The 2015 Le Désir is a blend of 64% Cabernet Franc,27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec.It's dusty and a touch closed at this stage, featuring reticent notions of red and black currants, cigars and mushrooms. The palate is softening and juicy, with a deep core of fruit and a mineral-driven finish. Put it away and forget about it for a while—it's in a muted phase right now.

The 2020 La Muse, a blend of 95% Merlot and 5%Malbec, was harvested September 9-16 and matured for 15 months in new French oak. It's youthfully coiled and requires plenty of time to open its aromas of cherry pie, desiccated violet, tobacco, coffee and aniseed. The full-bodied palate is velvety and seamless, with restrained, mineral-driven fruit. It's very shy and will require plenty of time to come around.1,100 cases were made.

A stunning, velvety red, with hints of dried spearmint, resin, toasted tobacco and bay leaf, plus fresh earth accents to complement the spiced plum, kirsch and huckleberry notes. Long, expressive finish, where the tannins firm up pleasantly. Drink now. 1,127 cases made, 500 cases imported.

A blend of 91% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3%Malbec, the 2021 La Muse was matured for 16 months in barrel. Currently resting in tank, it's youthfully shy and fruity at this early stage, showing a touch of matchstick-like reduction. After time in the glass, it reveals a core of Morello cherry, shiitake mushroom and aniseed. The full-bodied palate is concentrated yet weightless, with restrained, just-ripe, mineral-driven fruit, abundant, grainy tannins, noticeably refreshing acidity and a spicy finish.

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard was picked on September 11 and matured for 13 months in 90% new French oak. It has broody aromas
of blackcurrant, damp tobacco, aniseed, clove and lavender, offering up more detail as it spends time in the glass. The full-bodied palate is light on its feet with
rounded acidity, clay-textured tannins and a fragrant, graphite-driven finish. 595 cases were made.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley is the second vintage of Anakota's second-label Cabernet, meant for drinking in the near term rather than the cellaring required for the Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. "I may make more in the future where I can, but it depends on the vintage," assistant winemaker and second-generation vigneron Hélène Seillan says. It's blended with 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot and was matured for 12 months in 30% new French oak. Already bottled, it offers pretty aromas of blueberries and cassis with tones of violet, coffee grounds, earth and mushroom. The medium-bodied palate is supple and juicy, with ripe yet not over-the-top fruit and a long, graphite-laced finish. There's a lot less new oak on this cuvée, and it really works! Around 1,500 cases were made.

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana
Vineyard was picked on September 10 and matured in
90% new French oak for 13 months. It strikes a fine
balance of fresh fruit and savory aromas, with
charcuterie, pipe tobacco, dried thyme and coffee
beans complementing a deep core of redcurrant fruit.
The full-bodied palate is plush and inviting, with
powdery tannins, seamless acidity and a youthfully
dense finish. 579 cases were made.

This has a wonderful plumpness to the velvety core of blackberry preserves, with notes of green cardamom, black pepper and toasted cumin. Reveals details of chai tea, salted black licorice and dried rosemary and sage on the long, expressive finish. Drink now. 148 cases made, 105 cases imported.

Brisk and steely, with refreshing lemon and quince flavors laced with green apple and hints of saline. Drink now. 150 cases made.

A rustic style, with briary cherry, underbrush, and pepper flavors that finish with wiry tannins. Best after 2023. 15,000 cases made.

The 2019 Le Désir is just as stunning as the first time I tasted it from bottle. It's pure and layered, with alluring scents of Morello cherries, dried mushrooms, cigars, sage and aniseed wafting from the glass. The palate strikes a fine balance of concentrated fruit, loads of powdery tannins, and energetic bursts of fresh acidity.It has a deep core of concentrated, perfumed fruit with the first faint touches of umami character and a long finish driven by floral and iron tones. I can't get enough of this wine!

This is one of the most intriguing and appealing new-release Merlots (there’s also 5% Cab Franc and 5% Malbec) I’ve tasted in a long time. Balance, perfume, and depth coexist magnificently, and each sip is effusive with red currants, red and black raspberries and cherries, plums, a laser beam of graphite, and hints of tobacco and sandalwood before a finish with flamed orange oil nuances. The future for this wine is tremendous, and it promises to evolve for decades to come — though even now, it’s showing spectacularly

Toasty, rich, and brooding, this is a wine that will reward patience, and notes of blackberry liqueur, kirsch, cassis, purple plums, and cardamom promise to unfurl over the coming decade-plus. Graphite-like tannins find impressive balance and structure, and a dusting of singed laurel and cigar add further complexity.

This wine is a classic effort from winemaker Chris Carpenter, whose way with mountain-grown grapes is astounding. Age-worthy tannins open up with some air, allowing notes of licorice, granite, cacao nibs, blackberries, black figs, cured olives, and well-steeped tea to shine. Cardamom and violets linger through the long finish.

Another utterly brilliant Chardonnay, the 2021 Chardonnay 3D comes from a site in the Sta. Rita Hills. It has a balanced, full-bodied, incredibly layered style as well as classic notes of honeyed citrus, stone fruits, crushed stone, and white flowers, with classic Sta. Rita Hills marine-like salinity and oyster shell-like nuances. A powerful,
concentrated effort, it has flawless balance,
beautiful freshness, and a great finish. It's one of the finest Chardonnays in this report. Hats off to Greg Brewer for continuing to set his own path and make richly textured, powerful, world class Chardonnay.

Lastly, the 2021 Pinot Noir Machado is similarly darker ruby and translucently hued and offers up a smorgasbord-like array of red and black berries, smoked herbs, underbrush, and gamey, foresty,
marine-like nuances. Flawlessly balanced, deep, rich, and textured, it has an awesome mid-palate, integrated tannins, and heavenly finish. This incredible Pinot Noir stopped me in my tracks and might be the finest I've tasted from Brewer. It can
be drunk any time over the coming 10-15 years.

Vivid gold-hued, the 2021 Chardonnay Hapgood has a brilliant nose of caramelized lemons, honeyed green almond, and chalky minerality. This richly textured, full-bodied Chardonnay offers integrated acidity, beautiful overall balance, and a powerful yet still seamless, elegant profile that's a joy to drink.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Hapgood is closer in style to the 3D with its savory, spicy, almost meaty, gamey profile. Redcurrants, mulled raspberries, baking spices, hazelnuts, and dried herbs/forest floor, as well as some classic Sta. Rita Hills marine notes, define the aromatics, and it's medium to fullbodied, with a pure, layered, expansive texture, bright yet integrated acidity, and a gorgeous finish. Drink this complex, insanely good Pinot Noir any time over the coming 10-12 years.

A new wine from a site in the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2021 Chardonnay Perilune is similarly medium gold-hued, with more bass notes of stone fruits, buttered nuts, white flowers, and crushed stone. One of the more powerful, opulent, full-bodied whites in the lineup, it brings beautiful richness and depth, a layered, mouth-filling texture, and a great finish

Ripe orchard fruits, butted lemon, crushed stone, and salty, marine-influence notes all emerge from the 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills, a concentrated, medium to full-bodied Chardonnay with a liquid rock-like sense of minerality, beautiful mid-palate density, and a great finish. You should never underestimate these appellation
releases from Greg Brewer. This is an insane value in top Chardonnay from California.

All Syrah from the Sta. Rita Hills (I'm not sure about the vineyard sources here) and made by Greg Brewer, the deep ruby/plum-hued 2021 Syrah Sta. Rita Hills has textbook aromatics of ripe red and black fruits, gamey meats, bay leaf, ground pepper, and marine-like nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, concentrated, layered profile, and flawless balance, it has a distinctly cool climate style while being gorgeously textured, layered, and elegant. It might be the finest vintage of this wine I’ve tasted.Drink bottles over the coming decade.

More exotic flowers, honeyed lemon zest, tropical fruits, and buttered green almond notes all emerge from the 2021 Chardonnay Machado, a beautifully textured, ripe, opulent, sexy Chardonnay with
good acidity and terrific balance. Give it a year and enjoy bottles over the following decade.

Leading off the reds, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills offers a pure, complex, intense perfume of ripe raspberries, peppery herbs, exotic flowers, and underbrush. This deep, rich, medium to fullbodied Pinot Noir has a layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, remarkable purity, and a great, great finish. It will stand up to anything in the vintage and should be snatched up by savvy readers.

Another savory, spicy, marine-influenced effort, the 2021 Pinot Noir Perilune reveals a mostly translucent ruby hue as well as complex notes of mulled raspberries, darker cherries, dried herbs, loamy soil, and hints of leather. As with the other 2021s here, it's beautifully complex, medium to full-bodied, has a gorgeous texture, and outstanding length.

Bright raspberries, framboise, spring flowers, and sappy herb notes emerge from the 2021 Pinot Noir 459, a pretty, lifted, floral Pinot Noir that’s medium to full-bodied and has a vibrant spine of
acidity, fine-grained tannins, and a great finish. It's another beautifully layered, complex, complete wine in the lineup. It's going to age as well. Give bottles 2-3 years in the cellar if you can and enjoy over the following decade.