Drink These 25 bottles and Become a Wine Master Recommended as an alternative bottle.

This is a pretty chardonnay, a charmer. It has notes of mango, honeysuckle and peach. A kiss of vanilla on the finish. Nice length. Fopur stars.

Very expressive chardonnay with a brush of oak and vibrant tropical fruit flavors. Delicious and balanced.

Gold Medal

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey One of the most impressive red wines in the portfolio is a 2013 merlot with dramatic varietal character (traces of dried herbs such as thyme and sage plus olives). It tastes best after decanting.

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey The winery’s top red wine, its calling card, is the Bosché Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyard of that name in Rutherford, and the new 2013 is nearly as good as my all-time favorite Bosché wine, the 1995. The aroma has faint hints of mint and walnuts(!), and the complexity is impressive.

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey The winery’s 2013 Rutherford Cabernet is nearly as good since 43 percent of it is from the Bosché vineyard.

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey The winery’s top red wine, its calling card, is the Bosché Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyard of that name in Rutherford, and the new 2013 is nearly as good as my all-time favorite Bosché wine, the 1995. The aroma has faint hints of mint and walnuts(!), and the complexity is impressive.

Warren Winiarski, the founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars once said to me, “Age gives a wine a sense of beauty and satisfaction that it could never have had when it was young. Because so much of life is incomplete, an old wine is remarkable and moving.” And so it was that I was swept away last night by a wine from my cellar—the 1999 Freemark Abbey “Sycamore Vineyard” Cabernet. In texture, great cabernets move closer to pinot noir as they age—a texture that can be so hedonistic there’s nothing to do but surrender to it. Now, after 18 years of aging, this majestic Freemark Abbey is mind blowingly elegant…and yet still potent with flavor. California at its best.

Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Hapgood has notes of black cherries and black raspberries with hints of black pepper, dried herbs and damp earth. Medium to full-bodied, rich, densely and superbly structured with grainy tannins and a racy acid line, it has an epically long, complex finish. Yum.

White pepper, peach and citrus in the nose with underlying notes of licorice. The palate is nicely and well-defined lemon and grapefruit with notes of chalk and well-integrated acidity.

Pale ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir 459 (made with 459 clone) has a very pretty perfume of violets, red roses and fragrant soil with a core of mulberries and red cherries plus hints of chocolate box and oolong. Medium-bodied, it delivers very intense red berry and savory layers with a grainy backbone and tons of freshness, finishing long.

The 2015 Chardonnay 3 D has an exotic, tropical fruit nose with notes of warm pineapple, green guava and freshly baked bread, plus hints of peach blossoms, mandarin peel and yuzu. Medium-bodied with a wonderfully creamy texture and great density, it has a wicked backbone of lively acidity cutting through the concentrated flavors, finishing long and spicy. 92 cases were made.

Captivating notes of black raspberry, truffle, woodsmoke and juicy cherry. Savoury and fine-grained with juicy acidity, supple tannins and a compelling sense of grace. This is one of California's reference points for Cabernet Franc.

The cult of minerality is on full display with this beautifully crafted old-vine Riesling from Oregon. On the nose it shows a breathtaking wet stone minerality that is rare in domestic Riesling. On the palate the wine is bone dry, exhibits complex aromas of tropical fruit, dried apricot and spice. The finish lingers impressively. Gorgeous now, but most certainly a wine that will reach new heights with significant bottle age.

A gorgeous dry Riesling from 46-year-old vines that delivers classic character -- granite minerality, mixed citrus and stone fruit, and a touch of petrol all ride lip-smacking acidity through a long, intensifying finish. I love wine like this as solo sippers, but you could run the table with it as well. Riesling like this goes with just about anything.

Only 190 cases of this wine are released each year, making it fairly limited in production and availability. The nose is luscious, with deep and concentrated blackberries and blackcurrants oozing from the glass. There’s a sweet peppered cherry that evolves over time alongside notes of vanilla milk chocolate. This is a rich wine with a lot of complexity but also a tranquil smoothness. The fruit is extremely well pronounced, with ripened black cherries jumping out instantly on the palate. There’s a wonderful balance and structure of both acidity and tannins that give way to this Pinot Noir being an exceptional representation of what Russian River has to offer. An impeccably well made wine with great promise for aging upwards of 10 years.

The Cabernet Shiraz is the most impressive of this foursome. It offers aromas of ripe blackberry on the nose with a touch of wood spice. It is bright and densely flavored on the palate with nice red fruit notes complementing slate and black fruit. It is spicy, rich, and thick, with firm round tannins and very long finish

The 2016 Chardonnay Spear is gorgeous. Lemon peel, white pepper and floral notes make a strong opening statement in this beautifully precise, tense Chardonnay. Bright saline notes shape the delineated mid-palate and finish. This is a fabulous example of the Diatom style at its best.

The 2015 Chardonnay Santos Road has a nose of salted almonds, lemon curd and lime leaves with hints of crushed rocks and wet slate. Medium-bodied, the palate has a very savory and minerally personality with an understated richness and great length. 143 cases were made.

The nose is focused and dusty showing a leaner impression of cherry, orange zest and tobacco leaf. The palate is fresh and velvety with notes of tropical fruit and graphite showing in the long textured finish.

Notes of ripe orange, cedar and full, saturated black and red fruits. The palate is a lush sandalwood and supple black fruits accented by a gorgeous silky acidity.

Velvety black cherry aromas with subtle wet stone and florals. The palate entry is beautifully focused black fruit and spice. The core offers up brightly textured red berry with plenty of structure.

The nose offers up all of that Pommard weight and spice; Licorice, black cherry and violet. Gorgeous on the palate entry, seamless and lush velvet-like, red cherry, spice box and piquant cranberry.

A beautiful nose of clean, precise citrus flesh, chalk and mineral dryness. The palate entry is fleshy and rich, round with less acidity in the core. It finishes with beautifully textured white currant, pear and brioche.