Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2017 Chardonnay Spear is attractive with terrific energy and cut. Citrus and floral notes are nicely delineated. The Spear is not as focused or layered as the best wines in the range, but that is almost certainly a function of vine age. I expect this bottling will become more complex in future vintages.

Focused and vibrantly fruity, with notes of wet stone to the peach, white berry and green apple flavors. The spicy finish offers dried savory and honeyed accents.

Steals - $25 & Under Delicate and lively; a thirst-quenching treat that’s fantastic with the foods of spring and summer.

California vintners, after decades of fear and loathing, are finally getting dialed in to the beauty of dry rosé. And this one is a beauty, showing floral notes, a touch of citrus, savory herbs and lifted strawberry. Crisp, with lip-smacking acidity, it’s built to pair with grilled chicken and sausages, salmon or simply on its own.

The 2017s From Sonoma From a site that's close to the Petaluma Gap, the 2017 Pinot Noir Côte Bannie offers a smoky, darker style in its black cherry, blueberries, scorched earth, ground herbs, and pepper. It's medium-bodied, racy, and has tart acidity, yet it also has purity, balance, and outstanding length on the finish. Aged 16 months in one-third new French oak, give bottles a year or three.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard is lifted and understated, with lovely floral and savory character. Crushed flowers, herbs, spice and dried cherry are all laced together. Medium in body and gracious, the 2017 is shaping up to be a terrific wine. Stylistically, it is a bit more savory and less fruity than other Pinots in the range.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir Les Voisins is a pretty wine with lovely floral and savory character. Sweet red berry, crushed flowers, mint. This mid-weight, gracious Pinot will drink well with minimal cellaring.

As with the En Haut cuvée, the 2016 Pinot Noir Kiser En Bas saw malo in barrel and was brought up in just over 20% new French oak. However, where the En Haut saw some whole cluster, this was completely destemmed. It offers ripeness in its Bing cherry, dried earth, licorice, and leafy herbs notes, and while it has plenty of fruit and depth, it doesn’t come together with the same elegance and balance found in the En Haut cuvée. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years.

Leading off the Pinot Noirs, the 2016 Les Voisins saw a malo in barrel followed by aging in 19% new French oak. This light ruby-colored effort has a terrific perfume of spiced cherries, dried flowers, and wild strawberries. It’s fresh, lively, medium-bodied, and elegant on the palate, with a charming, albeit slightly short style. Nevertheless, I love its complexity and balance.

Copain's 2014 Pinot Noir Tous Ensemble is one of the classiest wines readers will find in its price range. Bright red cherry, plum, blood orange and sweet spice give the wine its beguiling aromatic and flavor profile. This is a wine to buy by the case and to enjoy over the next handful of years. In a word: terrific.

The 2012 Monument Tree is a much brighter wine, coastally-influenced with stoney red fruit, flint and tart. According to our host, this is likely the last vintage of this wine, so get it while you can!

Another Côte Rôtie lookalike is the 2016 Syrah Baker Ranch, which I suspect saw loads of stems and was brought up in neutral barrels. Raspberries, cranberries, rose petals, violets, and hints of meatiness give way to a medium to light-bodied Syrah that has plenty of tannin, impressive balance, and a lengthy, polished, elegant style that’s a joy to drink. It should keep for 7-8 years.

This dark ruby and slightly opaque Syrah from Copain opens with an oak and blueberry bouquet with a hint coconut. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a tasty boysenberry and toasty oak blend with notes of olive and stewed plum. I also detected a hint of beef jerky mixed in. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins stick around for quite a while. This Syrah would pair well with a Colorado lamb chops.

Leading off the Syrahs, the 2016 Les Voisins has a Côte Rôtie-like perfume of bacon fat, raspberries, and dried flowers. It’s medium-bodied, silky and elegant on the palate, with a complex, mid-weight, incredibly drinkable style.

The 2015 Syrah Les Voisins is terrific. Inky, savory and super-expressive, the 2015 offers tons of cool-climate, varietal character. Blueberry pie, black pepper, mocha, lavender, spice, menthol and new leather add striking shades of nuance. The 50% whole clusters are very nicely integrated. The long, persistent finish only adds to the wine's considerable appeal.

This opaque and dark purple colored Syrah from Copain opens with an appealing black cherry and rose like bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and very juicy. The flavor profile is primarily plum with notes of boysenberry and some hints black raspberry and minerality and touch of black licorice. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild tannins drift away nicely. This Syrah is food friendly and would pair nicely with a lamb burger.

The 2014 Syrah Tous Ensemble is a delicious entry-level offering laced with scents of lavender, plum, licorice, sage and menthol. I would prefer to drink this delicate, mid-weight Syrah over the next few years, even if the tannins are a bit present. This is a very serious wine for the money.

Copain's Syrahs are Aging Wonderfully Good stuff inside for sure, it just stayed tight the whole night, even Day 2 it wasn’t as expressive. Gobs of dark fruit on the nose. Structured tannins provide lots of grip, medium acidity. Dense black fruit, iron, smoke, graphite, pepper and violets. Young still, I’d let this sit for three or four years. Damn, Wells’ wine age for quite a while. Iconic Paso Robles vineyard, 10 miles from the ocean, clay over ancient seabed soils.

Copain's Syrahs are Aging Wonderfully Dark and plummy on the nose with violets and black olives. Surprising grip on the tannins, this is quite dense actually, but some fresh acidity. Black currants and rich black cherries, quite “purple” in its approach. Floral as well with potting soil and violets. One of the wines that needs more time, which I found surprising and interesting. A Lake County vineyard, in red volcanic soils, above the beautiful Clear Lake in Southern Lake County.

This beautiful Chardonnay is an inviting yellow gold color. It has a fresh bouquet of golden apple, honeysuckle, lemon and green melon. It is medium bodied, very round and smooth, with bright acidity. The flavors, while simple, are refreshing green apple, lime and stony minerality with a hint of almond; no oak. The finish is moderate in length with some citrus. I would pair this very nice Chard with poached salmon with a creamy dill sauce.

From the 6- to 8-year-old vines of a site called Wild Ridge Vineyard, the 2016 Chardonnay Tidal Break is another racy, vibrant effort from winemaker Wells Guthrie. Tart citrus, crushed rocks, lemon, and floral notes flow to a pretty, lively, juicy wine that, like the Tous Ensemble, has a Chablis-like character.

Soft vanilla nose; crisp and fresh with juicy fruit and bright acidity; long and balanced.