A spearmint aroma meets pomegranate and raspberry jam on the nose of this widely available bottling. There’s a rocky grip to the palate, where fresh mint and strawberry sorbet flavors are enhanced by turned loam and dried herb elements.

The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is the largest production red made by La Crema, one of the boutique producers operating as part of the Jackson Family Wines portfolio. It offers appealing pure fruit flavours with subtle oak spice and a smooth, supple texture. The style is fresh and inviting. Drink now to 2024.

If you love big, bold reds, this wine is for you. This wine is reminiscent of bruised apple, blackberry jam, with hints of herbs and pepper. The palate has a nice savory appeal to it, along with a good concentration of fruit and enough acidity to complement that density.

Fragrant, modern, effusive.An reliably delicious and expressive California Cabernet, the 2018 delivers aromas of kirsch and black raspberry, baking spices, pencil shavings, chocolate nibs, vanilla and violets. Lovely cassis on the palate is layered with cocoa, cardamon, cinnamon and clove.It's a mouthfilling and modern wine with sweet tannins.

Big and richly-spiced, with plenty of custardy accents to the baked apple and ripe pear flavors that are bound to ripe acidity. Lemon grass and shiso leaf notes line the finish. Drink now through 2024.

Moderate in body weight and structure, this wine is richly concentrated in tropical fruit and butterscotch, with an undercurrent of toasted oak. The texture is lush and plush, with impressive length.

Dried lemon-peel, mango and persimmon aromas emerge on the nose of this bottling. There’s a tart Meyer lemon edge to the palate, where cantaloupe and lychee flavors arise.

Pinot Noir Retrospective 2007-2008Here is further evidence that rich and lusty Pinot Noir, when made well, can age impressively. Even with a bit of a cedary, woodsy note in the aromas, the wine is still very forward and nicely fruity for its age. It is supple and full in body with that extra bit of concentration typically seen in the best of this label. It is wine that you can sink your teeth into, and what it lacks in silky, velvety texture is more than made up for by its ability to be a splendid mate to well-seasoned roasts and chops.90 points at first review.

Well-structured, with crunchy green apple and yellow plum flavors, which are backed by fresh acidity. Minerally snap on the finish with savory accents. Drink now through 2024.

Aromatically evolving now, if still somewhat smoky, the palate on Freemark Abbey's 2017 is yet still very firm and tightly wound, with a combination of gritty, dusty tannins, hard acids and high alcohol that combine to result in an astringent, unyielding texture. Despite the full body and 14.7% alcohol declared, the stuffing on the mid-palate is modest, exposing angularities and rough edges. Length and depth are decent, but overall harmony questionable. Another few years in the cellar should help to mitigate the asperities and disparities, but I suspect this will not be counted among the winery's more memorable vintages.

Soft, supple layers of cola cherry and plum and kept focused by chalky tannin and well-integrated oak in this elegant red from an estate site. Underlying power keeps it weighty without becoming overbearing, the fruit accented in toasted oak and baking spice.

Silene is the richest and most immediate of the current Capensis releases, with plenty of texture and weight. Sweet pastry and peach flavours are supported by fresh acidity and framed by spicy, toasty oak.

This wine's dense flavors of dark plum and dried cherry are warm and robust, brightened by a hint of mint. Grippy tannins frame the wine as it takes on notes of black pepper and dried thyme.

This easy-drinking Bordeaux-variety blend offers rich dark-berry flavors laced with notes of smoke and soft herbs.

From the Sonoma Coast sector of the Durell Vineyard, this wine fermented and aged in French oak barrels (35 percent new). The fruit brightens the wood influence, turning it toward foresty scents of acorns and maple sap. There's tension in the structure, light enough for miso-and-maple glazed salmon.

This deep maroon colored Merlot from Matanzas Creek is very good. It opens with a black cherry bouquet with hints of Canada mints. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic, round, and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a cherry and juicy black plum blend with notes of cedar and bergamot. I also detected hints of minerality, clove, and strawberry licorice. The finish is dry, and its dusty tannins linger and last for a very long time. I would pair this Merlot with beef tenderloin lollipops.

The value-priced 2019 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard sports a ruby hue as well as an impressive nose of spiced cherries and framboise-like fruits, smoked earth, and toasted spices. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, and elegant, it tastes as if it cost 2-3 times the price.

Spicy notes with hints of green fruit, clean, complex, smooth and long, toasted and nicely balanced.

Kudos to Nielson for their 2019 Chardonnay’s bold and appetizing floral and chalky aromas. The wine’s zesty flavors, including pineapple, citrus and other bright fruits, are likewise appealing. Santa Barbara County’s diverse viticultural regions, which include proximity to the coast, contribute to this Chardonnay’s unique character.

Hand picked, whole-bunch basket-pressed and fermented wild before some lees stirring for 5 months. A bright coral. Aromas of poached strawberry, orange zest, thyme and other dried herb. Weighted just right to be thirst slaking and dangerously drinkable, attesting to the exciting ascendancy of rosé in Australia.

Vibrant and fresh-tasting, with green apple and ruby grapefruit flavors that show dried tarragon accents, finishing with hints of sea salt.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is a fabulous entry-level wine. A whole range of savory, earthy notes complement a core of dark red fruit. The nuance and aromatic depth are both so typical of Sonoma Cabernets.

The 2018 Merlot Jackson Hills is a gorgeous wine. Fresh and vibrant in the glass, the Jackson Hills shows a distinctly refined side of Merlot. Floral, savory and spice notes lift a core of blue/purplish fruit. This is such and elegant, laid-back wine.

With a warm depth of wild strawberry and cherry, this powerful, well-integrated wine is also earthy in forest and turned earth. Plush tannins lend a lushness to the texture as spicy notes of cola and oak build on the finish.