USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages One-hundred percent Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Cabernet Franc Mt. Veeder is medium to deep garnet-purple with pretty scents of kirsch, redcurrants and mulberries with touches of red roses, tilled soil, cinnamon stick and aniseed. Full-bodied, firmly structured with ripe, fine-grained tannins and sporting bags of freshness, the palate is impressively intense and perfumed with a long, spicy finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Chardonnay Saralee’s Vineyard reveals lemon meringue pie, applesauce and quince notes with touches of allspice, lightly browned toast and honeycomb. Full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth, it packs in the apple and citrus pie flavors with a gorgeous creaminess to the texture and a very long, honeyed finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Pinot Noir MacLean's Block is medium to deep ruby-purple in color and opens with fragrant notions of wild blueberries, redcurrant jelly, cranberry pie and kirsch plus hints of oolong tea, mossy bark and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, taut and firmly structured, it delivers tons of black and blue fruit layers sparked by earthy accents, Finishing long and earthy.

From the 3D Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2017 Chardonnay Santos Road offers light gold color and a beautifully classic (almost reserved compared to the other releases here) perfume of stone fruits, salted citrus, tangerine, leafy herbs, and ample minerality. It’s a salty, medium-bodied effort that blossoms with time in the glass and has good acidity, impeccable balanced, and a great finish. Classic, balanced, and lengthy are the buzzwords here and it’s another rock star effort readers should snatch up.

From an impeccable managed estate on the northern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2017 Chardonnay Hilliard Bruce is another brilliant wine from Greg Brewer. Ripe lemons, limes, spiced pear, honey, mint, and white pepper notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, straight up seamless Chardonnay that packs plenty of richness and power yet stays balanced, pure, and layered on the palate. It’s one of my favorites in the lineup and strikes that perfect balance between richness and freshness, and as with the other wines here, it blossoms beautifully with time in the glass. Drink it over the coming decade or more.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Sea Lift Pinot Noir gives up intense black and red cherries scents with hints of mulberries, dried herbs, tilled black soil and truffles. The palate is medium-bodied with a great core of red berry and earthy layers in the mouth, supported by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages This is a sneak peek at the brand new Cabernet Franc-based Cardinale wine! Blended of 81% Cabernet Franc and 19% Merlot, the 2016 Caladin is medium to deep garnet-purple colored with crushed black cherries, redcurrants and kirsch with hints of damp soil, pencil shavings, rose hip tea and lavender. Medium to full-bodied with a firm backbone of grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, it delivers bags of perfumed fruit and a long mineral-laced finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages One-hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Knights Crown Cabernet Sauvignon gives up gregarious crème de cassis, plum preserves and redcurrant jelly notes with nuances of dried mint, black pepper, spice box and cedar chest. Full-bodied, firm and grainy in texture, it fills the mouth with mineral-laced black fruits and finishes on an earthy note.

Italy, Tuscany: Chianti Classico (New Releases) The 2013 Valadorna (mostly Merlot with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot) is yet another home run in this blockbuster collection of new releases from Tenuta di Arceno in the southern part of Chianti Classico (Castelnuovo Berardegna). This is a firm and tightly knit expression that is packed tight with black fruit, tobacco, tar and dark chocolate. The wine shows enormous aromatic intensity, but then it slims down just a touch in the mouth to offer and elegantly tapered finish.

Italy, Tuscany: Chianti Classico (New Releases) This wine has recently been upgraded from Riserva to Gran Selezione status. The 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Strada al Sasso (100% Sangiovese) is shaped by the excellent growing conditions that characterize this classic vintage. This is a full-bodied expression of Sangiovese with contemporary aromas of black cherry, leather, cigar box, sweet tobacco and toasted espresso. This wine provides sweet tannins and lots of succulent fruit richness on the close.

Deep ruby. Intensely perfumed raspberry liqueur, cola, exotic spice and potpourri aromas, plus a hint of smoky minerality that builds as the wine opens up. Densely packed and appealingly sweet, showing impressive depth and delineation to the sappy red berry preserve, spicecake, cola and floral pastille flavors. Gains power with air while maintaining energy. Smooth tannins build steadily, harmonizing with the vibrant fruit on an extremely long, floral-accented finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is composed of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3.5% Merlot, 1.5% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-black, it sings of warm blackberries, cassis and wild blueberries with hints of violets, dark chocolate, cigar box and menthol. Full-bodied and laden with black and blue fruit, it has a firm structure of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Malbec Mt. Veeder (100% Malbec) is very deep purple-black in color and reveals stunning black and red cherries, black plums and violets with wafts of unsmoked cigars and mossy bark. Full, concentrated and seductive in the mouth, it has a solid line of fine-grained tannins and loads of bold, perfumed fruit, finishing long.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2015 Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals vibrant cassis, plum preserves, blackberry pie and chocolate-covered black cherries with touches of licorice, tilled soil and cigar box. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing very long with a compelling perfume coming through.

The 2015 La Jota Merlot was aged in 72% new French oak for 22 months before bottling. Legendary winemaker, Chris Carpenter, has blended in 10% Petit Verdot to this Merlot. The nose shows very pretty tones with red cherry, lavender, with toasty oak and black raspberry cordial. The palate shows a brilliant minerality and seriously good weight, invoking black tea, milk chocolate, black cherry pie and lighter tones of sage. This is downright delicious now but really needs two more years to fully come together.

The 2015 La Jota Vineyard Cabernet Franc was sourced from the La Jota Vineyard and the W.S. Keys Vineyard and was aged for 22 months in 78% new French oak prior to bottling. The nose is distinctly feminine with rose petals and red cherry preserves alongside violets, crushed mint and blueberry compote. The palate is deep and brooding, as the combination of weight, texture and tension is outstanding. Black tea, blackberry cobbler, crushed mint, and black cherry compote flavors all show a dark tone. Kudos to superstar winemaker Chris Carpenter on this gorgeous Cabernet Franc that is as good as any in Napa. Try to resist this great bottling for at least another year.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon by La Jota is a seductive blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Cabernet Franc, 7.5% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot which was aged for 22 months in 65% new French oak prior to bottling. Needing more than a two hour decant at this juncture, the wine takes on glorious creme de cassis, Turkish coffee, blueberry cordial and wild thyme aromatics. The palate shows marvelous complexly and range. Black tea, blueberry compote, mocha and blackberry pie flavors all beautifully mingle in the glass. Rich and layered, this hedonistic effort will cellar marvelously for decades. Be sure to give this at least a two hour decant if enjoying in its youth.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Nine Barrels opens with a powerhouse of a nose, delivering intense black cherries, black berries, mulberries, chocolate box and lilacs scents with touches of dusty soil, Chinese five spice and black tea. Medium to full-bodied, firm and fine-grained, it completely coats the mouth with spicy layers, finishing very long and perfumed.

Cabernet sauvignon (57%) and shiraz (43%) from a block planted in 1971. The shiraz spends 15 months in Burgundy-coopered French oak, 80% new. The cabernet goes into Bordeaux-coopered oak. 467 dozen were made. It would want to be given the asking price but the quality here is quite superb. It’s an accountant’s dream: strong in volume, balanced in nature, its forward estimates bright. Cloves, tar, blackcurrant/redcurrant and choc-mint, a swoosh of smoky oak. It displays both presence and decorum. You can bank on this maturing well.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is medium to deep ruby-purple colored and charges boldly from the glass with intense scents of raspberries, black cherries, pomegranate and redcurrants with touches of fungi, bay leaves and rose hip tea. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, fine-grained foundation and oodles of freshness, it delivers powerful black and red berry layers and a long fruity finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard reveals gregarious pink grapefruit, apple pie and green mango notions with nuances of marzipan, crusty bread and wet pebbles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is solidly structured with great freshness, lifting the intense, tightly wound layers to a long earthy/minerally finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Stone Côte has lovely scents of lemon meringue pie, white peaches, honeyed pears and baking bread with touches of beeswax and toasted almonds. Medium to full-bodied, the palate sports wonderful harmony and a compelling creaminess to the texture with great freshness and a long peachy finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard is medium garnet-purple colored and reveals a beautiful exotic fruit-laced nose of star anise, cassia and cumin seed over a core of Black Forest cake, Christmas pudding and wilted roses. The palate is full-bodied and firmly structured, sporting oodles of freshness framing the flamboyant red and black fruit preserves, Finishing long and spicy.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Zinfandel Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard is medium to deep garnet-purple in color and gives up intense notes of crushed black cherries, mulberries, plum preserves and blackberry compote with hints of star anise, cracked black pepper, hoisin and potpourri plus a waft of stewed tea. Full, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, it has a firm backbone of chewy tannins and wonderful freshness lifting the opulent fruit to a very long finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Composed of 77.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.2% Petit Verdot, 8.9% Merlot and 4.3% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford gives up exuberant notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums and kirsch scents with nuances of Marmite toast, truffles and tapenade. Full-bodied and firmly structured with taut, grainy tannins, it has a lively line lifting the dense, muscular fruit to a long finish.