A Spotlight on Santa Barbara From a great vintage for the entire Central Coast, the 2007 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is beautiful and drinking at point. Kirsch, olive, spice, forest floor and gamey notes all emerge from this supple, elegant, mature yet still youthful wine. It’s not going to get better but will certainly keep for another 4-6 years.

A Spotlight on Santa Barbara Terrific (and classic) notes of ripe apples, spice, brioche, and honeysuckle all emerge from the 2011 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills, which picked up an alluring chalky minerality as it sat in the glass. Its medium body, great mid-palate, bright acidity and clean finish all making for a terrific Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay that’s going to evolve gracefully for at least a decade.

A Spotlight on Santa Barbara Similar to the 2008 with its racy, lively style, the 2009 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills is more reserved aromatically, with notes of orchard fruits, lemon peel and spice, and lots of minerality coming through with air. Medium-bodied, fresh and lively, with a balanced, clean style. it is drinking beautifully today but should keep nicely going forward.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World A spicy GSM blend with lots of ripe black cherries, a hint of ivy extract, dark licorice and some cassis. On the palate, this shows real structure and definition with ripe yet sturdy tannins and fresh acidity. A tangy, chewy finish.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Poached quince and pears with spicy and lightly honeyed aromas. The palate has a smoothly formed, fleshy texture. The honeyed, lees-derived influence sits well in this complex and textural white.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard has deep scents of blackcurrants and black cherries with layers of nutmeg, turned soil and tree bark. The palate is medium-bodied with black cherry, forest floor and mushroom with firm, structuring tannins, finishing fresh and lifted with the black fruit coming through.

It has been a while since I have tasted this wine, I guess I was in a state of denial since the winery has been sold since the last time I popped a Penner-Ash. Still youthful, even a decade out with dark cherry, blackberry, anise, and a smidge of tar. On the palate, this is fruity, but certainly complex—not as boisterous as the 2008s, but so refined. Delicious. Outstanding.

This is a fruity wine that overflows with cherry, plum and raspberry aromas and beautifully ripe pure flavors along with some rhubarb and herbal accents that add complexity and interest. It's full bodied, and has a silky-smooth texture.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World This is a ripe and assertive merlot with plenty of cedary oak in the mix, as well as plums and spiced plum pudding. The fleshy palate is underpinned by grainy tannins, making this a bold, assertive red.

Light purple color. Nose shows tart but deep fruit (blueberry, dark plum, roasted fig) along with waves of eucalyptus, mint and earthy-tobacco notes. Full and structured with a chewy feel but underlying acidity keeps it fresh. Blackberry, tart blueberry, gushing fruit but so pure and vibrant. Notes of dusty earth, minerals, violets, eucalyptus and mint, with vanilla and coffee woven in well, and some sweet pipe tobacco on the finish. I’d love to bury a bottle of this for 6-10 years, the quality is that high, but it’s also delicious young. All Merlot.

Bold purple color. On the nose: tart black currants, roasted fig, saucy blackberries, violets, eucalyptus, black pepper glaze, and some vanilla. Full-bodied with solid tannins for structure (but not harsh) and mildly fresh acidity. Blackberry, blueberry and cassis, the fruit is suave and delicious and loaded with violets, cocoa, black pepper, eucalyptus, dark chocolate, earthy and tar tones. Great stuff, but this needs a solid decant or, preferably, a few years of sleep. All Shiraz.

The fruit of the historic Hickinbotham vineyard once went into some of Australia's top wines, including Penfolds Grange. Currently owned by California's Jackson family and meticulously farmed by Vineyard Manager Michael Lane, this top-notch fruit is getting the recognition it deserves under its own label. This wine is a heady combo of juicy ripe blackberry fruit, damp wood, the charred embers of a fire, sumac spice and something sanguine and meaty. The palate shows richness of fruit but it's well integrated with savory spicy wood and drying tannins. It's one for the cellar. Drink now–2038.

Blending five of the producer's vineyard-designates, all dry-farmed and old-vine, this is a high-acid red with hearty spice and components of dried herb, cedar and oak. Supple and rich, it's distinctively savory and tart on the midpalate and finish, finishing in a blur of pepper.

From head-trained vines planted more than a century ago, then aged in French oak, this is a bold, plum-driven expression of cherry and berry pie seasoned in cinnamon that's structured and exuberantly full bodied. It offers a bright streak of acidity that keeps it succulent in the glass.

This light yellow colored Riesling opens with a ginger and bees wax like bouquet. On the palate, this wine is light bodied, dry and fruit forward. The flavor profile is a delicious ginger and Bosc pear blend with notes of nicely integrated minerality and a hint of pineapple. The finish remains dry and its flavors and mild acidity show very nice length. This Riesling is impressive. I would pair it with Emeril's crab cakes.

I have been to South America precisely once, and it was a memorable trip to Chile and Argentina. I left with the determination to return, to experience more of both countries, but particularly Chile, which has rich culture and traditions that are largely unknown in the U.S. Fairly light in the glass with pineapple and lemon, and a touch of oak. The palate is rich and unctuous with some initial fruit that is quickly subdued by a wave of butterscotch as well as considerable minerality. This is really a fantastic wine, but likely one that will not be embraced by the haters of Chardonnay. Rich, full, focused. Outstanding.

Pale rosy pink, this crisp and lively wine offers flavors of strawberries and other red fruits. It is both light and satisfying, nicely balanced, and food-friendly. Tous Ensemble -- “all together” -- seems an appropriate rallying cry for gathering friends together to enjoy this perfect warm weather energizer.

A Spotlight on Santa Barbara From a vintage described as productively warm, the 2015 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills offers pretty notes of kirsch, cherry blossom, spice and dried herbs. It’s medium-bodied, elegant and silky on the palate, with moderate concentration yet beautiful balance.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Bright and fruity with a cascade of vibrant blue fruits, bananas, crushed stones and blackberry tart. Medium body, light tannins and a fruity, essence-like finish. Cold soak and carbonic maceration.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton has a deep, broody, black-fruited nose with ripe blackcurrants and black cherries with hints of crushed blueberries, licorice and grated cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is flavored of blackberry and boysenberry preserves with nuances of pie spice and touches of black soil with a lovely frame of firm, structuring tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long.

This long-standing vineyard designate is robust on the nose in forest earthiness and spicy cardamom, and pleasantly expansive on the palate in lasting concentration and jammy cherry and strawberry flavors.

This ruby colored Pinot Noir opens with a very attractive blueberry and red cherry bouquet with a hint of cola. I could smell this wine for hours! On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a strawberry rhubarb and black plum blend with notes of oak, minerality and blueberry. I also detected hints of black pepper and cranberry towards the end. The finish is dry and its flavors and a moderate acidity linger and last for quite a while. Decant this Pinot in the near term and pair it with Chinese pork ribs.

This red colored Pinot Noir from Maggy Hawk is very good. It opens with a Lifesavers Strawberry Creme Saver like bouquet with hints of cola and some forest floor. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and juicy. The flavor profile is a cola and oak blend with notes of black plum and black tea. We also detected some hints of black pepper and clove. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins show nice length. Our mini-tasting group thought this Pinot would pair nicely with duck.

This is a wonderful wine, made in large enough quantities to be easily found on store shelves. Smoky, meaty and gamy aromas rise from the glass around perfumed rose. The palate is juicy and velvety, with flavors of berry pie and cinnamon.

Mendocino County’s cool Anderson Valley, which runs east-west toward the Pacific Ocean, now rivals the Russian River Valley in the California pinot noir arena. The 2015 Outland Ridge pinot from Jackson Estate is another beauty from Anderson Valley, showing excellent concentration and beautiful aromas of cherry and spice, good balance and structure and a lingering finish.