The 60 acres (24 hectares) of vines of this château are located less than two miles from Saint-Émilion and are operated both by Californian and French wine devotees. The 2016 has a light fruity nose with a hint of chocolate and tar, and is a coherent and well-balanced stream of juice in the mouth.

The Best Wines For A Date Night At Home Sumptuous with red-black fruits and a savory edge, this beautifully structured Merlot-dominant red blend is perfect with any grilled meat. Winemakers Pierre and Nicolas Seillan (father and son, respectively) release vintages when they agree the wine is ready for prime time—hence the 2011 in our midst. This is not a wine that will pummel you with power; rather it’s a silky-smooth landing into black cherry, dark forest floor and warm spice. Buy one to enjoy tonight and one to cellar.

South African Wine: More Than You Think Weerts explores Chardonnay on South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, from old vines in old soil. He says the Western cape is either the "oldest new-world wine region or the youngest of the old-world." His Capensis is 100% Chardonnay from the Western Cape, tank fermented with nearly a year in French oak. 14% abv, $80. There is citrus and oak on the nose - almost a smokey, buttery feel. The palate is possibly too oaky for some tastes, but it hit me just right. It's the kind of Chardonnay I like to drink at Christmastime. The fruit shines through.

Plums, mint, deliciousness, and a postcard reminder of why we all should love SBC. A-

Earthy, meaty, fruity, lively, and all delivered with a determined sense of “Oomph!” A-

Like a fine steak with the deepest, darkest, earthiest sauce you can muster. B+.

The Best Wines For A Date Night At Home The Zena Crown vineyard in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills is prized for providing consistent, premium quality fruit and winemakers such as Lynn Penner-Ash use it to craft complex wines of elegance and purity. Penner-Ash also uses whole cluster fermentation, a challenging process that imparts delicate spiciness. This is a wine that will evolve throughout the evening and is ideally suited to grilled salmon, or roasted or grilled lamb chops.

This wine has abundant aromas of cherry and dried flowers. On the palate, red fruit flavors along with hints of oak and spice complement one another. Medium- to full-bodied, the wine has a long, flavorful finish. It pairs nicely with salmon and duck as well as red meats.

Very nice with cocoa, plum, cherry and hints of baking spice aromas. Assorted red fruit flavors and firm tannin help to give the wine added depth. The long, persistent finish was most impressive.

Wine of the Week We’re often inclined to pop open a bottle of something pink or fizzy when the weather is a little warmer, but there is more to summer than pale hues. With that in mind, few reds are more suitable for warmer times than Oregon Pinot, especially this example by Lynn and Ron Penner-Ash from the Willamette – whose eponymous winery was bought by the Jackson family in 2016. This particular Pinot comprises a blend of wines from the estate’s single vineyard expressions, and wowed the tasters for its “vibrant” fruit, “creamy wood” and “spice” on the nose, along with its “pure red berry flavours”, “definition and persistency”, according to Patricia Stefanowicz MW, who was on the panel last year. Another judge, David Round MW, found the Willamette Pinot lively with wood and spice, and “pently of ripe fruit”. Knowing the wine would benefit from some time in the cellar, the Penner-Ash team waited until last year to enter this 2014 vintage expression into our Global Pinot Noir competition, and just as well, as our panel gave it the highest accolade, a Master.

We concluded the tasting with the 2016 Syrah, which yielded a deep purple color along with ample dark fruit flavors and hints of oak. Medium-bodied with good balance and weight that carries it to a long, smooth finish.

Production for the 2018 Viognier is pegged at 1,400 cases of this delightful white. Crisp and clean with abundant acidity and a refreshing mouth feel.

Wines To Toast Dad Sonoma’s Alexander Valley delivers both valley floor and mountain fruit, giving winemakers the opportunity to utilize various elevations to craft a harmonious wine. Jess Jackson realized this years ago when he created his Legacy Wines, meant to showcase age-worthy wines from the region with the highly structured, powerful, and focused Legacy Cabernet Sauvignon layering anise, wild sage, black cherry, pencil lead, and blackberry.

The Weekly Dozen – A Fresh Bouquet of Pinks Fresh and crisp – strawberries with a hint of tropical fruits.

The Best Pinot Noirs Under $20: A Discriminating Guide Marked by notes of black currant and spice, this wine is fairly rich and full bodied, aged in French oak barrels (about 17% new). It’s also more powerful and higher in alcohol (14.5%) than the other Pinots listed here.

Let’s Talk Wine: Bold red wines for Father’s Day Celebrating 40 years of winemaking! A delicious medium-bodied pinot with strong aromas and flavors of red and black berries with hints of dark chocolate and tobacco.

Top 10 Wines For Pairing With Favorite Grilled Foods Heading into the lighter reds, this cool-climate Pinot Noir goes equally well with fish and meat. My favorite pairing for this cola- and dark-fruit-driven wine is a local cod on the grill or a nice fatty pork chop.

Wine+Food pairing recommendation WINE Tropical-fruited California Chardonnay: 2017 La Crema Sonoma Coast

All things dad

All things dad

Different Chardonnay styles offer enjoyment for warm weather (and all year) The 2018 Kendall-Jackson “Avant” is pure, fresh and slightly sweet.

Pool Party Recommendation

Pinot to Ponder This Northern Willamette Valley producer from the Yamhill-Carlton region always presents alluring Oregon Pinot Noir. Typically there is less earthiness than you’d expect from Oregon, and more bright rich red fruit with an earthy backbone. Red raspberry, black cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, anise, blueberry and always with a centered acidity. Lighter in style but with a mouth-filling richness, it’s aged just 11 months in smaller barriques with less than 40% of that as new wood, allowing the fruit to shine through.

The 2017s From Sonoma The 2016 Le Desir checks in as 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec. Readers looking for world-class Cabernet Franc should beg, borrow, or steal to get hold of a bottle of this. Incredible floral, violet, forest floor, lead pencil, and cassis notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied red that’s flawlessly balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. More intellectual and elegant than the La Joie, it’s still a wine of incredible intensity and class that builds incrementally on the palate, has an exotic, singular character, and the class to evolve for 30 years or more.

The 2017s From Sonoma Another gem that’s going to flirt with perfection in a decade is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall Vineyard. Based on 100% Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in 65% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by a mammoth-sized bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, scorched earth, and graphite. Showing more spice and tobacco with time in the glass, it has incredible purity of fruit, building tannins, and flawless balance, all making for a majestic Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon that will keep for 30 years or more.