Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Barbieri Vineyard is laced with sweet dark cherry, mint, sage, licorice and incense, all of which give a good bit of aromatic nuance. Like all of these wines, the Barbieri is focused and nicely delineated, if not quite as defined as it can be.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Perry Ranch Vineyard is bright, floral and energetic. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry, citrus and star anise give the 2017 a very pretty upper register of perfume. The 2017 is a bit nervous and edgy, but it has terrific balance and plenty of vibrancy.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard is bright, punchy and full of character. Sweet red berry citrus, rose petal and white pepper give the 2017 terrific lift and energy. Weightless and nervy in feel, the Ewald is so expressive. The choice to pick this on August 30th appears to have been right on.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) is a very pretty, floral wine with terrific freshness. Crushed red berries, mint, flowers and citrus give the 2018 a terrific sense of energy and verve. Gracious, lifted and finely cut, the 2018 is positively stellar. I loved it.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesA bold, powerful wine, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley possesses tremendous density and tons of pure power. Black cherry, menthol, licorice, chocolate, cloves and French oak (40% new) add to an impression of gravitas and brooding power. This is an especially rich, muscular style.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Camelot Highlands melds together the tropical notes that are typical of these wines with more of an airy, weightless feel. White flowers, lemon confit, mint and white pepper add striking brightness to this very pretty, nuanced Chardonnay.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Cloud Landing Petaluma Gap is marked by super-intriguing exotic floral and tropical notes that give it a distinctive personality. Lightly honeyed notes, orange peel, apricot and butter develop later, adding further layers of complexity.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Grand Reserve is made exclusively from Santa Barbara fruit. Creamy, polished and wonderfully inviting, the 2018 has so much to offer. Bright floral accents from a touch of Musqué Clone Chardonnay add lift to this weightless, supremely expressive cool-climate Chardonnay.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is dense, rich and closed in on itself. Dark cherry, plum, espresso and licorice add to a feeling of weight and gravitas. The 2017 is going to be an absolutely fascinating wine to follow as the vines get older. The wine today is maybe just a bit unfocused, but these are young vines.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Red Wine Innovant is gorgeous and sleek. Sweet red cherry, spice, mint and mocha give the 2017 striking aromatic presence to match its mid-weight personality. Readers will find a stylish 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine with terrific freshness and plenty of verve.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Red Blend Prequel is a gorgeous Petite Sirah/Syrah-based blend. Inky dark fruit, spice, wild flowers, mint and lavender give this boisterous, rich wine tons of depth and sheer character. Bold and luscious, the 2017 is absolutely delicious. Drink it over the next handful of years. This is a very elegant wine considering the varieties it comprises.

Delicate, with dried rose petal and red cherry flavors, backed by fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. The juicy finish is spicy and crunchy, revealing savory hints. Drink now through 2024.

Lithe and powerful, featuring a vibrant core of apple and peach pastry flavors, with dried tropical fruit accents. Buttery midpalate, delivering a plush finish that lingers with intense spiciness.

Flying under the Jackson Family Wineries label (Kendall-Jackson et al) this Pinot was the first offering from the Sonoma Coast for Copain. Sweet raspberry and violets lead the nose and are followed with baking spices, roasted beets, cedar chips and tealeaf. Juicy, and silky in texture it offers high-toned red fruits, spice and tealeaf flavours. Bright and balanced, an excellent drop.

Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented and matured in French oak (10% new punches, 90% used barriques) for 7 months. This has a lot to say for itself. The oak comes through on the bouquet, but backs off on the long, tightly structured palate, lemon and seashell flavours on the finish.

This wine benefits from the rich tannins of the vintage, resulting in a beautifully ripe wine, dense and concentrated. Even the high alcohol does not take away from the wine's freshness and swathes of black fruit. It needs to age, so drink from 2023.

Kristina Shideler assembled this blend from the winery’s best barrels of 2015 cabernet, the majority coming from Sonoma Valley (54 percent of the blend). It tastes like an old-fashioned Sonoma Valley red, with spicy sour-cherry flavors, brisk tannins you can breathe through in the finish and sweet plum notes that last. It’s gracious and welcoming.

Jess Stonestreet Jackson purchased the Gauer Ranch in the 1990s, renaming it the Alexander Mountain Estate. It’s 5,100 acres on the western flank of Mayacamas with 900 planted to vines, the parcels ranging in altitude from 400 up to 2,400 feet. Lisa Valtenbergs made this 2016 cabernet from a range of parcels and elevations. It’s fragrant with delicate scents of red cherries, floral notes of strawberries and a dark core of pure cabernet sauvignon flavor: That black-currant fruit saturates a relatively light-bodied red (at least relative to some of the bigger styles of Stonestreet cabernets in the past); its gentle woodland freshness brings an impression of redwood fronds and ferns.

This tight, cassis-driven cabernet is fresh and inviting. The fruit is aromatic and clean, with highlights of cranberries, roots and green herbs. The tannins are integrated and gentle, ready to take on an herb-braised lamb shank.

This dark ruby colored Zinfandel from the Perli Vineyards opens with a boysenberry, red plum and cinnamon spice bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slight acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a very tasty black cherry and Chai tea blend with notes of milk chocolate, oak and a hint of caramel toward the end. The finish is dry and its flavors drift away nicely. This tasty Zin is very food friendly and would pair well with grilled Asian beef kebabs.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Deep red. Ripe red berries, incense and candied flowers on the expressive nose, along with a smoky mineral accent that adds energetic lift. Sappy, appealingly sweet and lively on the palate, offering juicy cherry, raspberry and spicecake flavors, along with candied rose and white pepper notes. Smooth and seamless in texture, finishing with resonating florality, smooth tannins and strong, spicy tenacity.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Shimmering red. Perfumed aromas of red currant, cherry cola, baking spices and potpourri show excellent clarity and mineral lift. Seamless and spicy on the palate, offering pliant black raspberry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Finishes on a resonating cherry note, with silky, fine-grained tannins and lively persistence.

What makes a great wine truly great? This bold style of Pinot Noir starts with the warm perfume of pressed dark berries with a whisper of gunflint somewhere. The entry is silky at first before giving way to plunging bold flavours of roasted plum, bittersweet chocolate, black licorice and salt—as well as a hint of crushed violet and chalk. The resonant finish elongates the experience. This is a generous, smart and immediately charming bottle of red that grows more compelling with each sip.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More 2016s Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Monolith gives up notes of red and black currants, black raspberries and fresh mulberries with suggestions of bay leaves, damp soil, black olives and lavender. Medium-bodied, the palate sings of freshness with racy acidity and well-played, soft tannins supporting the red and black berry layers, finishing on an invigorating herbal note. This should age amazingly! 422 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More 2016s Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate bursts from the glass with vivacious cassis, black cherry preserves and wild blueberries with hints of chocolate box, dried mint and black loam plus a waft of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, the palate gives a firm frame of lively freshness and grainy tannins supporting the bright, juicy fruit, finishing long with a minty lift. Elegantly played at just 14.1% alcohol. 12,115 cases were made.