The Merlot-dominant La Muse is always the most approachable of the Verité trio – and the first one created, in 1998, inspired by Pomerol's finest. In 2023 it's wonderfully seductive, showing heady aromas of rich sloes, ripe plums and black cherries, florals and woody spice. The opulent but breezy palate follows on, with mocha and praline toastiness from the oak, fine tannic grip and a wet-earth freshness. Part of the 40-strong Jackson Family Wine Estates stable, Verité (celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023) also makes the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant La Joie and Cabernet Franc-dominant Le Désir – both of which are equally stellar in this long, cool growing season. Sourced from more than 50 micro crus in eastern Sonoma County, it matured for 16 months in French oak barrels, 95% new. Price approx £220-£400/75cl via UK importer JE Fells.

Seascape and Sealift are very different expressions, and the 2024 Pinot Noir Sealift Vineyard
is deep and coastal in personality. The Goldridge loam offers a bigger and juicier
counterpoint to Seascape, and the 2024 is medium-bodied, with bright tension of acidity,
orange peel, well-defined, even tannins, and layers of fruit underneath, with salty
persistence on the finish. It carries more full-bodied richness, though its nervous energy is
what really drives the wine and gives it vibrancy. Nebbiolo-like in application within the
range and capable of aging over the next 20 years, I love it and think it’s a star in the range.
It’s only going to improve, although I love the youthful tension now. Drink 2026-2046.

Pouring a bright yellow hue, the 2024 Chardonnay Jennifer's comes from the southern edge
of the Russian River Valley at the Petaluma Wind Gap, where fog can linger for most of the
day. Aromatically, it takes on more depth and layering, with apricot, tropical fruit, floral
perfume, and praline notes. Full-bodied, it combines richness with refreshing, focused
acidity and a citrus oil texture. I love the complexity and balance here. Drink 2026-2040.

A few miles from the winery, the 2024 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is slightly more
floral in profile, coming from Moon Dust Goldridge-type soils with cold nights and warm
days. Flinty reduction frames aromas of green apples, lime, lemon verbena, jasmine, and wet
stones. Full-bodied, it has snappy acidity, delicate almond notes, a silky texture, and an
underlying chiseled structure suggesting it should improve over the next 6-8 years. Drink
2026-2040.

Contiguous with Highwire Vineyard and planted in loamier Goldridge soils, the 2024
Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard is typically the last Zinfandel they harvest. A youthful, coating
magenta/purple hue, it reveals toasted cedar, blackberries, pine, orange oils, and lavender.
Medium to full-bodied, it carries refined tannins and excellent length while remaining
lighter on its feet than the nose initially suggests. Drink 2026-2040.

100% Grenache Noir from the Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard, gnarled bush vines planted in 1962. Matured in amphora for 7 months. A distinctive wine that stands out from the crowd, showing its dark brooding fruit spectrum and granitic black soil depths. Rich plum, dark olive and briar of inter herbs. It is the translation of place that makes Grenache so compelling and this is a fine example of its old historical bush vines and clay soils. Fine tannins that stack on top of each other to ensure a long life ahead. A wonderful wine for charred sticky meats.

A south east facing sandy outcrop, 20% whole bunch. Wild yeast, basket pressed Matured in French and Austrian foudre for 18 months. A spicy and dark fruited wine with glimmers of bright green herbs dotted throughout. A spring of rivermint, plum and cassis. There is a smoke vanilla note adding richness to the perky line of acidity. This is made for drinking more than one glass, so is its approachability and freshness. A masterclass in whole bunch that only adds to the wine personality. Drink with duck or lean game meats. Drink now or cellar for 6-8 years.

20% whole bunch basket pressed to french and Austrian puncheons 30% was new and then into 1 year old foudre for 16 months. A wine that captures both sumptuousness and poised aromatics. Some ripe mulberry and blackcurrant, a cordial of slinky red berries intermixed with clove and mahogany oak. This is the kind of bold but detailed Shiraz many are seeking out, it is a sure fire bet to please any moderate climate Shiraz drinker. A wonderful, very giving wine. Drink now or cellar for 8-2 years further. Bring out the brisket for this one.

A rich, mineral-driven Chardonnay, the 2024 Chardonnay Perilune is another incredibly
impressive wine from this new hillside vineyard on the northern side of the Sta. Rita Hills.
Ripe stone and orchard fruits, spice, crushed stone, and honeyed white flower notes all
define the bouquet, and on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, with a focused, minerallaced mouthfeel, terrific acidity, and a gorgeous finish. Raised 15 months in 100% neutral
oak, it reminds me ever so slightly of a Meursault from Les Perrières with its richness and
raciness. Drink bottles any time over the coming 15 years or more. Drink 2026-2041.

Another pure, focused, and impeccably made Pinot Noir from Brewer, the 2024 Pinot Noir
459 was vinified with 50-100% whole clusters and aged 15 months in 100% neutral oak.
While this might not have the same grandeur as the 3D, I love its classic Sta. Rita Hills style,
with red and black fruits, iodine, crushed stone, and Asian spice notes all defining the nose.
On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, straight, focused, and concentrated, with ripe
tannins and remarkable length. It has textbook Sta. Rita Hills savory minerality and will
evolve gracefully if well stored. Drink 2026-2046.

The 2024 Chardonnay Perilune is a deep, rich, super-expressive wine with great tension,
energy and generosity delivered in equal proportion. Apricot preserves, lemon confit,
pineapple and toasted spices move vertically, delving deeply into the palate with drive and
intensity but no sense of excess. Sneaky, mouthwatering acids drench the finish. This
wears its broad, voluptuous curves with deceptive elegance.

The 2024 Pinot Noir Machado boasts an extra measure of depth and breadth within the
context of the range that serves to amplify the wine in all directions. Low yields in 2024
certainly show themselves here. Gentle herb tones add intrigue to a velvety, pastille-like
core of raspberry, garrigue, cedar and blood orange. Bright acids lend pixelation and
definition, bringing the wine into excellent focus. This is Greg Brewer firing on all cylinders.

The 2023 Pinot Noir The Sum comes from volcanic soils on the east side of the vineyard
near Cristom and consistently leans toward bright red and wild fruits with a more autumnal
expression and greater sanguine depth. Medium to full-bodied but never heavy, it floats
across the palate with mossy forest earth, impressive length, and seamless balance. It
would pair beautifully with roast salmon or chicken. Drink 2026-2046.

A bright saturated ruby/magenta color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Cascade comes from a steep
south-facing site and is fermented in small barrels. It opens with wild forest herbs, graphite,
pepper, juniper, pomegranate, toast, and savory spice. Medium-bodied, it has compact
concentration, high-toned red fruit, bright, refreshing acidity, and outstanding length
despite seeing 50% new oak. Give it a decant if opening now. At just 13% alcohol, it's a
gorgeous wine. Drink 2026-2046.

The 2023 Chardonnay Dropstone pours a bright silver/straw color and comes from a single
flat block at roughly 250 feet in elevation. It opens with chalky earth, mint, white tea, pear,
lime oil, key lime, and candied green apple. Full-bodied, it's remarkably detailed and
focused, with impressive concentration, terrific length, and the structure to age another
decade or more.

This superplush, velvety wine is gorgeously layered with ripe fruit and oak spices, offering
baked cherries, dark plums, cocoa and graphite. Made from two micro-sites with different
soils on the lower slopes of Mount St. Helena. Contains 4% petit verdot. Easy to enjoy now,
or hold

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Helena Montana Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) springs from the glass with gregarious notes of black currant jelly, kirsch, and fresh plums, giving way to hints of camphor, anise, and mossy tree bark. The full-bodied palate is dense with black fruit layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and earthy. 

Pale ruby-purple in color, the 2024 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard (made entirely from the Pisoni Selection clone) leaps with bright, energetic notes of cranberries and wild strawberries, followed by nuances of Provence herbs, lavender, and wet rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers silky tannins and a crisp line to match the vibrant red berry and savory layers, finishing long and perfumed.

The 2024 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is medium ruby-purple in color. It scoots out of the glass with ready-to-go notes of black raspberries and wild blueberries, opening out to suggestions of wild sage, damp soil, and Sichuan pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is wonderfully elegant with fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and earthy.

This expression of Yangarra Estate Roussanne is a superb example of why patience
matters. Serve it at the right temperature, let it reveal itself and the beauty and bliss will
present themselves.
Sourced from the oldest Roussanne planting across Yangarra's certified organic and
biodynamic vineyards, it is handpicked, destemmed and crushed before fermentation in
ceramic eggs. 66% of the final blend spent four months on skins, while the remaining
portion was whole-bunch pressed, before the final wine spent seven months maturing in
ceramic eggs.
Yellow-fleshed stonefruit sits at the core, initially wrapped in a little tension that gradually
unwinds with time. I looked at this over several days and watched it unfurl beautifully,
revealing greater detail and composure with every revisit. Nougat and cashews bring
richness, while nutty and biscuity nuances add another layer of complexity. Fine white
pepper and cinnamon spices ripple gently through the palate. The texture is sublime, silky
and beautifully shaped, carrying it with effortless ease. This is a Roussanne of detail,
composure and allure and one that deserves time in the glass to reveal everything it has to
offer. Bravo!

ove this. A stunning Grenache, this Yangarra Estate Ovitelli carries itself with effortless
elegance.
Sourced from a certified organic and biodynamic block planted in 1946, adjacent to the
famed High Sands vineyard, this is a fascinating expression of old vine Grenache.
The fruit was destemmed and crushed before heading into 675L ceramic eggs, where
gentle hand plunging guided the fermentation. It remained on skins for around three
months and spent a total of 11 months in ceramic, with no pressings and no oak. It is an
approach that allows the vineyard and fruit to speak with remarkable clarity.
Freeze-dried raspberries and ripe raspberries leap from the glass, joined by blueberries and
an array of purple fruit that delivers a joyous, almost irresistible fruit profile. There's a little
jubey character too, before a fleeting flash of orange peel brings another level of intrigue.
What really captivates is the sophistication. Despite the exuberance of the fruit, this is
beautifully composed, with an almost weightless pleasure that carries gracefully across
the palate. The tannins are notably softer than the High Sands Grenache, giving it a more
supple, inviting personality. Bravo

This appellation blend offers much of the same energy and juiciness that makes this brand's single-vineyard bottlings sing. Bright aromas go strawberry, crushed rocks and eucalyptus leaf decorate the nose. The palate is full of cherry and rose flavors that are cut by a pine needle kick.

Exuberant aromas of cherry and strawberry play against slight hints of forest floor and balsam on the nose of this bottling. The palate snaps with cherry and strawberry candy flavors, but it's the underlying sense of menthol that makes everything truly pop.

Fresh and engaging on the nose, this single-vineyard expression that's helped define this label for decades begins with bright yet brooding aromas of black cherry, blackberry and mint on the nose. The palate is zippy while lush, presenting cherry and mulberry flavors that are enhanced by sage and pine needle components that add an ethereal darkness on the chalky finish

This sports a dense but focused and precise feel, with its core of steeped red and blackcurrant and boysenberry reduction notes cruising through slowly while flanked by roasted apple wood and supported by along spine of graphite. Yields every so slightly on the finish to a mouthwatering, savory edge, while embers of mulling spices and black tea flicker. Patience is required. Best from 2030 through 2050.—J.M.