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.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More 2016s Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley reveals fresh blackberries, blackcurrants and black plums with hints of dark chocolate, menthol and fertile soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers delicious, crunchy black fruits and harmonious structure, finishing softly textured and spicy. 36,588 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More 2016s Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford rolls from the glass with warm blackberries, black cherry compote and red and black currants at the core with touches of cardamom, lavender, dusty earth and wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has plenty of bright, lively fruit and ripe, finely grained tannins, delivering a well-poised, delicately earthy finish.

Here's a fine and fleshy, generous, ripe, dark fruit-flavoured pinot that fits a warm vintage Willamette mold accurately, well-crafted, cleverly oak-influenced. I like the ripe, supple tannins and the ripe-balanced acids, not to mention the long finish. Solidly constructed. Tasted September 2019. Value Rating: **1/2

Santa Barbara: Present & Future Cambria's 2017 Chardonnay Clone 4 is creamy, open-knit and wonderfully layered, while retaining the mid-weight sense of structure that is the signature of the Cambria wines today. Tangerine, mint, vanillin, almond and chamomile grace this attractive, understated Chardonnay from Cambria.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard is soft, supple and delicate. Bright red berry fruit and floral overtones, along with silky tannins give he 2017 its distinctly lifted, airy personality. This is a pretty delicate, understated expression of Solomon Hills Pinot Noir, with all the elements in the right place.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Q Block Bien Nacido Vineyard is laced with expressive red/purplish berry fruit, sage, lavender and rose petal overtones. Supple silky and inviting, the 2017 is another Pinot in this range that will drink beautifully upon release.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is fresh, airy and nicely lifted. Chalk, red berries, mint and sweet floral notes give the 2017 a brilliant aromatic upper register. The Fiddlestix is one of the more compact wine in this range. At the same time, winemaker Jonathan Nagy has succeeded in making a rare Fiddlestix that captures terrific fruit purity while avoiding some of the more rustic elements that are so common here.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future One of the highlights in this range, the 2017 Pinot Noir (Sta.Rita Hills) is fresh, perfumed and wonderfully inviting. Rose petal, blood orange, kirsch and mint give the 2017 a decidedly exotic feel that is hugely appealing. In 2017, the Sta. Rita Hills Pinot is wonderfully lifted and nuanced, with terriffc balance and class that will make it impossible to resist, even upon release. Machado and Hapgood are the core sources for this appellation Pinot.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard has an open nose with scents of crushed blueberries and black cherries, licorice, perfumed earth, dried citrus and oodles of floral perfume. Medium-bodied and concentrated with nuanced fruits, it has a sturdy frame of grainy tannins, great freshness and a long, layered finish.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2017 Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley was entirely barrel fermented and aged in 40% new French oak. It opens perfumed, with chamomile, honey-drizzled apples, crushed stone, pie crust and fresh hay plus bright lemon and lime sparks. Light to medium-bodied, it offers appealing perfumed fruits in the mouth, with refreshing acidity and a long, lifted finish.