Vivid ruby. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet displays scents of fresh boysenberry, black raspberry and cola, with a sexy floral nuance gaining strength with aeration. Sweet and seamless in the mouth, showing very good heft and focus. Delivers impressive energy on the youthfully tannic finish, which hangs on with serious fruit-driven tenacity.

Deep ruby. Highly perfumed aromas of candied red berries, potpourri, vanilla and candied rose. Nicely concentrated and vivacious, offering sappy raspberry and cherry-vanilla flavors that gain energy and spiciness with air. Closes sweet and long, with a lingering floral quality and smooth, slow-building tannins.

Ruby-red. Intensely perfumed red fruit and rose scents are complemented by deeper-pitched notes of cola and licorice. Lithe and sharply focused on the palate, offering sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and a touch of white pepper. Shows excellent clarity and lift on the finish, which features suave, velvety tannins and repeating floral character.

Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. An intensely flavored mid weight plus macho wine featuring aromas and flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, mocha, and savory herbs. Polished tannins make for very forward drink ability. A “ribeye wine.”

Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Very enticing aromas of alpine strawberry, cherry, wood spice and sous-bois. Highly satisfying, “pretty” core of cherry fruit with a flowery underpinning. The oak is well-integrated, the fine-grain tannins provide support, and the wine finishes with a burst of juicy, black cherry fruit which hangs on for dear life.

Deep ruby. Cherry-cola and boysenberry aromas are complicated by exotic notes of sandalwood, potpourri and star anise. Dense and creamy in texture, with surprising lift and clarity to its ripe dark fruit and floral pastille flavors. Notes of Asian spices and mocha come up with air and carry through a long, smoky finish, which shows just a hint of tannins. I guessed that there was some whole cluster work going on here but I was wrong.

Opaque ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet displays scents of red fruit preserves, incense and cola, with a smoky topnote that gains strength with air. Deeply pitched but lively on the palate, with a smooth interplay of ripeness and vivacity to its raspberry and bitter cherry flavors. The smokiness comes back on the long, focused finish.

Deep ruby. Potent, smoke-accented aromas of black raspberry and boysenberry, with a sexy floral nuance emerging with air. Rich but lively, offering vibrant dark berry flavors and exotic Asian spice and floral pastille flourishes. Closes on a chewy note, with impressive clarity and spicy persistence.

Ruby-red. Black raspberry, incense, rose oil and allspice on the intensely perfumed nose, with a sneaky note of cola gaining strength with air. The palate offers concentrated flavors of sappy red and dark berry flavors joined by a hint of bitter cherry on the back half; showing a lot of fruit today. Finishes with superb energy and lingering spiciness.

Vivid ruby-red. Fresh cherry, raspberry, potpourri and allspice on the highly fragrant nose. Sweet, floral and intense, with bright acidity and minerality contributing energy to this taut wine's sweet red berry and bitter cherry character. Firmly built and sharply focused pinot with suave floral pastille notes lingering on the finish.

Vivid ruby-red. Heady, complex bouquet evokes black raspberry, blood orange and cola, along with a sexy floral overtone. Lush and expansive but lively as well, offering intense red and dark berry flavors that pick up spiciness with air. Closes sweet and very long, with a seamless texture and lingering floral notes.

Bright ruby-red. Candied red fruits and incense on the pungent, intensely perfumed nose. Spicy and incisive, offering sweet raspberry and cherry flavors that pick up a suave floral nuance with aeration. Shows a distinct spiciness on the finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity and persistence. This taut, focused wine has the structure and balance to age.

Bright ruby. Pungent aromas of blackberry, rhubarb, licorice, wild herbs and rose oil. Juicy, brisk and focused, with intense flavors of candied red and dark berries, anise and cola. Delivers a load of flavor and complexity without any excess weight. Finishes youthfully tangy and very long, with a hint of allspice and firm mineral bite. These berries were reportedly extremely small but I detect no overt phenolic character in the wine.

Bright yellow. Powerful, deeply pitched poached pear, mango and iodine aromas, with a zesty mineral overtone. Rich and broad but energetic as well, offering chewy orchard and citrus fruit flavors and a smoky nuance. Quite lithe for such a powerful wine, and showing no excess fat. Closes on a spicy note, with excellent clarity, energy and length.

Vivid gold. High-pitched aromas of pear, anise, iodine and zesty minerals, with a sexy floral nuance that builds with air. Spicy and incisive on the palate, offering vibrant citrus and orchard fruit flavors and notes of honeysuckle, saffron and tarragon. Tightly focused and very lively on the long clinging finish.

Bright yellow. Sexy, highly perfumed nose combines citrus and tropical fruits and notes of wet stone and iodine. Sharply delineated and penetrating, with firm minerality giving spine to the pear, orange and honeysuckle flavors. Wonderfully vibrant chardonnay, finishing with lingering notes of candied lemon and talc.

Bright medium ruby. Classy aromas of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, coffee, leather and tobacco. Firm, tightly wound and backward, with flavors similar to the aromas. Faint complicating note of game. Solidly structured, elegant wine, finishing with serious but fine tannins, a peppery nuance and excellent persistence. Softened nicely with time in the recorked bottle.

Coming from the Ribbon Ridge, the 2023 Pinot Noir Ridgecrest Vineyard is a deep ruby hue and offers sappy richness in its aromas of sage, pressed lavender, blueberries, and mossy earth. This medium to full-bodied red delivers a satin-like texture, ripe tannins, and a fruity finish, with mouthwatering salinity. It's a very charming wine that should improve and gain in complexity as it sheds some of its more youthful primary fruit. Drink 2025-3035.

More savory than sweet, the 2021 Pinot Noir Clairiere slowly unfurls with a blend of blackberries, sage and cedar shavings. It washes across the palate with soft textures and ripe, citrus-laced red and blue fruits, taking on a saline mineral concentration toward the close. This leaves a subtle tinge of citrus and violet inner florals over a bed of edgy tannins, coming across as only lightly structered and aiming to please. The Clairiere is at the about 620 feet of elevation, ina cooloer exposition, surrounding by woods.

The remarkably pretty 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard is coy in the glass, with a nuanced blend of crushed blackberries, zests of blood orange and spice. It sweeps across the palate with silken textures lifted by fresh acidity as wild blueberries and strawberries settle on the senses. This tapers off with a spicy tinge and subtle tug of fine tannins, leaving an air of lavender pastille to fade slowly.

All Merlot from a block surrounded by forest, the 2021 Merlot Mt. Veeder is only Merlot, offering up notes of dried sage, cherries and even some vaguely strawberry-like notes. It's medium to full-bodied, silky but concentrated. It doesn't fit the stereotype of round, soft Merlot, being instead firmly structured and linear in shape, with a long, focused finish.

The 2018 Fijnbosch Chardonnay is instantly impressive in the glass with aromas of popcorn kernel, sweet citrus, brown baking spices, ripe yellow apple and hints of graham cracker. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is open and accessible, with gobs of yellow citrus flavors before oak tones sway into focus, with delightfully fresh, energetic acidity. The mid-palate shows surprising weight, and the wine ends with a fantastic finish that should drink well for another decade or so. Just under 700 bottles were produced after the wine aged in French oak barrels, 50% new. This beauty should please most New World Chardonnay drinkers.

Balanced, oaky and with notions of sweet citrus, the 2020 Chardonnay Silene offers notes of golden delicious apple, sweet pear and brown baking spices with delicate aromas of citrus blossoms. Medium to full-bodied, the Chardonnay shows impressive balance with an elegant frame of ripe citrus and pomaceous character before succulent acidity drives the finish, showing layered expressions of oak essence, citrus and delightful minerality on the aftertaste. Bravo! Just under 20,000 bottles were filled after the wine rested for 10 months in French oak, 30% first fill. Give it a try.

The blend for 2013 is 49% grenache, 29% shiraz and 22% mourvedre. Fermented wild, spends time in older oak.
Reminds me of GSMs of the past, the ones I weened myself on in early wine learning days. A good thing. The wine is certain in structure, offers chewy fruit, some tendrils of cedar curling through the riper flavours, a spike of lemony tang distracts in the finish, but it’s bold and heady in floral, ripe fruit-and-spice aromas which drag you back to the glass. Has a feel of something you want to cellar after you have your first sip. Would knock the socks off something you’ve prodded on a Weber BBQ for a long, slow and low cook.

Blackberry, dark cherry, mocha and mint/menthol, biscuit spices too. It’s full-bodied, kind of juicy in dark cherry and blackcurrant flavour, stony and gravelly tannin, some pencil and tobacco flavours, fresh and cool, with mocha and raspberry to close. A fair bit of chew and grip to those, though also quite minty, but it delivers Napa character at a pretty fair price. In short, I like it.