The 2020 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Cloud Landing offers ripe aromas of yellow apple, toasted corn, and lemon custard. The palate is sunny with pineapple, orange oil, and baking spice. Richly textural and sunny, drink this now or over the next 6-8 years.

The 2020 Chardonnay Estates Collection Camelot Highlands is luxurious, with perfumed notes of custard, candied pear, and lime blossom. The palate is ripe and inviting, offering confectionary spiced pear, peaches with orange citrus, and a long finish. Drink over the next 3-6 years.

An amalgam of all their single vineyard wines, the 2020 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is fresh with green pear liquor, flint, and white flowers. The palate is snappy on the finish, with lemon pith, ripe green apple skin, and wet stone. Drink this now and over the next 6 or so years.

Sourced from a block within the Durrell Vineyard, the 2019 Chardonnay Stone Côte Vineyard is fresh with layers of lemon curd, wet stone, and hint of flinty reduction. The palate is ripe and has a primary fruit of ripe pear up front, with a snappy citrus lift on the finish. Drink now or over the next 6-8 years.

This is Copain’s first vintage of Cabernet Franc, and it comes from a cool, high-elevation site. The 2019 Cabernet Franc Taylor Peak is floral with red flowers, wet stone, redcurrant, and fresh herbs. The palate is vibrant and full, with a touch of gamey, iron-like richness. Two hundred cases will be released in the fall, and it will be worth snapping up if you can get your hands on it. Drink over the next 10 or more years.

The 2019 Syrah Sealift has a darker floral profile, with blackberry candy, lavender, and sweet smoke. The palate is ripe up front, with black plum, and fresh acidity lifts through the finish. Drink 2024-2030.

The 2019 Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard leads with spice of black pepper, dried flowers, and scorched earth. The palate is more structured, with a darker mineral character revealing dried herbs and plum, and it lifts cleanly off the palate. Drink over the next 8-10 years.

The 2019 Grenache Brosseau Vineyard is lifted with aromas of strawberry preserve, spice, and candied rose petal. The palate is vibrant and structured, with poppy cranberry and violet candy. Drink over the next 6 years or so.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley offers more purple flowers, turned earth, and cherry. The palate is full up front, with present tannic grip, and moves into cherry pit and savory mushroom. Hold another year or so and enjoy 2024-2034.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is juicy with fruit punch-like aromas of ripe red plum and candied flowers. The palate is soft up front and tapers to crunchy red fruit, with pomegranate on the finish. With its fine tannin structure, this is a great, food-friendly Pinot to drink now or over the next 8 or so years.

The 2020 Chardonnay Tidal Break is fresh with white peach, baking spice, and fresh lemon. The palate is soft and inviting, with lemon pith, green apple, and a stony mouthfeel. Drink 2022-2028.

Lots of floral aromas lead with the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, including honeysuckle, tropical fruits of papaya, and flinty reduction. The palate is zippy and fresh, with grapefruit pith, savory mountain herbs, and fresh acidity. Drink 2022-2028.

Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of currants, dark plums, tar and black cherries. Flavors of black cherries, plums and raspberries. Medium acidity, firm tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air.

Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of cassis, white flowers, plums, cherries and raspberries. Flavors of raspberries, plums and cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink over the short to perhaps medium term.

The 2020 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay from California (Vintages Essential $21.95) offers something a bit rich and creamy. This medium-bodied, oakedChardonnay starts with the fetching fragrance of roasted nuts and baked apples with a touch of cream somewhere. The entry is slow, almost undulating and generous, lit with a lace of acidity that keeps each sip lively. Flavours unfurl with lemon curd and butter pastry, crème brûlée and toasted hazelnut and a subtle stroke of vanilla. Little wonder this bottle is a popular choice at the LCBO.

Stellar Sauvignon Blanc Best of California With fruit sourced mainly from Monterey, Lake County, Mendocino and Sonoma, this is a cross-Californian Sauvignon Blanc, uniting Pacific freshness and Golden State sunshine. The nose is subdued but fresh, it is on the palate that a zesty, almost pithy texture appears, showing this to be a rather gastronomic wine, benefitting from a little oak influence. This is wonderfully rounded but beautifully fresh at the same time.

Stellar Sauvignon Blanc
Best of California

A solidly built red hallmarked by violet, black cherry and blackberry, with leather, earth and menthol accents that add interest. Ends with a firm grip of tannins. A potential match for steak or lamb, this needs a bit more time in the bottle. Best from 2025 through 2038.

A bold and ripe merlot that offers much in the way or ripe plum and blueberry fruit, as well as assertive, cedary oak influence. The palate starts fleshy and squares up through the mid-section with bold tannins peaking before a burst of red-plum fruit through the finish. Drink over the next five years.

The 2020 Pinot Noir was made with 40% whole clusters and matured for 12 months in about 40% new French oak. Medium ruby, it bursts with scents of cranberry sauce, rhubarb, orange peel, fernet and woodsmoke. The light-bodied palate is chalky and fresh, with delicate, crunchy red fruits and a long, spicy finish.

Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Pinot Noir Skycrest Vineyard offers broody red and blackberry fruits with slowly emerging accents of potpourri, aniseed and crushed stone. The medium-bodied palate has an appealing rusticity, with firm, grainy tannins and a fresh, earth-laced finish. It was bottled after 10 months in 33% new French oak.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Sea Lift, medium ruby-purple in color, opens slowly to cranberry sauce, charcuterie and blood orange with notes of tea leaves, dried earth and bergamot. Medium-bodied, the palate is bursting with juicy fruits which are balanced by loads of spicy and savory nuances. It has a silky texture and bright freshness that calls you back for another sip. It was bottled after 10 months in 30% new French oak.

The 2018 Chardonnay Alexander Mountain Estate Vineyard, aged 10 months in 33% new French oak, offers scents of baked apples and toast with nuances of graphite, almonds and beeswax. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive, its lush, spicy fruits balanced by stony streaks and tangy freshness, and it finishes long and flavorful.

The 2017 Merlot Jackson Park Vineyard, aged 20 months in 29% new French oak, has a medium ruby color and singular scents of blueberries, red cherry candy, warm chocolate, thyme and lavender. The palate is full-bodied with fine-grained tannins, bright bursts of acidity, perfumed fruits and a long, spice-laced finish.

The 2019 Chardonnay Bennett Valley matured for 10 months in 40% new French oak. It has pretty aromas of white peaches, jasmine, roasted almonds and honey. The medium-bodied palate is silky and savory with concentrated, honeyed fruits and a long, refreshing finish.