From a tiny vineyard, just behind Kistler Vineyard and from the classic goldridge soils of the Russian River Valley, the 2015 Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard is completely destemmed and aged all in neutral French oak. It offers lots of juicy, darker berry fruits, flowers, and spice-drive aromatics, medium-bodied richness, bright acidity and a silky texture. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

From vines planted in 1910 in the northern part of the Russian River Valley, the 2015 Zinfandel Limerick Lane Vineyard is a ripe, sexy, yet elegant Zinfandel that has tons of ripe plum, raspberry, exotic spice and violet aromas and flavors. With no hard edges, a forward, sweetly textured, forward style, drink it over the coming 5-7 years. The Novy label is for winemaker Adam Lee’s (of Siduri) Rhône blend and Zinfandel releases.

This light red colored Pinot Noir from Maggy Hawk opens with a fragrant spiced red plum and craisin bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, and gentle. The flavor profile is a gentle red plum and red currant blend with notes of oak. I also detected hints minerality and strawberry. The finish is dry and it moderate tannins stick around for quite a while. This Pinot would pair nicely with a cowboy cut prime rib. Very good+.

Deep ruby color; smooth and lush, juicy and savory; ripe black cherry with tangy fruit and lush texture.

La Crema winemakers get a fairly consistent wine from year to year, with bottle aging being the main difference. Cool climate (as much as California could allow) from the coast in the evening and the early morning. Expect a combo of lemons, toast and orchard fruit tones, with a smooth finish from secondary malolactic fermentation. One of my really fave California chardonnays: balanced concentration. Mostly French oak with some US; 19% of the total is new oak. 13.9% ABV (label). Excellent price. Better paired with food, from starters and apps through to cheese.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir West Vineyard has an understated, restrained nose of rhubarb, Bing cherries and cranberries with hints of fragrant earth, bay leaves, fungi and mossy bark. Light to medium-bodied, rugged and earthy, it has a firm frame of chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long.

Medium ruby-purple colored, 2015 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton delivers a lot of red berry/raspberry expression with underlying menthol, dried herbs and tree bark notes. Medium-bodied, the palate offers a great concentration of juicy red fruit flavors with a solid backbone of grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton has black cherry and mulberry notes with notions of violets, chocolate box and cloves. Medium-bodied, it delivers a great intensity of firmly-textured red and black fruit, finishing long with a fruity burst.

From a site originally planted in the 1950s that requires plenty of hang time to ripen, the 2015 Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard is aged in 60% new oak, which is one of the higher percentages in the lineup. It has a darker fruited, wild strawberry, earthy style, plenty of fruit, and a good, albeit, shorter finish. There's plenty of tannin here as well, and I suspect it will be better this time next year. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

Santa Maria Valley, though located in Southern California, actually has some very cool areas because the valley runs East-West instead of the more usual North-South orientation. As such, it draws cool air from the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, growers determine what to plant where by assessing how much heat is needed to ripen a particular variety -- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir favor western sites while Cabernet Sauvignon needs the heat of more inland -- eastern -- plots. Cambria’s Clone 4 Chardonnay shows the restraint and vibrancy of grapes grown in cooler climes. A touch of creaminess, without a trace of weight, adds to its allure.

Leading off the reds and coming from a terrific site located on the southern end of the appellation, the 2014 Pinot Noir La Encantada Vineyard sports a deeper ruby color to go with fresh, fruit-driven notes of black cherries, leather, cedary spice and dried herbs. There's a hint of mint that comes through with air, and it's a fresh, lively Pinot Noir that has light tannin and a good finish. This cuvée was completely destemmed and spent 16 months in 41% new French oak. Originally founded in 1984, Byron is now owned by Jackson Family Wines with the wines made by Jonathan Nagy. The oak treatment sticks out slightly in a number of these wines, but as I hope the scores show, there’s tons to love here. These are ripe, classic Santa Barbara wines.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard comes from a sandy, limestone site in the Santa Maria Valley, from a mix of clones (667, 114, Pommard and Swan), and was completely destemmed and aged in 41% new French oak. It’s more red fruit driven, with lots of spice, kirsch, forest floor and dusty/loamy/earthy notes in its medium-bodied, supple, charming, beautifully textured style. Like the other releases here, it has light, yet present tannin, sweet fruit, and a good finish. Originally founded in 1984, Byron is now owned by Jackson Family Wines with the wines made by Jonathan Nagy. The oak treatment sticks out slightly in a number of these wines, but as I hope the scores show, there’s tons to love here. These are ripe, classic Santa Barbara wines.

Pale to medium garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Grenache Old Vine has scents of cherry and strawberry preserves with hints of potpourri, baking spices, aniseed and dusty earth. Medium-bodied and packed with red berry coulis and spicy flavors, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins and a racy line carrying the fruit to a long finish.

A blend of 68% Grenache, 26% Shiraz and 6% Mourvedre, the 2015 Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvedre sports a medium garnet-purple color and a nose of black cherry compote, red currant jelly and fertile soil with hints of Indian spices, black pepper and tar. Medium-bodied with a great intensity of earth and black berry flavors, the fruit is well-supported by rounded tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and peppery.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Mourvedre has a pronounced blackberry and blueberry preserves nose with suggestions of eucalyptus, fragrant earth and baker's chocolate. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a lot of vibrant fruit with an appealing spiciness coming through on the long, chewy finish.

The 2016 Roussanne opens with fragrant white peach, orange blossom and allspice notes with touches of baking bread and honeycomb. The light to medium-bodied palate is elegantly played, with a quiet intensity of savory and spice box flavors complementing the stone fruit, finishing long and lively. -

Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains is scented of cranberries and pomegranate with hints of damp soil, dried herbs and black pepper. Medium-bodied, it gives a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and lively acidity, supporting the muscular fruit and finishing with an herbal lift.

The classic base 2015 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir comes from seven vineyards (two new ones, Lemoravo and Escolle), located towards the southern end of the appellation, and sees varying amount of whole cluster and is aged in 20-25% new French oak. It's a textbook Santa Lucia Pinot and has lots of violets, juicy berry fruits, cranberry and spice in a rounded, plump, charming and delicious style. It's a terrific value. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

Adam loves the Russian River Valley in 2015, and his 2015 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a classic, elegant, seamless Pinot Noir. Coming from seven different sites from throughout the appellation, it has classic red and black fruits, spice-box and dried herbs, with a medium-bodied, elegant, silky profile on the palate. It's forward, charming and straight up delicious. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Hawks View Vineyard is from a combination of ungrafted vines and newer Dijon clones on rootstock, from a site that’s completely dry farmed. It’s a complex, expressive, and lightly textured beauty that shows plenty of whole cluster spice, strawberries, dried herbs and dried flower aromatics. Supple, silky and layered, with a weightless style, drink it anytime over the coming 7-8 years. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard is another silky, forward and elegant 2015. Cranberry, black raspberry, spice and dried herbs give way to a medium to full-bodied, elegant Pinot that has light tannin, no hard edges and lots of charm. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

Showing a classic Côte de Beaune-like perfume of sweet red and fruits, dried flowers, forest floor and spice, the 2015 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard (from a combination of Pommard and Martin clones) is medium-bodied, supple and seamless on the palate, with lots of character. Like all of Adam’s wines, it's impeccably balanced, has juicy and bright acidity, and a clean finish. It shows the lighter, softer side to the Russian River Valley, yet is seamless and elegant. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years. I was able to taste Adam Lee’s full-lineup for this report, including his Russian River Valley, Sonoma and Oregon releases. It’s a big lineup, but there’s some gorgeous Pinot Noirs here. I’ve listed the wines in the order tasted, starting with Oregon, followed by Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills.

This is an easy wine to recommend for its creamy seductive texture. Some will complain it’s heavy or overdone, but those who like a rich Chardonnay with a hint of butter will embrace it. It does double duty as a stand-alone aperitif or to accompany a roast chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce.

Bing cherries, licorice, hard candy, subtle oak and leather notes all emerge from the 2015 Pinot Noir Mesa Terrace, and it was completely destemmed and spent 10 months in 61 %new French oak. It has plenty of fruit, good acidity and ripe, yet present tannin. Give it a year or so.

Firm, fleshy and rich, with concentrated dried cherry, raspberry and pomegranate flavors. Shows iodine and sanguine notes on the finish, along with crisp acidity.