Well-framed, with pastry notes accenting the lively tangerine, green apple and pear flavors. Offers a rich, buttery finish, showing savory hints.

Idaho native Shane Moore, a product of Washington State University’s winemaking school, took over the high-end Gran Moraine and Zena Crown programs in 2013 for Jackson Family Wines. The deft touch with Pinot Noir (56%) and Chardonnay that he honed while working for the Sonoma Coast giant comes to bear here. The lots spent two years en tirage before disgorgement in spring 2018, and the results rank alongside the most elegant and inviting brut rosés in the Pacific Northwest. Complex aromas of strawberry, raspberry and hibiscus are ushered out by bright and tight bubbles. Underneath those red fruit tones is a squirt of lime and fleck of minerality, making for terrific balance and remarkably long finish. Outstanding.

Future icons of Australia? Mid to deep garnet. Meaty and fresh! Lovely stuff. Spicy with a beginning, middle and end. Dry finish. Maybe not the most luscious or sweet Grenache but very well made. 16.5

The Top Wines from the ‘Covetable Napa’ selection: Cardinale, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (imported by Fells), this felt closest to First Growth Bordeaux in terms of nose, with layers of precise red cherries and berries, forest floor and hints of soft leather and mocha. Full-bodied, with a mountain-fruit purity and opulent tannin structure.

Six Months of Wine Samples: A Summation of My Favorites 2017 Siduri Edmeades Pinot Noir – this is a powerful Pinot. Notes of pomegranate, plum, boysenberry, black cherry, cola, spice and earth. It’s balanced and earthy.

Six Months of Wine Samples: A Summation of My Favorites 2017 Siduri Anderson Valley Pinot Noir – this comes from three vineyards in the Anderson Valley and has notes of pomegranate, plum, red raspberry, truffle, gingerbread, herb and earth. It’s a complex wine that benefits from time in the glass.

Six Months of Wine Samples: A Summation of My Favorites 2015 Bootleg Red Wine – tons of black fruit, currant, baking spice, espresso, blueberry, vanilla and fig. This had some complexity and opened up nicely.

Six Months of Wine Samples: A Summation of My Favorites 2015 Cambria Julia Vineyard Pinot Noir – Notes of blue and black fruit which lead into red fruit, spice and earthiness.

The South African Vanguard: A Few Tasting Notes Light to medium yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of cold cream, melted butter and lemon curd. In the mouth, intense lemon curd and cold cream flavors have a gorgeous silky texture and a nice snap to them thanks to excellent acidity. The wood is quite well integrated and provides a sappy, toasty note in the background of the wine. Classically styled and gorgeous. 14% alcohol. Score: around 9.

It might be trendy again, but orange wine is nothing new — and nothing to scoff at Call them orange or amber, skin-fermented white wines are here to stay. Not just because wines have been made this way for 8,000 years, but also because more winemakers today are adopting the technique. Some are also incorporating it into more traditional (as in, modern) winemaking. I recently tasted an outstanding roussanne from Yangarra winery in Australia’s McLaren Vale region. Winemaker Peter Fraser fermented about half the grapes on the skins and aged the wine in egg-shaped ceramic vessels. Roussanne, a white grape from southern France, is rich and low in acid. The wines can be broad and flabby, but Fraser’s version was taut and lively, with a tannic snap that made it refreshing and complex.

Wine of the Week: Wines of the Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella’s vineyard is one of the most well-known farms in SLH. Owners Gary and Rosella Franscioni planted the 50-acre vineyard, which rests along the slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range, back in 1996 and produces fruit that is highly sought after. One of the wineries lucky enough to source fruit from this iconic site is Siduri, whose 2016 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir is simply delicious. It features pretty aromas of red plum and spring strawberry scents on the nose. The flavors of dark raspberry, bright cherry, wild strawberry and wet stone are well-balanced and nicely textured. The supple finish is simply delicious, with a touch of cinnamon for added charm.

Wine for the cellar Vigneron Pierre Seillan recalls that of his 49 vintages, 2015 was the first where picking began in August, the 31st to be precise. The harvest lasted 12 days, and while yields were low, the grape quality was outstanding. La Muse presents as youthful with floral, stony mineral aromas. The mix is 90 per cent Merlot, seven per cent Cabernet Franc and three per cent Malbec. Look for a super-rich, round, savoury Sonoma style with fresh blackberries, sliced apple flavours and an amazing silky texture. The mid-palate is awash in baking spices, bits of chocolate and more smoky, savoury licorice and black cherry flavours. It’s the supple nature of this wine that makes it of so attractive. It’s more like Masseto than Petrus, but either way it is in good company.

An ample style of pinot noir but one that offers some restraint, a youthful condition and well-meshed alcohol. Complex with a layered progression of flavours and notable purity of fruit. Expressive and alluring with an above average tannic grip. Tasted September 2019.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Rita's Crown Vineyard is one of the most distinctive wines in this range. Powerful and vertical in feel, with a real sense of energy, the Rita's Crown is fabulous. Firm tannins give the 2017 much of its shape and overall drive, but there is more than enough fruit to keep things impeccably balanced. The interplay of aromatic intensity, transparency and structure is compelling. The 33% whole clusters add complexity without overpowering the wine.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard captures all of the natural density and pure power that is such a signature of this site. A rush of dark red cherry, plum, spice, new leather, sage and menthol builds as this potent, explosive Pinot shows off its personality. This is a fabulous showing.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Chardonnay Hapgood is ample and broad in the glass, with a real sense of phenolic intensity that gives the wine its overall shape. Tangerine, sage, mint, chamomile and dried flowers add aromatic nuance, but it is the wine's vertical feel that stands out most. The 2017 Hapgood is a superb Chardonnay endowed with tremendous character and sheer class.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future Another highlight in this range, the 2017 Chardonnay Machado is striking for its sense of translucence and nuance. Lemon confit, almond, dried pear and mint add shades of complexity to this super-expressive, layered Chardonnay. In 2017, the Machado is all about understatement and class. I loved it.

Striking, enticing and inviting nose emits pure pleasure and extreme confidence from the stalwart Willamette house. If you don’t know this winery you need to because in their hands pinot noir is lifted to the heights and executed for all the right reasons. Balance is met by the introduction of pleasantries to tension and an accord of moving parts is magically reached. Extraction, concentration and acidity are all on the same page, of complex mathematical design, theory and relative equilibrium. So good. Drink 2019-2026. Tasted September 2019.

Great stuff! This is a fairly deeply coloured, complex and enchanting pinot noir. Ripe black cherry fruit is effortlessly inlaid with wood smoke, cedar, vanilla and forest floor. It is quite full bodied, intense and powerful with considerable alcohol and fine youthful tannin. Very concentrated, very Oregon and very well done. Best 2021 to 2025. Tasted Sept 2019.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard has a level of nuance and transparency that elevates it in this range. Crushed flowers, rose petal, mint, lavender, blood orange and spice are all finely cut. A wine of class and distinction, the Nielson is fabulous. The combination of 667 and Swan Clones works beautifully here.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2018 Chardonnay Katherine's, from the Cambria estate in Santa Maria, exudes depth and old-vine character in its powerful, dense feel. If tasted blind, I might have pegged this for a red wine, such is its phenolic resonance. These 50-year-old, own rooted vines confer striking complexity and character. This is such a compelling wine.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future A wine of denisity and power, the 2017 Machado is another standout in what is a very impressive range from Brewer-Clifton this year. Dark cherry and plum fruit are rich and expansive on the palate. The 2017 needs a few years in bottle to develop more complexity, but it is really quite compelling, even in the early going.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Chardonnay 3D is the most overt and tropical of the four wines in the range, the 3-D will appeal most to readers who enjoy richer, more flamboyant wines. Tangerine, hazelnut, smoke, pineapple and buttery notes are front and center in this decidedly exotic, viscous Chardonnay.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2018 Chardonnay Santos Road is the most open-knit and creamy of the Chardonnays in the Diatom range. Lemon peel, tangerine, white flowers and a touch of reduction give the 2018 tons of character. A Chardonnay of distinction and class, the Santos Road is also an example of the diatom style at its very best.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir 3D is a deep, powerful wine endowed with tremendous intensity. Next to the other Pinots in the range, the 3D feels quite virile. White pepper, crushed rocks, savory herbs and chalk give the 3D a beguiling upper register to play off its dense fruit and imposing structure. Veins of salinity give energy and brightness. This is such a compelling and promising wine.