Butter, salt, pear and fresh-squeezed orange comprise the leading aromas. Bright orange flavors persist on the palate, as do green apple, hints of papaya and the near-chalky sensation of white rock.

Ripe golden color; silky and lush with creamy texture and ripe flavors; smooth, balanced and showing sweet new oak; long and stylish.

Smooth, creamy and ripe showing vanilla and butterscotch; lush and deep with good acid structure; long and dense.

Rich, spicy and oaky, this exudes a honeyed quality along with pineapple and lemon meringue notes. The brisk Santa Maria acidity provides clean, mouthwatering balance. Pair this opulent Chardonnay with lobster, shrimp and salmon.

Bright yellow-gold.  Ripe citrus and orchard fruit aromas are complicated by notes of buttered toast, vanilla and honey.  Fleshy and smooth in texture but lively as well, offering sappy tangerine and pear flavors that pick up a gingery nuance with air.  Finishes smoky and long, with lingering pear skin and vanilla notes.

Like an old style Burgundy with flint and dried apple character. Walnuts too. Some clarified butter. Full body, with fresh acidity and a creamy finish. Drink now

The only Chardonnay I tasted from Byron was also outstanding. The 2008 Chardonnay Santa Maria exhibits crisp apple and tropical fruit with loads of background wood, spice, and earth. The wine is medium to full-bodied, pure, and a strong effort. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

Greenish gold. Impressively complex aromas of lime, iodine, celery seed, sage and smoke. Sappy orchard and citrus flavors are pleasantly sweet but not overly so, with good mineral snap adding urgency. The iodine and smoke notes repeat on the finish. This is already quite complex.

Offers pure, rich, ripe fruit, with touches of ripe pear, apple and honeydew melon, gaining depth and body and ending with a complex finish. Drink now through 2012.

Made in an accessible, pleasing fashion, with sweet, smoky oak framing ripe flavors of pineapples, pears and honey.

Long and bright; complex and delicious.

Crisp aromas and flavors of raspberry, dried red currant and cherry are backed by vibrant acidity. Dried savory herb accents fill the finish.

Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two Brewer-Clifton's 2016 Pinot Noir 459 is a blend of fruit from Machado and 3-D. Pretty and aromatic, with mid-weight structure, the 2016 hovers on the palate effortlessly. The 2016 is at times a bit fleeting and elusive, but it has enough depth to drink well for at least a handful of years. Sweet red fruit, mint, pine, sage, tobacco and anise shape this attractive Pinot nicely.

Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2016 Pinot Noir Machado is attractive, but it also comes across as riper and more candied than the other Pinots in the range. Sweet tobacco, flowers and super-ripe red cherry fruit are nicely delineated. Silky tannins add to the wine's immediacy and sheer appeal. Readers should expect a racy, extroverted style.

A chiseled red, with notes of underbrush to the dried raspberry and red currant flavors that feature accents of persimmon and pomegranate. Cardamom details show on the finish.

The 2016 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is a very good introduction to the Brewer-Clifton style, wafting from the glass with a nose of ripe cherries, candied red fruit, spice and dried herbs that's more fruitdriven than this bottling often is straight out of the gates. On the palate, the wine is supple, saline and medium-bodied, with nice energy and a crunchy core of fruit. This should drink well for the better part of a decade.

Offers an enveloping spiciness, featuring lush flavors of roasted cherry, dark plum and raspberry and a creamy texture. Chocolate and cardamom notes linger on the broad and fine-grained finish, with hints of cedar.

A Spotlight on Santa Barbara From the coldest vintage over the past decade or more, the 2011 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is reminiscent of the 2008 with its fresh, lively, pretty style. Black cherry, sassafras, mint and spice all emerge from this elegant, ethereally textured beauty. I like it today but it’s going to keep nicely as well.

A Spotlight on Santa Barbara The 2008 vintage was a cold one and suffered from spring frost that impacted Chardonnay in a number of sites. The 2008 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills shows a very different style than the '07 with its more pure, precise nose of black cherry, forest floor, tobacco, and game. Medium-bodied, pure, elegant and silky, it still has plenty of life and has a distinctly Burgundian flare.

The 2007s From Santa Barbara County Fresh and lively, with lots of blackcurrant, black cherry, peppery herbs and earth, the 2007 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is fresh, a touch lean, medium-bodied and lively. I love its purity and freshness but would love more breadth on the mid-palate. Still, it's drinking nicely.

Concentrated ripe nectarine, melon and baked apple flavors feature some pastry accents in this white, with lemon meringue notes on the finish.

Polished and full of rich, spicy notes that accent the apple tart, pastry and lemon meringue flavors. Some saline details show midpalate, with a crisp and pure-tasting finish that reveals hints of dried mint.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Red Blend Prequel is an intriguing Rhone-blend from vineyards in Sonoma County. Wild flowers, black pepper, lavender and spice add shades of nuance to a core of inky dark fruit. This racy, exuberant Syrah-based red will drink well right out of the gate.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases The 2015 Red Blend is made up of 53% Merlot, 21% Petite Sirah, 20% Syrah, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, aged 20 months in 28% new French oak and 2% new American oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, baked plums, warm blackberries and Black Forest cake springs from the glass with touches of Chinese five spice, dusty soil and garrigue with a touch of black tea. Full, rich and with an approachable chewy texture, it has great freshness and a long earthy finish.

Composed of 46% Syrah, 39% Merlot, 13% Petite Sirah, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2014 Red Blend features a medium to deep garnet-purple color and lovely kirsch, crushed black berries and red currants nose with touches of black pepper, baking spices and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate gives lovely fresh, juicy red and black fruits with peppery undertones and nice rounded tannins, finishing on a spicy note.