Another elegant wine from Cambria. This one has a vanilla, smoke and grapefruit nose. Medium weight, it is crisp in the mouth, though somewhat leaner than the Bench Break. This cuvée nicely melds green apple fruit with menthol and vanilla accents. The bouquet is a reprise of the long, sweet-tart, butterscotch and tangy oak finish.

Santa Maria Valley. This vintage-driven wine has come through with marvelously balanced ripe fruit played off against a tightly would structure and will simply get better and better over the next few years. A minerally, gunpowder note adds to the wine's range just as creamy, toasty oak adds to its overall richness, and what passes for a wonderfully solid effort seems likely to grow into even better.

A winning nose offers aromas of créme brulée, smoked bacon, pears, peaches and toasty vanilla that just keep coming on in this stylish, full wine. The palate shows similar flavors. The big mouthfeel continues on the long, slightly sweet finish with its toasty, smoky oak. Strong already, but it should be even better in six months. From the maker of the fine afforable and widely available Katerine's Vineyard Chardonnay, top value.

Dark color. Pretty aromas of cherry, vanilla, tea, meat, mushroom, earth and smoke mingle. Very complex and concentrated. Tiers of ripe, sweet stone fruit with spicy oak notes and a lively acidity. Delicious now.

Like many pinots made from Dijon clones in California, this is a big, black-fruited wine. Yet it shows some restraint, with a bright shot of red rose coming up out of the blackness. Richly oaked, this could use a year or two to absorb some of its wood tannin. Then serve with pappardelle and boar ragu.

The medium ruby-colored 2016 Pinot Noir Clone 2A comes from the Julia's Vineyard in Santa Maria and reveals a darker, smoky bouquet of black raspberries, black cherries, charred earth, and singed cedar. It's nicely concentrated on the palate, with terrific purity as well as a firmer, more focused style that's going to benefit from short-term cellaring. This wine spent 10 months in 100% new French oak.

Rich and hearty black cherry, clove, star anise and vanilla team with a bit of crushed slate minerality on the nose of this block-designated bottling. Dark berries, cola, chaparral herbs and white pepper show on the sip, where squeaky tannins arise toward the finish.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Forceful and assertive, with attractive aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackberry, fertile earth and oak-driven dark chocolate and spice. The flavors fill the mouth without over reaching. Mid weight plus in style, with a firm backbone of tannin that keeps the fruit in line. The broadly flavored finish is appealing.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Clone 4 comes all from a single clone and the sandy loam soils of the Cambria Estate Vineyard. It spent seven months in 23% new French oak. There are notes of spice, underbrush, some sappy flowers, hints of sappy herbs and darker raspberry fruit in this medium-bodied, supple, beautifully polished, elegant and seamless beauty. It's incredibly high quality, and a solid value as well.

2015 PINOT NOIR, POMMARD CLONE 4 The nose is a rich and savory rhubarb, plum, garrigue and graphite with notes of sun-warmed tomato. The palate entry is supple cherry and cranberry with a core of mouth-coating dry red fruit, tobacco and herb.

Coming all from the Pommard clone, the 2014 Pinot Noir Clone 4 Seeds of Empowerment exhibits a darker ruby color as well classic red raspberry, red currants, sappy herb and floral aromas and flavors. Fresh, elegant and beautifully polished, with an undeniable elegance, drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Clone 2A is darker in color and has a terrific bouquet of exotic flowers, blackberries, leafy herbs and mint. Rich, sappy, textured and grippy on the palate, with solid length, it needs a year or bottle age. Still it is certainly an outstanding Pinot Noir.

A powerful, ample wine, the 2014 Pinot Noir Clone 23 is wine more of impact than of subtlety. There is plenty of depth to the dark, boldly sketched flavors. Ripeness is pushed to the edge, but the wine clearly has the breadth and shoulders to handle all of that intensity.

Last of the clonal releases, the 2014 Pinot Noir Clone 23 is downright exotic, with lots of ripeness in its plum, blackberry, licorice and roasted herbs aromatics. Hitting the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, plenty of fruit and ripe tannin, it's dramatically different in style than the other releases, which are much closer in style. Drink this chewy, rustic, yet flavorful beauty over the coming 7-8 years.

A pretty, open-knit Pinot, the 2013 Clone 115 offers lovely mid-palate pliancy and depth. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice and French oak are all super-expressive in the glass, while pretty floral and savory notes add lift on the finish.

Offering fabulous fruit and a rounded, supple profile, the 2012 Pinot Noir Clone 4 gives up perfumed strawberry, Asian spice, wild flowers and dried underbrush in a medium-bodied, pure and layered package. It too was completely destemmed and fermented and aged all in barrel. Enjoy this beauty over the coming 5-6 years.

Also outstanding, the 2012 Pinot Noir Clone 115 is a pretty, zippy and sappy effort that has notions of cherry pit, freshly snipped flowers and distinct minerality to go with a medium-bodied, energetic and lively feel on the palate. Completely destemmed and fermented and aged in 100% new French oak, it picks up additional tannic grip with time in the glass, and should evolve nicely over the coming 5-7 years.

Bright ruby-red. Smoky black raspberry and candied cherry on the nose, with sexy floral and mineral scents adding complexity. Sappy red and dark berry flavors show very good clarity, gaining power and sweetness with air. This appealingly forward, seamless pinot blends power with vivacity and finishes sweet, smoky and long.

Pomegranate, dark red cherries, mint, spices and wild flowers flesh out in the 2012 Pinot Noir Clone 2 A. This is one of the more supple, textured Pinots in the Cambria range. The soft tannins give the 2012 plenty of early accessibility, but there is also more than enough depth to support at least a handful of years in the cellar.

Of the nearly 180 Pinot Noirs from 2012 that I've tasted since March, only 60 have scored less than 90 points.

This single-vineyard selection from the Jackson Family’s Santa Maria Valley winery kicks off with scents ranging from red, blistered tomato to pomegranate reduction and mole sauce. On the palate, flavors vary from sweeter berry to tart cherry, with a savory, roasted pork element rounding out the wine.

Medium-deep ruby color; deep, earthy, herbal aromas; deep, stewed cherry flavors with earthy notes, some oak and tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. Deep, rich Pinot with lots of earthy notes.

Also outstanding and highlighting pure Pinot fruit, the 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 115 is pretty and elegant, with classic underbrush, crushed flowers and spice giving way to a medium to full-bodied, textured and rich palate feel. Textbook stuff, with a slightly red-fruit slant, it will have another 7-8 years of prime drinking. Drink now-2021.

A rich, round wine the 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 2A wraps around the palate with serious depth. Dark red cherries, cola and spices all flesh out in this radiant, generous Pinot. The style is enveloping, textured and beautifully perfumed throughout. This is one of the showiest wines in the range, and it is very, very pretty.

Ruby-red. Spicy, highly perfumed aromas of black raspberry and candied rose, with a subtle touch of blood orange adding vivacity and lift. Supple and sweet on the palate, offering vibrant dark berry flavors that pick up a deeper cherry pit nuance with air. Closes smooth, seamless and very long, with lingering florality and a touch of vanilla bean.