This relatively light-bodied wine is broad and delicious, layering baking spices like cinnamon, vanilla and clove over considerable black-cherry flavors. It highlights the Anderson Valley’s fresh fruitiness and supple texture.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Pinot Noir Truly Rita is a fabulous introduction to the Sta. Rita Hills. A burst of sweet red/purplish fruit, mint, rose petal and blood orange caresses the palate in a sumptuous, luscious Pinot that oozes with class. This gorgeous, alluring Pinot shows all of the raciness of the Sta. Rita Hills. I loved it.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2017 Pinot Noir Julia's Signature Collection is a beguiling wine. Orange peel, cinnamon, cedar and all sorts of dried flowers give the 2018 an exotic dimension that is so inviting. Savory and floral notes from the whole clusters extend the finish nicely in a mid-weight, understated Pinot that has quite a bit to offer.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard is a gentle, open-knit wine. Soft contours and the tropical accents typical of Santa Maria give the 2018 a very pretty sense of immediacy. Airy and gracious, with terrific precision, the Katherine's Chardonnay is classy through and through.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is a pretty, elegant wine. Freshly cut flowers, red cherry, mint and white pepper are all nicely delineated. Energetic and taut in the glass, the Fiddlestix emphasizes verve and freshness more than anything else. I would prefer to drink it on the younger side.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Chardonnay Nielson Vineyard is laced with scents of apricot, tangerine oil, white flowers and mint. Brisk acids give this mid-weight, nuanced Chardonnay a good bit of character. A hint of reduction on the finish works nicely here.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sThe 2018 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is vivid and expressive. Like so many of the wines here, the Chardonnay needs a good bit of air to show at its best. Once that happens, the wine's textural breadth and dimension emerge beautifully. Lemon confit, dried pear, mint and dried herbs are all laced together. This appellation Chardonnay is deep, savory and phenolic, all of which make it an excellent choice for the dinner table. It is the hidden gem in this range. Vineyard sites are 3D, Machado and Hapgood.

Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018sA powerful, intense wine, the 2018 Pinot Noir Machado has a lot of depth, but it is also not ready to show all its cards yet. Potent tannins wrap around a core of dark fruit, leather, menthol and tobacco. The Machado is a wine of real substance, bit it will be a few years before the 2018 is at its most expressive and rewarding to drink.

Hand-picked, 50% destemmed and crushed to 675l ceramic eggs, fermented on skins and macerated for 183 days before pressing. The other 50% was also fermented in eggs, the skins discarded. It's an interesting wine, but has a slightly stuffy finish.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyFrom a site on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard shows the more savory, spicy, marine-like style of this appellation. Lots of mulled red and black fruits, new leather, spice, and forest floor notes all emerge from the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied, textured, and balanced.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyThe 2018 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard was all destemmed and brought up in 65% new French oak. It has a pure, clean bouquet of black raspberry fruits, spice box, dried herbs, and loamy soil. Playing in the medium-bodied, elegant end of the spectrum, it has solid balance, nicely integrated acidity, and a clean finish.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyBrioche, honeysuckle, white flowers, and ample buttered stone fruit notes all emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Nielson Vineyard, a rich, concentrated, medium to full-bodied Chardonnay with some obvious oak, lots of texture, good balance, and a clean finish. It's terrific today yet should keep for 4-5 years.

Glistening magenta. Fragrant, oak-spiced cherry, black raspberry and violet scents are complemented by suggestions of vanilla and candied licorice. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering ripe red and dark berry and cherry cola flavors that become livelier through the midpalate. Finishes long and smoky, with a resonating floral note and steadily building, gently chewy tannins. 25% new oak.

Limpid ruby-red. Lively and focused on the nose, displaying mineral-tinged scents of juicy red and dark berries, allspice and candied flowers. Gently sweet and seamless in texture, offering spice-laced raspberry, cherry and musky rhubarb flavors that deepen slowly with air. Shows fine definition and finishes spicy and long, with discreet tannins and lingering red fruit and floral nuances.

This bright red colored Pinot Noir from Siduri was very popular with the Tasting Panel. It opens with a strawberry and red raspberry bouquet with hints of mentholated red cherry and rose. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, smooth, and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a tasty Santa Rosa plum and raspberry blend with notes of craisin, mild pomegranate and integrated mild oak and minerality. We also detected hints of red licorice and green tea. It is pretty complex. The finish is dry and it drifts away nicely. The Panel suggested pairing this very good Pinot with Stuart's lamb pops.

Half the 2018 Roux Beaute Roussanne was fermented in ceramic eggs and stayed on skins for 193 days; the other half fermented in eggs, but with no skins. The final blend incorporates 40% skin-contact component and 60% off-skins. There is a subtle "skins-y" note on the nose, accenting the pear and pineapple fruit. This is a medium to full-bodied wine despite weighing in at only 13.5% alcohol, with a slightly creamy, silky texture and a dry, gently tannic finish.

While I'm rarely a fan of Australian Merlot, Hickinbotham does a better job than most with this finicky variety. Its 2017 The Revivalist Merlot is a bit herbal on the nose, blending those green shadings with tomato and red plum scents. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied and supple, but with firm acids and a crisp, mouthwatering finish that picks up cedary nuances. It should be uncommonly long-lived—drinking well for up to a decade or so.

Medium to medium dark red. Nice dark cherry and pomegranate with floral notes and an earthy/underbrush edge. Good focus, firm backbone, nice savory and brambly edge. Dry finish. A versatile food wine. Sourced from three appellations: Yamhill-Carlton, Chehalem Mountains, and Eola-Amity.

The Pinot Noir Parsons’ Vineyard displays a dark garnet ruby color and intense aromas of dark ripe cherry and plum fruit. It is full-bodied on the palate with big fruit flavors and mouth feel and is rich in alcohol with hints of forest floor, tea and earth. Parsons’ is a relatively warm site located west of Santa Rosa on the Santa Rosa plain.

The Russian River Valley Pinot is a pretty wine, offering very fresh scents of red cherry and raspberry with a slight candied edge. The wine is fruit forward with pure flavors and a suave mouth feel. Finishes with good length.

There’s a whole bunch of percentages and details on what fruit goes where and when and how much is skin fermented (a fair bit here) but I think its best said that this is roussanne which is built like an orange wine and raised in ceramic eggs off a biodynamic vineyard. The skin fermentation went for a whopping 193 days, which is probably the quip you need. Also, this may be the heaviest bottle of white wine I have ever raised. Deceiving look to its weight too. It is a whopper. First sips and I kept having mental flashes in neon… ‘Hot n Spicy’, over and over again. Not hot as in alcohol heat hot, just this sensation of warmth of flavour that comes with the skinsy texture and a kind of breathiness alongside. Nothin’ wrong with that, per se. It’s quite restrained in perfume and flavours, just-ripe nashi pear, a bit of good-citrus bitterness, some peppery notes too. The skinsy chew is there alright. That hot n spicy thing, however, just irks a touch and tannin pulls the wine up relatively short. That being said, it’s a wine of impact and grip for those seeking plenty out of a white wine.

This pale straw-colored Chardonnay from Freemark Abbey is very good. It opens with a mild pineapple and kiwi bouquet with hints of campfire, vanilla, oak and banana. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied and acidic. The flavor profile is a pineapple and chamomile tea blend with notes of minerality, oak and almonds. We also detected hints of lemon curd and mango. It was pretty complex. The finish is dry and its flavors drift away nicely. The Panel suggested pairing this Chard with a seafood casserole or crêpes Suzette.

I like the ripeness and energy to this Chianti Classico with a plum, walnut and dried-meat undertone. Medium body, round and juicy tannins and a savory finish. Hints of burnt orange in the center palate. Flavorful finish. Drink now.

Linear, fresh red with plum and orange-peel aromas and flavors. Medium body, light tannins and a fruity finish. Subdued and focused. Drink now.

Rich ruby color, smooth and juicy with toasty oak and a hint of vanilla; juicy and balanced, long and charming.