate and rounded red-flower flavors, with pepper spice on the finish.
Editors’ Choice.

Giant Steps 2021 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay (Yarra Valley). This is a mediumweight, fruit-and-toast driven Chard from the upper Yarra. High-toned aromas of lemon, apple peel, grilled white peach and musk are backed by cream and saline notes. It’s slippery in texture, balanced by a salty acidity, with length and poise. This vintage feels more reticent than previous ones, so cellar for a year or two then drink until 2031. Jackson Family Wines. Cellar Selection

Produced from 100% Sangiovese, the 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Strada Al Sasso is concentrated and potent with fresh pine, worn leather, sage, and black cherry. It is medium to full-bodied, with a driving linear feel to its acidity, and reveals angular tannins, notes of dusty baked earth, orange peel, rosemary, and cedar, and a citrus-tinged finish. Drink 2025-2035.

A broad, creamy version, with flavors of fresh-cut apple, yellow plum, blanched almond, chamomile and honeycomb defined by mouthwatering acidity that pushes the flavor range, streamlining everything on the long, salty finish. Drink now through 2028. 200 cases made, 150 cases imported.

Rich, with butterscotch and apple butter notes as well as ripe peach flavors on a supple, creamy frame revealing fresh acidity and spiciness. Shows a wonderful sense of balance and elegance on the finish. Drink now. 217 cases made

The 2020 Ovitelli Blanc (a white Rhône blend made from Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Picquepoul and Bourbelenc) presents a complex, although reserved, experience. It opens with an engaging array of waxy, pithy and nutty aromas with a subtle chamomile lift. Dry and quite textural, tangy acidity drives upfront impact before slowly taking a more savory turn to a textural finish. This is a good effort and a wine to watch.

The 2020 Merlot The Revivalist with splashes of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon is a sumptuous, fragrant wine. Already approachable, it delivers plush open-knit aromas of blackcurrant and blackberry with tinges of leaf and dried herbs. A good volume of flavor follows but is slightly edged out by toasty oak and drying tannins through a reasonable finish. This has crowd pleaser written all over it.

This 2020 Cabernet Franc, blended with small volumes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, offers beautifully pristine blackcurrant and graphite aromas with a well weighted vein of spicy French oak. There is impressive elegance and balance, too. Firm but fine tannins underline well-defined flavors through a lengthy finish. Beautifully approachable now but also with the potential to improve over the medium term.

The popularity of Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve label, which blends grapes from the Jackson family’s vineyards across California to produce consistently flavourful and concentrated wines, might make some underestimate this Alexander Valley Cabernet. That would be a mistake. Alexander Valley in Sonoma County is a choice spot for cabernet in California, rivalling Napa in terms of quality and character. This estate-grown cabernet includes 22 per cent merlot in a red wine with a sweet and vibrant character. Drink now to 2030. Available in Ontario.

The 2019 Chardonnay Estate is plush, creamy and super-expressive. Apricot, mint, chamomile and light pastry notes all grace this smooth yet understated Chardonnay from Stonestreet.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard offers attractive brightness to play off a core of sweet red cherry/plum fruit. The style is a bit on the linear side, and yet there is plenty of both fruit and mid-palate pliancy to pull it all together. This is nicely done.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Perry Ranch Vineyard is a bold, potent wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, clovers, licorice and mocha give the Perry Ranch its dark, rather brooding personality. The 2019 needs a bit of time to come together, as it is a bit awkward in its contours. But there is certainly plenty to look forward to.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard is a very pretty wine. Sweet floral and spice accents give the Edmeades lovely brightness to complement the dark red fruit. There's plenty of vintage 2020 richness, and yet Edmeades also offers a good deal of aromatic intensity and overall energy as well.

The 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Journey is a blend from Matanzas Creek, Knights Valley, Alexander Mountain Estate and Jackson Park, four top estates. Apricot, ginger, mint, lemon confit white flowers and sage all meld together in a Sauvignon Blanc endowed with terrific textural finesse and fine balance. This is a magnificent wine for the year.

The 2018 Merlot (Alexander Valley) is sof, fruity and easygoing, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. Bright red cherry, plum,spice, new leather, chocolate, and licorice are nicely pushed forward.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Unforgettable shows a lovely red berry fruit character to match its understated, mid-weight personality. Soft, silky tannins wrap it all together. This firms up a touch with air as the acids begin to emerge. The brightness is quite attractive. I would open this an hour or two in advance to allow all the elements to be fully expressive.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Jolie is the most ethereal and lifted of these Pinots. Crushed red berry fruit, cedar, mint and orange peel hover across the palate. Understated and classy to the core, the 2019 is impeccably balanced, not to mention a real charmer.

The 2019 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard is a classic Russian River Chardonnay built on texture and oiliness. Apricot, honey, tangerine oil, chamomile, spice and butter notes all come together nicely. This mid-weight, fleshy Chardonnay is loaded with up-front appeal and charm.

The 2016 Syrah Outer Limits Vineyard, from Far Coast, is a rare Syrah from the Annapolis district in the northern part of the West Sonoma Coast. It offers up copious dark fruit, black pepper, five spice and bittersweet chocolate. Even at six years of age, the 2016 has a wild, rough around the edges feel that is quite present.

The 2019 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block is laced with hints of crushed flowers, mint, sweet dried cherry, cedar and pipe tobacco. This is one of the more understated, mid-weight wines in the lineup. The aromatics are quite expressive today. Best of all, the 2019 will drink well with minimal cellaring. A touch of whole clusters works quite well here.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is a powerful, brooding wine. Black cherry, plum, lavender, spice, licorice and mocha give this inward, packed Pinot tons of character. This site at 1,600 feet in elevation yields a Pinot with big fruit and equally imposing tannins. Give it a few years to soften.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block emerges from a block within Arrendell. Powerful and yet linear, the Hailey's possesses lovely red/purplish berry character, with blood orange, spice and rose petal accents that add character. There's good energy, but also an aggressiveness in the tannin that holds the wine back.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Sealift is a rich, effusive wine. Black cherry, plum, spice, new leather, menthol, licorice and mocha are all dialed up. Pliant and supple, with terrific depth, the Sealift is one of the more overt wines in this range, yet it retains all the nuance that is such a signature of the Copain wines today.

The 2019 Grenache Brosseau offers up copious, sweet red cherry, kirsch, mint, spice and floral notes, all in a gracious, perfumed style that is quite appealing. This mid-weight, racy Grenache is all charm.