This wine smells like blackberry jam and fresh soil. The palate has some weight to it, with low-ish acidity. There is a significant tannin structure that doesn't frame the wine so much as wind through it. It feels like this bottle needs another year or two to settle.

Fresh, with a savory snap to the green apple, mineral and Asian pear flavors. Custardy accents midpalate lead to a well-spiced finish.

Green apple and dried pear flavors show notes of savory richness, with juicy minerality on the direct and lively finish. Drink now through 2023.

Juicy and toasty, with notes of ripeness to the baked apple and dried apricot flavors, layered with plenty of cooking spice accents.

Fresh but flinty and sulphide-inflected, La Crema's 2018 Monterey chardonnay starts out with gentle wood influence with just a touch of caramel and creamed corn, alongside more dominant white and yellow-fleshed orchard fruit. Yet the finish picks up the wood theme and runs with it, ending on astringent texture and burnt caramel flavours. Ultimately, it seems, it carries more wood than the wine can/should handle in my view, on this leaner, cooler climate frame. The net result is a little rough and tumble, oak-infused.

Notably warm, buttery and creamy, certainly as compared to the Sonoma and Russian River chardonnays. Also herbal pesto, pecan brittle and then back to ferns and nettles in a chardonnay that oscillates with the tides. Plenty of complexity, diversity and intensity with a tacky feel that comes and goes in waves. Acids keep things equal and alive. Drink 2021-2024.

This is is a full bodied, smooth, just slightly sweet chardonnay with a fairly ripe complex nose of peach/pineapple fruit, creamed corn, some flinty reduction, toast and nutmeg. Ticks all the boxes of modern California chardonnay. But it is a bit blowsy, sweet and spicy on the palate, with alcohol heat as well. The length is excellent.

With its dense black-currant savor, this is a spicy zin that lasts on dried fruit notes and cinnamon. Pour it with southern Mediterranean grilled lamb.

A gutsy little red with medium-bodied blackberry, licorice, bitter mocha and cracked pepper flavors. Syrah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2023.

Cool-climate is a good descriptor of this Monterey pink made from pinot noir. The nose is aromatic with notes of strawberries, watermelon, and mandarin that spill onto the palate with equal freshness. The finish is clean, if a bit short, but hey, it's rosé, not rocket science. Serve cool with your favourite charcuterie plate, and let the summer begin.

A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this presents subdued aromas reminiscent of tilled soil, mocha and toasted oak. The dense palate suggests baked plum, grilled sage and roasted coffee bean alongside assertive tannins.

Soft and smooth, this plays out broadly across the palate with a lightly buttery feel. The clean but generic fruit flavors punch it up with hints of clove and bitter lemon. It was aged 10 months in 25% new French oak.

This lavish and buttery, full-bodied wine starts with candied apple and nutmeg aromas that lead to butter and butterscotch flavors on a smooth, soft texture.

This deep ruby colored kitchen sink blend from Kendall Jackson opens with a blackberry and stewed plum bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a plum and blackberry blend with notes of cinnamon and cherry. There are hints of oak and craisin mixed in the towards the end. The finish is dry and its gentle tannins and fruit flavors linger nicely. This is an easy-going red blend to enjoy mid-week with a tangy pulled pork sandwich.

The Cambria Pinot Noir has done a good job of melding ripe berry fruit flavors with savory ones. On the nose, this wine opens with notes of raspberry, black cherries, earl grey tea, and tapenade. The palate continues the theme but has additional notes of strawberries, cola, leather, and black pepper. The finish is fresh, but the tannins are still a bit green. This Pinot would pair well with a Reuben on rye.

A black-fruited pinot noir, this is gamey and waxy at first, its dark flavors growing sleek as they take shape with air. Give this a year in the cellar then serve with a thick-cut sirloin.

This fruity, juicy version of Cab is on the lighter side in terms of body, but it still has a deep color, creamy texture, moderate tannins and good varietal character.

A California wine shop staple, this Pinot Noir hits all the Pinot varietal buttons from its bright red fruits, mouth-filling, earthy, cran-cherry, and soft tannins. Fresh, mouth-watering acidity balances the ripe fruit before ending in a savoury, smooth finish. Ready to drink.

Slightly golden in color with a mild nice apple/pear nose. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with nice apple and pear along with some oaking notes like vanilla. This is not a super oaked wine, but more of a subtle gently oaked wine. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice soft acidity, nice and dry, beyond what the g/l would imply. We paired it with grilled scallops and it was perfect. I would give it an -88. Not bad at all.

A generous grenache with notes of baked strawberry and rhubarb, this buzzes with red fruit and tangy orange pith acidity. This is biodynamically farmed grenache from vines planted at the top of the ridge in Blewitt Springs in 1946. Pour it with roast goat and orange and ginger chutney.

The 2016 Les Cadrans de Lassegue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is a shining example. Winemaker and co-owner Pierre Seillan selects specific blocks of the vineyard to harvest and vinify for the second-label Les Cadrans de Lassegue. The warm, dry summer and harvest season yielded richly flavored fruit with good tannins and acidity, making 2016 another sought-after Bordeaux vintage in a string of five, starting with the 2014.Made from a blend of 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc, Les Cadrans’ opaque black color, and intense black fruit and coffee aromas and flavors have a New World style. It opened up and showed better balance after being in a decanter for two hours. This is a second-label wine that will benefit with two or three years cellaring.

Very SolidThis is a solid cheap bottle of bubbs. It has good balance and vibrant bubbles. It’s not often that a Prosecco is good in this price range, so grab this one if you see it.

Toasty aromas of macadamia nut, coconut and light marshmallow show on the nose of this bottling. With light tannins that float across the fluffy, pleasant palate, the wine offers seared apple and more marshmallow flavors.

This white is appealing for its soft pear and floral lime flavors that finish on a delicate accent. Drink now.

Baked plum, red-cherry jam and berry aromas meet with a touch of caramel on the pleasant nose of this always reliable bottling. Cranberry and fennel-frond flavors meet with dried herbs on the palate.