Copain's 2014 Chardonnay Tous Ensemble is soft, open-knit and gracious, all qualities that make it an excellent choice for drinking now and over the next year or two, while the orchard fruit and floral notes remain vibrant. This is a pretty, understated Chardonnay.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Monument Tree is surprisingly light in this vintage. Delicate, floral and lifted in the glass, the Monument Tree presents a decidedly delicate expression of Pinot. Crushed flowers, mint and dried cherries are nicely layered throughout. The 2013 is solid, but it lacks depth, while the finish is attenuated. This is the last vintage of the Monument Tree for Copain.

The nose is a dense lemon oil, wet stone and pear tart. The palate is firm with a lively lemon drop, mineral and licorice feel. The core is rather light in body with a lean acidity. 87 points.

Light yellow colour and a cashew-nutty aroma, fresh and clean, with a slight suspicion of barrel fermentation. There are some honey notes - possibly from solids in the ferment. A very attractive, quite complex, and certainly interesting dry white wine: positively exotic (and these notes were written without knowledge of the grape variety). The finish lingers on well. (72 dozen produced off 0.4 hectares of vines. Barrel fermented in older oak, then aged in a ceramic egg) Drink 2018 - 2022

Polished and expressive, with a hint of caramel and brown sugar to smooth out the dense black cherry and plum flavors. Dark chocolate, spice and toasted tobacco notes are aromatic and generous on the long finish. Drink now through 2028. From Australia.

The fleshy plum and licorice notes are generous, with a plump, plush body, cinnamon-scented spice accents and touches of black tea on the finish. Drink now through 2027

Ted Edwards is probably the most underrated winemaker in America, though he’s been at the helm of one of the Napa Valley’s most important wineries for about three decades. Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon helped put the Napa Valley on the map, its Bosche Cab from a small vineyard in Rutherford. Bosche Cabernet Sauvignon can age for up to 30 years. The 2013 is yet another in the winery’s long chain of successes from this vineyard treasure. The soft-spoken Edwards has crafter another masterpiece, a monumental wine that is remarkably concentrated and powerful without being ponderous or heavy. Notes of cassis and blackberry, wood spice and beautifully integrated tannins make the 2013 Bosche irresistible even at this early stage, but it really needs another 10 to 12 years to really strut its stuff.

This is a pretty pinot noir that’s also edgy. It has bright red raspberry fruit and crisp acid, which makes it a lovely food pairing. It also has layered flavors, with notes of mushroom and smoke. Well crafted.

Very typical of the vineyard, this pinot shows cola and beet root as well as black cherry and tart strawberry aromatics. Substantial but not overpowering in the mouth, it delivers a full spectrum of dark and brooding fruit flavors, more black cherry again, with dusky and spicy undertones. Suave and sophisticated, it has plenty of deep dish flavors to satisfy even the most jaded pinotphile. And while Byron sells grapes from this vineyard to other respected wineries, this version is always the benchmark of what Julia's Vineyard should be. Stellar pinot.

A bit tighter and perhaps more structured than Julia's, that's just the nature of Sierra Madre. Wind-torn and stressed, this vineyard seems to have lower yields and more concentrated aromas and flavors. Beet root, cola, Chinese gunpowder, graphite and rose petal on the nose along with plenty of concentrated red fruit. Tight flavors of red cherry, raspberry and brown baking spices are invisibly enveloped by a sheen of one-third Francois Freres new French oak. Possibly the sleeper of the lineup, this bottling is a candidate for aging in your cellar that will awaken five years from now as a sleeping beauty.

Initially more toasty and oaky on the nose with a slowly warmed brown butter component, it starts to show plenty of citrus as it warms in the glass. A bright pop of citrus immediately hits the palate, creamy lemon curd and key lime pie to be exact, along with cardamom, clove and a bit of cinnamon. The flavors really stick and persist on midpalate, reaching a crescendo and then making a big splash on the finish like a big wave finally hitting the beach. Nothing says Santa Barbara County chardonnay to me like Bien Nacido.

From the oldest commercial vineyard in the county, planted to the Wente clone in 1964, this chard shows aromatics of stone fruit and lemony citrus along with brown baking spices from its total barrel fermentation and then half of it being aged in new French oak. More stone fruit on the palate, especially apricot along with nectarine and trailing spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom bringing up the rear.

An addition to the Siduri range, the 2015 Pinot Noir Saralee's Vineyard emerges from an experimental block in this site planted with numerous clones of Pinot, all co-fermented. The aromatic top notes makes a strong first impression. Red-toned fruit, rose petal and mint develop in the glass, while firm, grippy tannins extend the finish. This is another attractive Pinot from Siduri.

Bright red cherry and floral notes are accented by the bright, natural acidity in the 2015 Pinot Noir Barbieri Vineyard. Succulent red stone fruits, sweet rose petal, mint, along with silky tannins add to the wine's considerable appeal. This is a gorgeous wine from Siduri and one of the clear standouts in the range.

Capensis began its short life in 2012 and the 2013 vintage, released from a variety of extreme sites from across the Western Cape, was the inaugural release. In 2014 Barbara Banke (Jackson Family Wines) and Antony Beck (Graham Beck Wines), jointly purchased the Fijnbosch, Stellenbosch property which now makes up just over half of the production of Capensis. At 1720 feet elevation and steep slopes it fits the Jackson vineyard mould. The rest of the grapes come from Overberg and the Robertson region. Winemaker Graham Weerts, who comes from Cape Town, shuffles between Stonestreet and several JFW properties. At US $80 the price suggests great things and I’m happy to report this wine is headed in that direction. The nose is a seductive mix of lees and honey with ripe tropical fruit but all within itself. The oak treatment is less or better or both in 2014 allowing the minerality and stony undercurrent to show through. The juicy fruit is framed with fine acidity and the creamy chalky textures mute the apple peach notes in a Burgundian sort of way. Just over half the wine is fermented in new French the rest in stainless steel. A nice improvement over the previous year. Crab, halibut or chicken would all work here.

One of the highlights in this range, the 2015 Pinot Noir Bellflower Vineyard is rich, creamy and seductive, all of which give it considerable appeal. Dark cherry, plum, licorice and lavender notes are pushed to the foreground. Sumptuous and bold, the Bellflower has just enough aromatic nuance and texture to keep things in some sort of balance. The 2015 will appeal most to readers who enjoy dark, ample wines.

Savory herbs, tobacco, licorice, mint and earth notes give the 2015 Pinot Noir Van Der Kamp Vineyard its distinctive, mountain-influenced personality. The intensity of the vintage is evident, but there is more than enough complexity and aromatic nuance to complement the richness of the fruit. This is a very pretty wine.

Dark red cherry, pomegranate, rose petal and sweet spices are all nicely layered in the 2015 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley). Juicy and expressive, the 2015 is a terrific wine at this level. Sweet floral and spice notes add a measure of brightness. This has quite a bit more freshness than the Sonoma County Pinot.

Siduri's 2015 Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard is bold, juicy and expressive, with plenty of up-front fruit, soft contours and an accessible personality. Blood orange and a host of reddish-toned fruits add to the wine's immediacy. This should drink well upon release. I tasted the 2015 from tank just prior to bottling.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch is an attractive, mid-weight Pinot, but it also comes across as a bit light for the year, and lacking both the depth and persistence of the best wines in this range.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Pratt Vineyard is a big, dark wine. Blackberry, plum, chocolate, spice and licorice are all pushed forward. The intense richness of the year is the dominant trait in this sumptuous Pinot Noir from Siduri.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Parsons' Vineyard is bold and powerful. Black cherry, bittersweet chocolate, licorice and cloves give the wine its decidedly dark, brooding personality, an impression that is reinforced by the firm, grippy tannins.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard is bold yet also tightly wound, so it's hardly a surprise Adam Lee decided to give the wine more time in barrel prior to bottling. Today, the incisive tannins overpower the fruit. It will be interesting to see if time in bottle smooths things out.

The 2015 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) is a dark, ripe wine that very much reflects the intensity and low yields of the vintage. Black cherry, chocolate, spice and licorice give the wine its brooding personality. This is an especially dark, concentrated Sonoma Coast Pinot.

For almost two decades, Lokoya Mt Veeder has been made from a selection of blocks within Veeder Peak Estate vineyard that sits on the sunny western ridges of the Mayacamas Mountains at the northern end of the Mount Veeder AVA. Poor, low nutrient volcanic soil yields small berries and big, concentrated flavours. Blueberries and violets with dense, rich mountain tannins spill from the glass. It’s always 100 percent cabernet sauvignon, fermented with native yeast, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Wisps of smoke and meat complex what is an outstanding bottle of cabernet and a direction many could learn from. I love the dry, firm mineral undercurrent and the subtle red fruit punctuation marks. You could drink this if you had to, but a decade or two in the cellar would leave this close to perfection and a fun bottle to slip into blind tastings.