Juicy, with good cut to the red currant, cherry and raspberry flavors, backed by crunchy acidity. White pepper notes show on the finish. Smart Buy.

Zesty and precise, with lively raspberry and toasty spice flavors than finish on a crisp, refined note.

A perky red blend, this contains a bit of everything but somehow still works, offering zesty cherry, cracked pepper and toasty herb flavors, with just enough structure to keep this sailing. Syrah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese.

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Brilliant red. A highly aromatic bouquet evokes fresh red/blue fruits, blood orange and baking spices, with vibrant mineral and floral overtones gaining strength with aeration. Spicy and precise in the mouth, offering alluringly intense black raspberry, cherry liqueur, candied rose and spicecake flavors and a touch of smokiness. Delivers a suave blend of power, tension, finesse and finishes with finely knit tannins and strong, floral-driven persistence. (made with 50% whole clusters)

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Limpid ruby-red. Assertive red berry preserve, potpourri, cherry-cola and incense aromas show outstanding clarity. A smoky mineral nuance builds in the glass. Offers concentrated, yet energetic black raspberry, bitter cherry, vanilla and floral pastille flavors. A subtle blood orange flourish adds refreshingly bitter lift. Gains weight and sweetness with air and finishes spicy, gently tannic and extremely long, with resonating florality and a touch of mocha. (40% new French oak)

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Shimmering ruby-red. Powerful, oak-spiced cherry, blackberry and violet scents are complemented by suggestions of savory herbs and candied licorice. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering ripe dark berry and cherry-cola flavors that pick up vanilla and exotic spice nuances on the back half. Finishes very long and spicy, with a resonating floral note and steadily building, youthfully chewy tannins. (61% new French oak)

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Translucent ruby-red. A seductively perfumed bouquet evokes fresh dark berries, potpourri, spicecake and cola, along with a building mineral overtone. Concentrated yet energetic in style, showing excellent clarity and spicy lift to the sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors. Becomes nervier and spicier on the finish, which hangs on with strong tenacity and gentle tannic grip. (60% new French oak)

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Vivid magenta color. Displays deeply perfumed aromas of ripe red/blue fruits, candied flowers and licorice, with a suggestion of savory herbs emerging as the wine opens up. Chewy and densely packed on the palate, offering energetic blackberry, bitter cherry and smoked meat flavors and an exotic touch of baking spices. Finishes sweet, broad and very long, with steadily building tannins and lingering violet and spice notes.

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Deep red. Fresh, spice-accented dark berry, cola and candied violet scents show very good clarity and pick up a hint of vanilla with air. Appealing sweet and plush in style, offering black raspberry, cherry-cola and spicecake flavors that deepen slowly on the back half. Closes with a touch of spiciness and fine-grained tannins that add shape and subtle grip to a clinging dark berry note.

Please The Palate: South African wine redefined Capensis, taken from the Latin word for “from the cape,” is produced from some of the highest-elevation vineyards in the Western Cape. With a love for Chardonnay, Weerts has produced a terroir-driven Chardonnay. With aromas of lemon zest, flowers and vanilla, the Capensis Chardonnay 2015 is a wine that is all about the palate. Lemon, peach, apple and saline notes fill the palate. The wine has beautiful depth and weight on the mid-palate as acidity dances around the rim. The Capensis Chardonnay raises the bar on the quality of wines from South Africa. And to elaborate further on this benchmark, Weerts brought a group of his winemaking friends from South Africa for a tour around the U.S. to showcase their wines. Each of these brands, focusing on a wide range of wines, produce fewer than 1,000 cases, and they are each telling a story about the quality of South African wines.

Chillin’ With Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018 Copain Tous Ensemble Rosé of Pinot Noir, Mendocino County — pale salmon in the glass with aromas of white flowers and mixed berries. Flavors of mixed dark berries and strawberries have a mineral component and are supported by citrusy acidity. 12.8% abv. $23 This wine is bright, lively and weightless in the mouth with an appealing hint of white flowers that lingers. Five parcels of Pinot Noir in the Copain estate vineyard resulted in nearly 20 lots that were fermented separately in stainless steel. The final blend included only the best lots.

Pinot Noir with Copper River Salmon - Part 3 The French meaning of the word “copain” is “friend” or “buddy” and the winery seeks to extend the name to the philosophy that wine enhances life’s most joyous occasions. The winery location overlooking the bucolic Russian River Valley is open for tasting by appointment. Look for aromas and flavors of plum and cherry with notes of rose petal, orange peel and fresh raspberries.

What To Drink Now: Rosé All Day Willakenzie Willamette Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir melds fresh cranberry, tangerine, and bitter orange.

Raise a glass of red wine to Dad Twenty years ago, Siduri Winery celebrated Anderson Valley in some of their earliest Pinot Noir wines, harmoniously taming robust fruit, crafting delicate wines. Today, Siduri Anderson Valley Pinot Noir continues to shine as a prime example of the region.

The Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2016 trends to riper and more full-bodied with a fine collection of strawberry, raspberry, tea leaves and cigar box flavors with a refreshing acidity.

But, as the wine industry matured, the number of female winemakers increased. Penner-Ash was one of the first through the door, but she’s had three decades and proved she’s a highly skilled winemaker. The early days might have been rough, but she persevered and still turns out wines like the Penner-Ash Viognier 2017, a brilliantly diverse wine with crisp apple snap and creamy key lime pie flavors. It’s a stunning dichotomy and Penner-Ash said the Viognier picks up its aromatics from the cool Oregon nights where the grapes get recharge from daytime temperatures and “stay bright and fresh.”

Raise a glass of red wine to Dad From Mount Veeder, Mount Brave Cabernet Sauvignon and La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain both deliver blue and black fruit, woody herb, truffle, and warm spice.

Raise a glass of red wine to Dad From Mount Veeder, Mount Brave Cabernet Sauvignon and La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain both deliver blue and black fruit, woody herb, truffle, and warm spice.

22 Cabernet Sauvignon Wines, Mostly Napa Valley Sometimes all you have to do is sniff and sip a wine to think, “O.K., this is the real deal.” In the case of La Jota Vineyard Co. Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Napa Valley, you pay for that heightened reality, but depending on your point of view, the expenditure is worthwhile. The wine is a blend of 75 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8.5 percent cabernet franc, 7.5 merlot, 6 malbec and 3 petit verdot, encompassing what writers used to call “the five classic Bordeaux grape varieties.” Of course malbec is as rare now in Bordeaux as a diamond in a turkey’s craw, but whatever. Anyway, the wine aged 22 months in French oak, 65 percent new barrels, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The color is an impenetrable black-magenta; every element here is intense and concentrated, deeply spiced and macerated, powerful and robust but beautifully balanced; call it an amalgam or a melange — what the nose and palate perceive are piercing notes of iodine, lavender and licorice, mint and black olive, hints of sage, thyme and underbrush, all leavened by dense, juicy black fruit scents and flavors and rigorous, rock-ribbed tannins that lend the wine a vigorous foundation and Olympian finish. 14.5 percent alcohol. Try from 2020-’21 through 2030-’33. A great achievement from winemaker Chris Carpenter. Exceptional.

Chillin’ With Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018 La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé, Monterey — pale salmon in the glass with struck match then aromas of mixed berries. Flavors of ripe raspberries and blackberries combine with a delicate perfume and finish with citrus pith. Citrusy notes and bright acidity keep this rosé light and refreshing. 13.5% abv. $25 I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the flavor of this La Crema rosé based on the aromas. That wasn’t the case, however. This flavors are lively and interesting. Pinot Noir clones 115, 667, 777, 2A and Pommard were harvested from four sites in the Monterey appellation. All vineyard sites enjoy cooling breezes and maritime influences of the nearby Pacific Ocean. The grapes were pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks at cool temperature. The wine spent two to three months on the lees before blending and bottling.

WINE WITH…Chicken a la Flamande The white wines we liked best with this dish tended to be fresh and soft on the palate. Good reds likewise were inclined to be soft and reigned in rather than brash and tannic. At the same time, regardless of color, the best wines were full of enticing flavor. La Crema, Sonoma Coast (California) Pinot Noir 2016 This Pinot’s ripe cherry and cassis flavors wrap deliciously around the smoky bacon elements in the dish, and its generous finish helps prolong the pleasurable experience.

Raise a glass of red wine to Dad Strawberry, cranberry, and forest-floor filled La Crema Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has been a favorite of my Dad’s since the winery joined the region a few years ago, highlighting the distinct structure of Willamette Valley fruit.

Chillin’ With Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018 Gran Moraine Rosé of Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon — ballet slipper pink with aromas of berry bramble and dusty earth. Flavors of citrus, minerals and ripe berries float in a light body and finish with juicy acidity. 12.5% abv. $28 This rosé of Pinot Noir is such a lovely color. Ballet slipper pink is the color that always catches my eye. And I love the berry bramble and earthy flavors in this bright rosé. This beautiful rosé of Pinot Noir is an intentional rosé, meaning it is not the product of saignée used to make a more concentrated a Pinot Noir. The estate-grown Pinot Noir was harvested from the Gran Moraine and Estate vineyards. It was whole-cluster pressed, cold settled and fermented in flextank vessels using selected yeasts. Pinot Noir clones 828 and 777 were chosen because they exhibit bright fruit, acidity and the skins impart very little color.

Chardonnay's New Day Sleek but structured, with a light, bright mouthfeel and summery hints of stone fruit.

Here is deep and well-stuffed Chardonnay that pulls out all the stops but has more than enough very precise focused, optimally ripened fruit to balance its liberal appointment of sweet oak and lees. It is a complete and decidedly complex rendition of great breadth and obvious ambition, but it is also very carefully structured and built to impress even more if allowed to rest in the cellar for another couple of years. There is most assuredly no need to hurry here. 2 stars.