2019 Pacific Northwest Rosé Report The 2018 Gran Moraine Rose is an awesome new effort from this great Yamhill-Carlton estate. On the nose this shows off very light citrus and red fruit aromas that improve with some air. The palate errs towards brightness, rather than richness, as the wine reveals a wonderful feel of minerality, with delicate red fruits and lemon rind flavors.

This pale pink colored wine opens with a pleasant wild rose, red cherry and wet stone bouquet. On the palate, this wine is light to medium bodied, slightly acidic, delicate and juicy. The flavor profile is a tasty strawberry and mineral blend with notes of watermelon. I also detected some hints of lime. The finish is dry and its flavors drift away nicely. This Rose is a quaffer. I would enjoy it served cool on the beach with Kerrygold Dubliner cheese.

Get Ready: The Super Italians Are Coming Shows plenty of beans, blackcurrants and spices. Medium body, intense acidity and a slightly short finish.

The 2017s From Sonoma The larger production 2016 Merlot Alexander Valley offers a quality, medium-bodied, nicely balanced profile that carries ample dark fruits, tobacco, and earth notes. It’s a solid mouthful of a wine to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years.

A spirited version, with expressive strawberry blossom aromas and delicate watermelon and spice flavors.

Pale peachy-pink in colour. Dry for a Californian (hallelujah), this pink wine from Monterey County displays sticky depth and concentration, with flavours of strawberry jam, apple and stone dust. Flavourful, crisp and well-balanced, like a Provençal rosé, only bigger.

The 2017s From Sonoma The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Merlot) is straighter and more focused, with plenty of red currants, black cherry, tobacco, and smoky oak notes as well as medium body and ripe tannins. It’s nicely balanced, with ample fruit and texture and a great finish.

The 2017s From Sonoma Not yet bottled, the 2016 Merlot Vintner's Reserve checks in as 89.6% Merlot, 8.2% Malbec, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, all aged 21 months in 74% French and 26% American oak, with roughly 20% being new. Plums, black cherries, and smoky earth notes as well as plenty of background herbal nuance all flow to a juicy, fruit-forward Merlot that has plenty of texture and length. It’s certainly a very good wine.

Whiffs of menthol and cherry cough drop suffuse the spicy, cool and fresh essence of red raspberry and cherry scents. There is good energy to the nicely detailed and textured middle weight flavors that possess an attractively sleek mouth feel that contrasts somewhat with the slightly raspy finish where the only nit is a touch of warmth. While not perfect, I was impressed with the quality for the price and this is a good overall value that would make for a fine house red.

Get Ready: The Super Italians Are Coming This shows a little bit too much bean paste on the nose, although there’s some pretty blackcurrants beneath. Medium-bodied and little lean on the palate with slightly hard tannins, but some good fruit comes through.

The 2017s From Sonoma The 2017 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley comes from a mix of sites and spent 10 months in 20% new oak. It's another Burgundian style effort that has plenty of black cherries, leafy herbs, hints of flowers, and earth. Pretty, elegant, nicely textured, and delicious, drink it over the coming couple of years.

This isn’t quite as fresh but it is more deeply pitched with its black cherry, poached plum and violet scents. The succulent, round and again nicely vibrant flavors possess reasonably good richness on the slightly more complex finish that also exhibits a hint of asperity. A qualitative choice.

A ripe and fresh nose combines notes of plum, red and dark berries and a pretty hint of spice. The sleek, delicious and supple middle weight flavors possess good vibrancy along with pretty good detail before concluding in a moderately firm finish that reflects a hint of asperity. This should benefit from 2 to 4 years of cellaring first. I should also note that it carries its considerable alcohol relatively well.

The 2017s From Sonoma Moving to the reds, the 2016 Pinot Noir (brought up in close to one-third new French oak) has loads of upfront charm and texture as well as classy notes of spice, cola, darker fruits, and peppery herbs. It’s nicely balanced and offers loads of pleasure. Drink it over the coming 2-4 years.

Crisp and graceful, with apricot and watermelon flavors.

The 2017s From Sonoma Including the highest percentage of Merlot (at the moment anyway), the 2016 La Muse checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec that spent 15-16 months in roughly 90% new French oak. This magical wine shows how good Merlot (and Sonoma) can be and offers extraordinary notes of crushed violets, spring flowers, scorched earth, graphite, black cherries, and crème de cassis. As elegant and seamless as they come, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has an incredible spine of acidity and tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It has the class and purity to drink well even today, but it’s not going to hit prime time for at least another decade and will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!

The 2017s From Sonoma Another perfect wine is the 2016 La Joie, which is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot sourced all from the estate vineyards in the Pocket Peak portion of the Alexander Valley. This full-bodied, powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon couldn’t be better and has incredible purity, layers of crème de cassis, white flowers, tobacco leaf, and flowers, a deep, multi-dimensional texture, and loads of ultra-fine tannins. I’d confidently put this up against any Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. As with the La Muse, it has the balance, purity, and class to drink spectacularly well even today, but it’s another w

The 2017s From Sonoma An absolutely awesome wine that tops out my scale, the 2005 La Joie offers a Château Latour-like stature and structure as well as complex notes of blackcurrants, lead pencil shavings, sandalwood, and crushed rocks. Still youthful and vibrant, it’s full-bodied, has off-the-charts purity, ultra-fine tannins, blockbuster length, and a singular, magical character. Feel free to drink bottles today or cellar for just about as long as you’d like. It will probably outlive everyone reading this.

Incredibly approachable today but with enough concentration and structure to evolve beautifully in the bottle, this 100% Merlot wine is beaming with elegant red fruit aromas intermingled with hints of vanilla, dark chocolate and a touch of earth. Medium(+) body with a long, memorable finish. One of the most enjoyable Merlot’s I’ve had in a long time.

Sourced from a single block of bush vines planted in 1962 at 225m altitude on the estate, the Elder Hill 2016 Grenache is one of my favorite wines from this winery’s current release. Great balance, medium(+) body, it opens with aromas of juicy red fruit followed by floral and spice notes. It has fair amount of tannin on the finish which will soften with time but I’m loving the way this wine is drinking right now.

Named ‘The Peake‘ after the founder of Clarendon – Sir Edward John Peake, this blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Shiraz is the crown jewel of Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyards and one of the most revered wines in Australia. Full-bodied with layers and layers of complexity this wine keeps on giving. Profound notes of black fruit, cedar, chocolate, herbs and spice. Theres a lot going on here. Pure elegance but with the power to evolve for years to come. A phenomenal wine that beautifully demonstrates how special the Hickinbotham Clarendon vineyards truly are.

Mouthfilling flavors of dark cherry, dried currant and raspberry tart are plush and loaded with spicy richness. Cream and white chocolate elements flood the long, rich finish, along with hints of forest floor and a subtle citrusy snap.

Spicy and suave, with sandalwood and cardamom notes to the cherry tart and baked plum flavors. Chocolate and cream details show on the rich finish.

Buttery richness accents the apple pastry, ripe pear and dried mango flavors in this creamy style. The spicy finish offers savory notes.

A superripe style, with crushed plum and boysenberry puree flavors coursing through, along with a hefty dose of warm ganache and melted black licorice. A graphite hint keeps this going on the finish. Shows more oomph than purity. For fans of the style only.