From one of California’s finest cool climate regions, this Chardonnay is notable in many ways. The grapes, from coastal Santa Barbara County, deliver vibrant and bright flavors suggesting citrus and green apple, along with a touch of oak spice and a tweak of stony minerality. The wine’s appealing creamy texture is fine tuned with just the right amount of acidity and the finish is pleasantly long.

Light pink with a very fruity nose and some red flower. The palate is lovely. There might be a touch of RS here, but it works, at least for me. Excellent.

Smooth, juicy and lean with fresh acidity, clean, balanced and long.

COMMENTARY: The 2018 WillaKenzie Estate Willamette Valley Chardonnay packs excellent and finely-tuned balanced and structure on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine serves up aromas and flavors of sandalwood, savory spices, dried apples, and earth. Enjoy it with roasted game birds.

Firmly structured, with a spicy mix of ripe apple, pear and peach pastry flavors that are backed by lively acidity. Minerally midpalate, with notes of sage cream on the rich finish. Drink now through 2024.

Peter Fanucchi farms seven acres of 100-year-old vines on a rise above Wood Road. Jeff Stewart ferments the concentrated fruit without added yeasts, then ages the wine in French oak barrels (41 percent new). The old-vine fruit comes across in flavors of tiny purple berries, umeboshi plum and a lasting herbal savor. It’s pungent and perfumed, a sleek zin for yakitori beef.

Very pure fruit aromas with ripe cherry essence and some strawberry. The palate has a soft, creamy feel with a distinctive, kirsch-like core of flavor. Crunchy tannins cradle fluid fruit flesh. Drink now.

Opening to a delightful nose, the 2017 Chardonnay wafts out of the glass with delicate French oak notes, citrus blossom, yellow apple, Meyer lemon, hints of musk melon and underripe pineapple. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows energetic acidity with succulence on the palate. Growing spiciness from the oak enters across the mid-palate, with subtle flavors of sautéed almonds and yellow apple with a kiss of reductive essence. The wine finishes texturally long and with a food-friendly, spicy conclusion. Nicely done.

The Peake is an ode to Edward John Peake, who planted the first vines in Clarendon, where Hickinbotham is based, in 1850. The vineyard used for this wine was later planted by the Hickinbotham family in 1971, and is sourced from four blocks. It's a classic Australian blend of cabernet sauvignon (55%) and shiraz (45%), with all lots left on their skins for at least 18 days. The cabernet is aged for 15 months in Bordeaux-coopered barrels, while a combination of puncheons and barriques are used for the shiraz. Only the best barrels, selected by Napa-born winemaker Chris Carpenter, go into the final wine. It shows quite lifted, high toned dark fruit that's lavishly ripe and complemented by eucalyptus and sweet chocolatey oak. It's a big, dense, powerful wine that's just starting to unravel and reveal itself, with tightly wound, fine grained tannins that suggest this has years, if not decades, of life ahead of it. Every time you return to the glass, something new presents itself. A sure sign that this will be worth the wait. Worth a lengthy decant if you open it now.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Afleet is one of the wines in this range that has a bit more whole clusters than some of the others. Dried flowers, mint, crushed berries, sage and orange peel give the 2018 lovely aromatic complexity. The Afleet is a bit stern in feel.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Tous Ensemble is a fabulous entry-level wine. Bright floral and spice notes complement a core of red berry fruit in a mid-weight, translucent Pinot that hits all the right notes. The 2018 is built on a core of fruit from Sealift in Annapolis. It is one of the very best Pinots readers will find in its price range. The 2018 is a knock out.

The 2019 Picpoul Blanc Copain Estate is a gorgeous white that balances the bright energy of this variety from southern France with the natural exuberance of the Russian River. White orchard fruit, mint and white flowers add a very pretty aromatic upper register. This eccentric white has a lot to offer.

A lovely and distinctive white, with a lush and oily texture that envelopes boldly expressive notes of pine resin, nectarine and apricot blossom.

This pale straw-colored Chardonnay opens with a mellow ripe pineapple and lemon butter bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied, balanced, round and smooth. The flavor profile is gentle pear, spice, and pineapple blend with notes of almond and faint oak blend. The finish is dry and pleasantly refreshing for a Chard. The Panel would pair this Chard chicken piccata.

Julia's Vineyard was originally planted in the 1970s, and was named for Julia Jackson in 1988 after the Jackson family purchased the winery two years earlier. You feel the warmth of Santa Maria Valley here, both in terms of the darker fruit profile and the rich, glycerous texture. But it's nicely balanced by savoury notes of underbrush and flint, with well-integrated oak spice. Already drinking well now, thanks to its silky tannins, serve this with a slight chill to bring out more freshness. It's serious pinot that's a steal at this price. Recommended.

The highly regarded WillaKenzie Estate, now under Jackson Family Wines' watch, takes its name from the sedimentary soil on which the vines are planted, and the long left aftermath of Oregon’s two major rivers Willamette and the McKenzie. The estate boasts 11 clones, reportedly the most in Oregon. 2016 is a mix of estate fruit from the Willakenzie Estate and Jory Hills Estate. The aromas and flavours are classic Willamette Valley, namely more Old World than New in the earthy, barnyard department with plenty of silky, savoury, black tea with a riff of black raspberry, rhubarb and cinnamon. Seamless in the finish with enough weight to impress without overloading its unique pinot noir character. Impressive.

This pale garnet colored Pinot Noir opens with a cinnamon and black cherry-cola bouquet with hints of vanilla oak and red raspberry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, nicely balanced, delicate and gentle. The flavor profile is mild mineral and gentle red plum blend with notes of strawberry. We also detected hints of cola and gentle oak. The finish is dry and its flavors and soft tannins fade away nicely. The Panel would pair this Pinot with roasted quail with cherry and red wine sauce, garlic and herb roasted pork tenderloin.

Peach blossom, warm buttercream and Nilla wafer aromas make for an invitingly rich nose on this bottling. The palate grabs attention with a lemon-pith grip, as white-peach lushness battles with an alkaline minerality, making for a flavorful yet not overdone expression.

Very rich, extra-ripe fruit flavors fill out this full-bodied wine, getting support from mild tannins and ample baking spices from French barrels for a broad, rounded texture.

If you want to know what’s up in modern Napa, check out this merlot based mix: 91.5% merlot, 5.8% cabernet sauvignon and 2.5% petit verdot, of which 77 percent is mountain fruit from Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain (63%) and Stagecoach Vineyard (14%) on Atlas Mountain. The remainder comes from the Oakville, Calistoga, and Rutherford area on the floor of Napa Valley. The mountain fruit has transformed this wine, giving it more purpose, far beyond the merlot mould. The palate is enticing with medium spice, perfect oak, and a mix of blue and red fruit that assimilate most winemaking and barrel work. You can drink this now with food or cellar through 2030 and beyond.

This light-yellow colored Chardonnay opens with a musty oak, lemon and pineapple bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied and slightly acidic. The flavor profile is an oak influenced baked apple and Bosc pear blend with notes of ginger and cooking spices. I also detected hints of almond butter and chamomile tea. The finish is dry and its flavors linger for quite a while. This rich and flavorful Chard would pair well with lobster bisque.

Refined and open-textured, with a buttery and toasty allure to the airy blend of white fruit and spice flavors. The juicy finish has accents of ripe citrus.

This deep ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a gentle black currant, black cherry and leather bouquet with a hint of cola. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied, balanced and round. The flavor profile is mild flinty influenced ripe black plum and cassis blend with notes of black cherry. We also detected hints of cocoa dust, black tea, and some toasty oak. The finish is dry and its mild tannins linger for quite some time. The Panel would pair this Cab with a bacon wrapped filet mignon, roast beef au jus, leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic.

This wine is dark and dense, its concentrated black-cherry flavors woven with notes of licorice, vanilla and warm spice. Hints of amaro bitterness add complexity to the rich flavors, a match for grilled game or other robust dishes.

Oak enriches this wines' creamy texture and provides the base notes while the fruit shimmers on top. It's a powerful pinot with enough brisk structure and high-toned fruit to carry all the richness.