Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018From a selection of growers in the Russian River Valley, the 2017 Chardonnay 9 Barrel has a ripe, tropical bouquet of tart pineapple, buttered lemons, flowers, and toasted bread. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Chardonnay with a terrific mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a crisp finish. Impeccably made, it’s a terrific Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years. I don't think it matches the 2016, but it's a beautiful wine.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge is also all varietal and comes from the Kellog Vineyard in the warmer Knights Valley AVA. Aged 19 months in just over 60% new French oak, it offers rocking crème de cassis, spicy oak, lead pencil, and violet notes as well as a plush, medium to full-bodied, impressively textured style on the palate. It still shows those 2017 tannins but is beautifully done.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Last of the Chardonnay, the 2018 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands comes all from the Santa Maria Valley (which is a cooler region) and was fermented and aged all in French oak. Brioche, honeysuckle, toasted nuts, and orchard fruits all define the bouquet, and this beauty is rich, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, with terrific balance. It's another rich yet balanced, incredibly high-quality white from the team at Kendall-Jackson.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Savory spice, dried herbs, rose petal, earth, mulled cherry, and cranberry notes all emerge from the 2017 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail, which comes from an estate vineyard in the southern end of the Anderson Valley, located at 1,600 feet in elevation. Aged 17 months in 42% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it's medium-bodied, elegant, and ethereally styled, with light tannins and solid length. It's going to keep for 7-8 years, but it’s not one of the more singular wines in the lineup.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Leading off the Chardonnays (there are two early release 2018s), the appellation 2018 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is a great introduction into the wines of this estate and has a richer, expansive, medium to full-bodied style offering lots of golden apple, musky pineapple, brioche, and honeysuckle aromas and flavors. It's a textured, beautifully balanced, superb appellation Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 4-5 years.

Powerful, supple, fragrant.A pretty yet powerful Pinot boasting alluring aromas of sunwarmed raspberry, vanilla, anise, cedar chips, muddled blueberries and a field full of violets. Generous sweet blueberry and raspberry flavours are layered with baking spice, bittersweet cocoa and tealeaf flavours. It has suppleness and density, but also levity and length. At 14.5% alcohol, it's a bit warm on the finish, but the fruit here really shines.

Jammy and bursting with lively raspberry flavors, laced with smoky anise, allspice and pepper notes that linger on a polished finish. Drink now through 2028.

Traditional Skin Contact White Wine #1 : 2017 Yangarra Estate Roux Beaute RoussanneHow to refer to it: Skin contact or macerated white wine, or skin contact or macerated roussane.Yangarra is a historic estate in Australia’s McLaren Vale wine region focused on producing Rhone varieties off its single estate vineyard, which was first planted in 1946. In 2001, the estate was purchased by Jackson Family Estates. A year prior, it took on then-new winemaker Peter Fraser. I got to meet Peter in 2019 and try a new series of high end Yangarra wines, this one among them, that use techniques different from the rest of the winery’s lineup.Half of the grapes for the 2017 Roux Beaute Roussanne go through 193 days of maceration (skin contact) in large ceramic eggs, which allows more oxygen to interact with the wine than the traditional stainless steel fermentation vessel used for most white wine. The remaining 50% of the grapes went through fermentation in ceramic egg, though without skin contact. This approach, combined with the use of wild yeast, gives the wine more structural layers than it would otherwise have, and adds flavors and aromas impossible without maceration. Tasting note:A slightly musty aroma gives way to peach, apple cider, nectarine, petrol and something I can only describe as “dank.” Though medium in body, it floods the mouth with juicy acid and ripe skin tannin, forming a glycerin sensation. Flavors include white peach, apricot, sour tangerine, orchid, white pepper and dandelion.

Tangy red-cherry and plum-skin aromas are leveled by slight hickory smoke and a pinch of wild herbs on the nose of this top-tier bottling from a large estate winery. The plummy flavors of the palate are cut by green peppercorns, which provide an almost extreme level of spice.

This is a tight, structured and youthful white wine, which develops nuance and complexity in the glass. Textured with a presence of toasted oak, it is rich and layered, opulently appealing in pear, stone fruit and vanilla.

With smooth, rounded edges of dark cherry, black currant and dried herb, this is a well-made and nicely structured wine with a strong tannin profile and integrated use of oak. Robust in clove, black pepper and a pinch of tobacco, it finishes with length.

The nose is menthol and cherry, saline and pepper. The palate entry is crisp and waxy black cherry with licorice and silky blue plum on the finish. Drink 2020 -2025.

The nose is rough-sawn juniper, cedar and crème de cassis. The palate entry is deceptively silky and poised herb and black stone fruits. It lingers on the finish leaving a mouth-coating lavender and forest floor with a notable riff of acidity. Drink 2020 -2025.

Youthful and earthy, this wine starts with a blast of cherryand trumpet-mushroom flavor. For all its power, the wine is tight, the finish hinting at flowering herbs and roses. Impressively structured, this will prove itself with five or six years in the cellar.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Chardonnay Estate has a very pretty nose of apple pie, sweet spices, hazelnuts, acacia and citrus blossom with poached pears and honey-oat nuances. It's medium-bodied with a gently rounded texture and great fruit intensity, lifted by bright acidity and finishing long and honey-laced.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2016 Syrah has a vibrant ruby-purple color and very pretty nose of blackberries, crushed black currants, violets, dried herbs and bay leaves with hints of cocoa and prosciutto. The medium to full-bodied palate blossoms slowly, expertly framed by firm, grainy tannins and juicy lift, finishing nuanced and savory. This is a great middle-of-the-road style—not too much, not too little.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe medium ruby-purple colored 2017 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills is slow to open, taking time to reveal tart cranberry, red currant, licorice, dusty earth and citrus peel aromas with notes of tea leaves and wild blackberries. The silky, medium-bodied palate offers intense fruits that are softly framed and juicy, finishing long. This is so crunchy and so fresh!

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard is still very tightly coiled, revealing warm blackberries, cured meats, tar, earth, aniseed and potpourri hints with coaxing. The medium-bodied palate is powerful and intense with loads of earth and spice accents, finishing long and floral. This needs at least another year or two in bottle to unwind.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard opens with saline, granite, dried herbs and pink peppercorn notes with red currants, smoked cranberries, tea leaves, bitters and amaro accents. It's medium-bodied and silky in the mouth with slowly blossoming flavor layers, a firm, grainy frame and seamless freshness, finishing long. This will benefit from another year or two in bottle.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Bella Vida Vineyard is scented of pomegranate, tart cranberries and red currants with nuances of dusty earth, autumn leaves, wild blackberries, citrus peel and bergamot. It's medium-bodied and silky with perfumed fruits, a finely woven fabric of grainy tannins and juicy freshness to lift the long, fragrant finish.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills offers smoked meats, roasted cranberries, blackberries, saline, tea leaves and dusty earth aromas. Medium-bodied, silky, concentrated and spicy, it has a grainy frame and juicy freshness with pure, crunchy fruits, finishing long and spiced.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Pas de Nom has a perfume of spicy cranberries, warm blackberries, red currants and bergamot with touches of citrus peel and flowers. Youthfully coiled, it's medium-bodied and silky, slowly opening in the mouth, with a firm frame and great freshness on the finish. This needs another year or two in bottle to unwind.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Pinot Noir Jory Hills was aged 17 months in 40% new oak. Medium ruby, it opens with crushed black cherries and blackberries, perfumed earth, bitter chocolate and a touch of saddle leather with hints of dried savory herbs and blue flowers. It's light to medium-bodied, broody and dark fruited in the mouth with mouthwatering acidity and a grainy frame, finishing long and flavorful. Yum!

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintagePale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, aged nine months in 22% new oak, opens with cinnamon toast, floral potpourri, tangerine peel and cranberry jelly with accents of apple skin, warm marionberries and wild blackberries. The palate is light to medium-bodied with layered sweet spice, earth, amaro and ripe fruits and knit by grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and flavorful. This is impressive for the price point.

USA, Oregon: Searching for Hidden Gems from Willamette Valley's 2017 VintageThe 2017 Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton has a wonderfully open, inviting nose of honey-drizzled hazelnuts, apple pie, clotted cream, baked peaches, allspice and crushed stone. The medium-bodied palate is creamy textured and savory in character with juicy acidity and a long, textured finish. This will benefit from one more year in bottle.