This wine from Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, a relatively new DOCG, seems to be a tip of the hat to the new world, showing a little more oak and a little more ripeness than the regular Chianti Classico specs allow. “Strada Al Sasso” is a very sexy wine, with a rich midpalate and a long, fruit forward finish. It’s quite approachable now after a good decant, and it will certainly reward some additional bottle aging.

Bold extraction and a fair amount of oak take centerstage here, with black cherry, sage, charred oak and brown spice aromas and flavors. This will need a long decant near term, or age long term for full enjoyment when the oak folds in. Black tea-like tannins require food; no surprise there!

Firm, with a flinty aspect to the dried dark fruit and cooking spice flavors, framed by medium-grained tannins and leafy accents. Loamy finish. Drink now through 2023.

Crushed cherry and raspberry tart flavors are lively and open-textured in this fruity style. Red licorice hints emerge on the zesty, lightly spiced finish. Drink now through 2023.

Fresh and fruity, with buoyant raspberry and cherry flavors, backed by crisp acidity. The lithe finish offers light mineral and spice notes. Drink now through 2023.

Well-built and elegantly focused, with expressive raspberry, sweet anise and black tea flavors that take on richness toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2026.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Parsons' Vineyard is a supple, fruity and easy-going wine with all of the soft curves and overall approachability that are typical of Russian River Pinots. Dried cherry, dried flowers, spice, mint and cedar meld together in an open-knit, curvy Pinot to drink now and over the next few years.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard is pretty and fragrant, if a touch lithe in this vintage. My impression is that this fruit might have been picked just a touch early, as the 2017 lacks some mid-palate presence. On the other hand, it is fresh and not at all cooked, so that is a positive.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesIn the 2017 GSM, kirsch, hard candy and sweet floral notes are front and center. Medium in body, this supple, easygoing wine will drink well upon release. There is lovely aromatic lift here, but the fruit profile leans decidedly toward the riper end of the spectrum.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley) is a gorgeous appellation-level wine. Soft, open-knit and inviting, the Santa Maria Chardonnay offers lovely immediacy. Pineapple, passion fruit, apricot, orange peel and a touch of new French oak grace this creamy, inviting Chardonnay from Kendall-Jackson.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Sable Mountain Vineyard emerges from a site in Anderson Valley and is a new wine in this range. Creamy, open-knit and supple, the 2018 is forward and inviting. Tropical accents and a kiss of new French oak add to the wine's immediate appeal - which is considerable.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve, the Kendall-Jackson flagship, is gorgeous. Pretty tropical accents add complexity to a core of citrus and floral notes. Orange confit, white and yellow flowers and mint all grace this delicious, inviting Chardonnay. This is such a pretty wine.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Sauvignon Blanc (Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak) is the first wine from the estate's vineyards. Lemon confit, mint, sage, tomato leaf and white flowers all add nuance. The 2018 offers lovely textural depth and impeccable balance.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (Knights Valley) is a very pretty wine. In this vintage, the Knights Valley Cabernet is decidedly medium in body because it was made only from pre-fire lots, where ripeness levels were naturally a bit lower, but that also makes it easy to drink. Wild flowers, mint and red berry notes lead into the finish.

This midnight purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a black cherry and milk chocolate bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is a mild oak, black cherry and blackberry blend with notes of faint minerality, anise and black tea towards the end. The finish is dry and its medium tannins stick around for a quite a while. This Cabernet does benefit from a little air. So, give it a good swirl or decant it before serving it with grilled steak tips.

This dark red colored Pinot Noir from Copain opens with a strawberry and pomegranate bouquet with notes of oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a mild strawberry and gentle oak blend with notes of red plum. I also picked up hints of red raspberry and red cherry at the very end. The finish is dry and fades away nicely. This Pinot, while not complex, will be a crowd pleaser and not last long. It is quite versatile and will pair with many foods. I would pair it with grilled mahi-mahi.

Golden, toasty, spiced. Golden and toasty, roasted nuts and yellow apples, spice and buttered toast aromas lead to a fresh palate with sweet golden fruit, buttered warm brioche and spiced nut flavours. Good length, structure and balance--a solid Chardonnay for Chardy lovers.

Weekend Wine Picks Attractive earthy loam, black plum nose that spills onto the palate. More plummy fruit and very silky tannins make this a delicious drop. The finish is long and persistent with a spicy, umami note. The grapes are cold-soaked for three days at 48°F and then punched down three times a day during the ferment and racked directly to barrel for nine months in 21 per cent new French oak with no post-fermentation maceration. The rocky, windswept site is the perfect home for cool-climate pinot. Grilled salmon or duck confit makes an excellent match. Private wine shops only.

There is a bright, edgy quality to this wine, and, in many Pinots, the accompanying firmness bordering on stiffness might be a bit off-putting. Yet, this wine more than overcomes its early drift into the taut end of the spectrum with nicely concentrated fruit that finds its first focus on ripe cherries while just flirting with an underlying cranberry-like note. It will be appealing today to fans of its crisp styling, yet it is also a wine that seems sure to reward those who would lay some away. 1 star.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Brilliant red. Fresh dark berry, cherry and floral qualities on the deeply perfumed nose. Silky and broad on the palate, offering black raspberry, cherry cola and rose pastille flavors sharpened by a zesty white pepper flourish. Closes smooth, appealingly sweet and quite long, with repeating florality and smooth, late-arriving tannins.

This blended effort uses its Merlot base to great effect with early fruit that is at once easy to access while providing a supple platform that is tightened up nicely by the solidifying contribution of its Cabernet proportion. With red cherry Merlot focus for its first impressions, the wine expands nicely with notes of berries and currants. Its latter palate acts more like Cabernet, and its slightly astringent finishing tannin encourages a half-decade of cellaring. 1 star.

Winemaker Randy Ullom is that rare breed of winemaker that can cross over from mighty Cabernet Sauvignon to elegant Pinot Noir without missing a beat. The 2017 Grand Reserve is a beauty that offers notes of bright cherry and strawberry, with a touch of spice and smoke and modest tannins that are smooth as silk.

An ample style of pinot noir but one that offers some restraint, a youthful condition and well-meshed alcohol. Complex with a layered progression of flavours and notable purity of fruit. Expressive and alluring with an above average tannic grip. Tasted September 2019.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2016 Pinot Noir Barbara's Vineyard is rich, racy and sumptuous. Succulent red cherry, cedar, spice and sweet oak all grace this supple, forward Pinot from Cambria. There is terrifc flavor purity, but my impression is that the Barbara's is overwhelmed by the extraction and 100% new oak, which seem to be eating away all the wine's fruit and overall depth.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2016 Syrah Tepusquet Vineyard possesses terrifc purity of its lovely aromatic presence that lifts the bright red-toned fruit nicely. There is so much potential here. Sadly, much of that has been stripped away by overly aggressive fining and filtration. This could have been - and should have been - a meaningfully more complete wine. As it is, the Tepusquet comes across as compact and lacking in depth.