Mid-straw in colour, with some bronze tints. The aromas are of wheat, hessian, nuts and haybales, really savoury and expressive. The palate is mid-weight, with flavours of white peach and apricot kernel, there's also a nuttiness and a hint of honey. The wine has a little phenolic grip and combined with the acidity, it gives excellent structure and savouriness to the finish.

The colour is quite deep in colour, with bronzed hues. Aromas of cut-hay, candied orange and a nuttiness. A richly-textured wine that has a real presence on the palate. There's tangy, citrus flavours melding with a grippy, mealy, savoury, phenolic dryness that gives the palate some real length.

This medium ruby colored Pinot Noir opens with a black raspberry and pencil shavings bouquet with hints of blood orange and band-aid. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with bright acidity. We also found it to be juicy and have a round mouthfeel. The flavor profile is red raspberry and red plum blend with notes of cola We also detected hints of strawberry, fig and clove mixed in. The finish is dry and its flavors and acidity linger nicely. The Panel would pair this Pinot with duck breast with fig sauce or with a cassoulet.

This represents solid value for the solid quality—an expressive wine in dark rich cherry, cinnamon and vanilla notes and one that is sticky in tannin and shows plenty of structure. Blended with small amounts of Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot, it remains light on the palate in integrated oak.

It's cabernet sauvignon on the label, but a Bordeaux blend in spirit. It takes full advantage of California's ability to blend in a healthy dollop of other grapes into a single varietal wine, with merlot (16%), malbec (4%), petit verdot (3%), and cabernet franc (1%). It also blends valley floor and mountain fruit from five vineyards, to produce a wine led by cassis and backed by an appealing savouriness with graphite, mint, and a touch of developing cedar. The vanilla-tinged oak is present but balanced (35% new French oak), leading to a medium-full bodied palate that's linear in texture with firm tannins. Just starting to enter prime time, this is true both to Napa and the estate's house style.

This very pale pink colored Rose wine opens fragrant strawberry and maraschino cherry bouquet with hints of gardenia and tangerine. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with lively medium plus acidity. The flavor profile is a stony mineral influenced strawberry and blood orange blend with hints of peach and watermelon. The finish is dry, extended and refreshing. The Panel would pair this very nice Rose with Rick’s shrimp cocktail.

This medium ruby colored Pinot Noir from Copain opens with a black raspberry and craisin bouquet with hints of strawberry and oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and juicy. The flavor profile is an oak influenced black plum with notes of stony minerality. I also detected hints of red raspberry and mint. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild tannins drift away nicely. This Pinot would pair well with cranberry-glazed pork chops.

Perfect for a quintessential Tuscan pappardelle al cinghiale with shaved pecorino, the Tenuta di Arceno 2018 Chianti Classico is a steady, fruity and fresh expression that delivers on and exceeds the basic promises of the appellation. Dark fruit and wild cherry segue to leather, spice and earth. The wine (made with Sangiovese and a small part Merlot for extra softness) offers a classic window onto the warm and sunny Castelnuovo Berardenga village on the southern side of the appellation.

2019 in Monterey was cool, with plenty of fog and overcast skies. No big heat spikes were leading to a slowly ripening crop of fresh fruit. Best of all, the acidity is juicy and the perfect foil to its ripe tropical fruit. Look for an aromatic nose with baked apples and pineapple dusted with butter scented brioche. On the palate, lemon and tangerine pull it all together along with a mineral coating. Balanced, fresh, and ready to drink. The wine is aged eight months in an 85/15 mix of oak (15 percent new) and stainless steel. The Monterey AVA consists of a long valley stretching from the uniquely cold Monterey Bay to the far southeast reaches of the Salinas Valley.

This bold, ripe pinot embodies the warmth of Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara. It's not shy on dark berry fruit, with cola, rhubarb, and sweet spices. It's drinking well now with a nice combination of fresh fruit and tertiary complexity coming from bottle age at five years. Medium-full bodied, it's dense and concentrated with impressively supple tannins. If you like pinot that's at the riper end of the spectrum, but without being over the top or just a fruit bomb, this is a winner.

This wine is from Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, and proudly states the certified sustainable farming designation on the front of the label.The color is a pale ruby, very much on the pale side. It pours light but that’s not an indicator for what’s coming. It’s the nose that gets you right away. The aromas are super vibrant; fresh berries, spice and earth.Nice depth in the mouth with cherry, cola, strawberry flavors; toasty in the finish with a nice peppery spice and a little vanilla.Excellent wine, and an amazing value.

Rich and deep, with plenty of oak to gather the lush fruit, this is a broad-shouldered pinot with the power and generosity for braised beef.

This pinot comes from the Jackson family's estate in Annapolis, where the fruit grew to generous ripeness while still holding some coastal briskness. The sweetness of dimpled grapes lends richness, the wine lasting in a dusty, lively and elegant finish.

Allspice, coffee and mocha scents show the integration of the oak tannins in this wine, their subtle red spice lasting over the red fruit. The flavors are big rather than deep, their youth hiding what one taster described as "tantalizing complexity around the edges."

With its fresh raspberry and red peach-skin flavors, this is a lush and vibrant pinot noir with some transparency to its flavors. Its tense and lightly abrasive tannins will mellow with a year or two of bottle age, then serve it with grilled tuna.

Tangy and svelte with cranberry flavors that last, this wine has a tight frame of tannins to highlight the fruit. The structure and the content combine in a lithe pinot noir, fragrant and clean.

Plush and supple, this wine focuses on textural pleasures when first poured. As it opens over the course of a day, the notes of cherry liqueur feel increasingly grounded in mineral-edged tannins. Decant it for shredded duck with bamboo shoots.

Warm with a ripe cherry and berry scent and velvety red fruit flavors, this wine is simple, supple and rounded with a mild grip of tannin—just the right weight for braised chicken thighs.

This lean well-priced pinot doesn't pander with added sugar or extract. Instead, you can taste the wind off Monterey Bay, the flavors all tart cherry and berry, with a modest oak complement that doesn't get in the way of the vibrant fruit. A well-made, go-to pinot noir staple.

Fresh and juicy, with good cut to the red currant and dried berry flavors that feature bright minerality. Ends with a creamy, well-spiced finish, with notes of dried green herbs. Drink now through 2023.

2018 has given us a very pure Pinot Noir packed full of black cherry. The textures are similarly inviting with just enough structure to channel all the mouth-filling fruit along the palate to an even more impressive 13.5 alcohol content. Seriously Pinot-like, this was once thought unattainable in California. Delicious and friendly, you can serve it with duck, mushrooms, root vegetables, soft cheeses and pork. La Crema Sonoma Coast oversees a large production of estate and grower vineyards, all within the cool, marine swept boundaries of Sonoma County. Post ferment, it’s aged nine months in 98 per cent (20 pe rcent new and dwindling) French oak. Bravo.

This pale straw-colored Sauvignon Blanc opens with a very fragrant yellow grapefruit, green pepper and green olive bouquet with hints of guava and wet stone. On the palate, this wine is light plus bodied and slightly acidic. The flavor profile is a gentle mineral infused light grapefruit with notes lime, white peach and saline. We also detected some hints of green bell pepper and nectarine pit towards the very end. The finish is dry and its flavor drift away nicely. We would pair this delicate Sauvignon Blanc with a honey-fried walleye or seafood scampi.

Julia’s Vineyard, named for a daughter of founders, Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, is dedicated to Pinot Noir. It is a delicious wine with juicy black cherry, blackberry fruit laced with vanilla and notes of dried thyme, velvety smooth in the mouth. It is medium bodied and animated with vibrant acidity. It finishes with sleek, ripe tannins. It is the perfect partner with a roasted pork tenderloin, duck, quail or grilled salmon. The 2018 vintage was the second at Cambria for winemaker Jill Russell. She considered it a magnificent vintage with “canopies luscious and full; the vines were thriving and happy. We had zero weather events to push our picking decisions and we were able to let the grapes hang longer for more complexity while still retaining acidity.”

The 2018 Lassègue has a really gorgeous bouquet of luscious dark cherry fruit, cassis, crushed violets and vanilla pod. It becomes increasingly floral with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and sweet with supple tannins. Licorice and brown spices filter through the black fruit, leading to a satin-textured finish. Very seductive and quite heady, this is a Saint-Émilion that clearly has ambitions, though overall I find it just a little too sweet.

This pale straw-colored Sauvignon Blanc opens with a nectarine pit and yellow grapefruit bouquet with hints of fresh cut grass, green apple and green pepper. On the palate, this wine is light plus bodied with gentle acidity. The flavor profile is white grapefruit and lime blend with notes of stony minerality and green apple candy. The finish is dry and drifts away nicely. The Panel would pair this Sauvignon Blanc with crab avocado stack salad, crab cakes or oysters.