Bright ruby. Highly perfumed aromas of red and dark berry preserves and potpourri, with a deeper note of licorice in the background. A smoky quality builds with air and carries onto the palate, which offers sweet raspberry and blackberry flavors. A dense,, chewy wine that possesses unlike finesse, finishing with very good clarity and persistence.

Ruby-red. A sexy, fragrant bouquet displays black raspberry, sassafras and baking spices, with a hint of smoky oak. Sappy and bright, offering juicy dark berry flavors and a touch of candied rose. Attractively seamless, with very good back-end punch and finishing persistence.

One of the Year's Best Pinot Noir's - Big and brash up front, this pinot noir has some jazz in its acidity, a firm, lively finish that breathes with black cherry and smoke. The tannins are fine, holding the warmth of the wine in check. Ready to serve with Peking duck.

Big and brash up front, this pinot noir has some jazz in its acidity, a firm, lively finish that breathes with black cherry and smoke. The tannins are fine, holding the warmth of the wine in check.

The 2008 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard, which is produced from Burgundian Dijon clones as well as the old Joseph Swan clone, exhibits plenty of raspberries, black cherries, cola, and roasted herbs in a full-bodied, round, generously endowed style. This is an impressive Pinot Noir to drink now and over the next 3-5 years.

This is a quite impressive New World Pinot Noir, meaning a wine of compelling fruit quality, with a seductively silky texture and a clean, long, ever-evolving finish. Unlike the great red wines of Burgundy, which must remain the benchmarks for both winemakers and wine drinkers who love this grape, this Californian does not display any earthy or so-called barnyard notes, its legitimately complex mélange of aromas and flavors coming wholly from the interplay of fruit and oak. That's in no sense a criticism, just an indication of Golden State style.

The generic and least expensive Pinot Noir, the 2008 Santa Maria, is a user-friendly, yet seriously endowed Pinot Noir with loads of fruitcake, roasted herbs, black cherry, and plum notes. The wine has a dark plum color, deep, lush flavors, and succulence and fleshiness that are totally seductive. Drink it over the next 2-3 years.

Smooth, bright and fresh with restrained fruit; lively balanced and long.

Medium red. Highly aromatic nose shows musky cherry and dark berry scents complicated by smoky herbs and dried flowers. Sappy and attractively sweet, with deep raspberry and cherry flavors and no rough edges. This smooth, seductive wine is drinking well right now.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard comes from high density blocks planted with Dijon clones. Its dark ruby/purple color is followed by sweet black cherry and blueberry aromas interwoven with notes of damp earth and forest floor. Vibrant, pure, full-bodied, and beautifully textured, it should drink nicely for 5-7 years.

A very good bargain. The sexy 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Maria offers sensual, soft, floral, berry, and plum fruit notes intertwined with a subtle notion of smoke. This silky-textured, medium-bodied endearing Pinot smells good, goes down easy, and should have many fans among both neophytes and connoisseurs. Enjoy it over the next several years.

Medium ruby color, deep red cherry and clove aromas; rich, ripe, bright cherry flavors with spicy, clove notes; forward fruit; silky texture, good structure and balance; long finish. Rich and bright flavors make this medium-weight Pinot a great choice for the table.

A blend of grapes from two vineyards, including Bien Nacido, this polished Pinot shows the crushed hard spices and deep, black-cherry flavors typical of the appellation. It's still a young wine, brimming with acids and tannins, and is drinkable now, but has the stuffing for medium-term aging. It's a good value for a Santa Barbara Pinot of this quality.

Red delicately balanced, elegant and graceful, with a firm, supple beam of black cherry, mineral, mushroom and forest floor. The tannins and acidity give it a great backbone, making it tempting to drink now. Drink now through 2011.

A true GSM, made from equal parts Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, the 2010 GSM Santa Maria Valley is a rich, concentrated and medium to full-bodied effort that possess outstanding notes of blackberry, toasted spice, pepper and sweet oak. Fermented with 100% whole cluster, and spending 26 months in 100% new French oak, it’s a rock-solid Rhone blend to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years.

There is a strong amount of smoke and oak on the nose of this bottling, but there's also elegant touches of creamy Asian pear and lemon rind. That citrus and smoke combination shows on the sip as well, along with sweet touches of apple flesh and a compelling sandalwood flavor.

Offers lemon-lime hints to the ripe pear, cream and baked apple flavors, lusciously spiced. Dried sage notes show on the rich finish.

The second of two very good, single-site Chardonnays from Byron, the Nielson Vineyard version shows very clear kinship to its mate from the Bien Nacido property with plenty of deep, optimally ripened, slightly tropical fruit and the same propensity to sweet, mildly caramelly oak. It, too, is showy, full-bodied, nicely layered stuff and with richness to spare and complexity that requires no effort or waiting to see, and, if by small degree, the more open and obvious of the two, it is comfortably balanced and will handily keep for several more years. 1 star.

A smoking value that's made in serious quantities, the 2013 Chardonnay Santa Barbara County has classic stone fruits, white peach, white flowers and classy oak/vanilla notes in a medium-bodied, supple, elegant and fruit-forward style. Fermented and aged half in tank and half in neutral barrel, it's a no-brainer Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming couple of years.

More energetic, with better overall focus and definition, the 2012 Chardonnay Nielson offers impressive lychee nut, white flowers, mint and hints of brioche in its medium to full-bodied, layered and beautifully textured personality. Aged 15 months in 40% new French oak, it will shine for 4-5 years, if not longer.

This wine is noticeably forward in oak in the nose, and its fruit does take a moment in which to get going, but going is just what it does, and it shines brightly in the deep and impressively filled flavors of ripe apples and lemons. There are scattered glimmers of complexity that bode well for aging, and the wine’s youthful, slightly phenolic, finishing edges will disappear once a couple of years have passed.

Smooth and lush with rich, creamy texture and ripe fruit; vanilla and dense tropical fruit; deep and long with balance and style.

Appealing, with a rich, juicy core of intense fruitiness, offering tiers of melon, citrus and tropical fruit. Very clean, pure and focused.

Appealing, with a rich, juicy core of intense fruitiness, offering tiers of melon, citrus and tropical fruit. Very clean, pure and focused.