As for the 2015s, one can anticipate that these are going to be big, blackberry and blueberry-laced wines, opaque in color, with loads of glycerin. The Helena Dakota will probably inch out the Helena Montana in terms of concentration, length and intensity by a slight degree, but both are mid-90-point wines that should have early drinkability windows because of their sucrosity and supple, sweet tannins, yet be capable of lasting 25-30 or more years. This is an up-and-coming star.

The 2010 La Muse bursts from the glass with an exciting melange of dark red berries, freshly cut flowers, spices and licorice. Layers of dark fruit flow effortlessly to the long, wonderfully nuanced finish. The 2010 has a level of energy and pure vibrancy that isn't quite there in the 2009. Today the tannins are a bit firm, but that should only serve to provide backbone for the wine as it ages. This is a dazzling wine from Pierre Seillan and Verite. The 2010 La Muse is 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030.

A barrel sample of the 2009 La Muse, a blend of 86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec, was from the Bennett Valley (31%), Chalk Hill (42%) and Alexander Mountain Estate (27%). Sweet cassis, crushed rock, spring flower, black currant and coffee notes as well as an undeniable minerality emerge from this big, full-bodied, powerful wine. Surprisingly deep and concentrated for a 2009, it may turn out to have the longevity of the 2005.

Exhibits a personality not unlike St-Emilion's Château Ausone. Aromas of incense, flowers, black fruits, crushed rocks, and steel emerge from this wine of extraordinary intensity, superb purity, full-bodied power, and backward tannin. As it sits in the glass, scents of smoke and earthy blueberries also come forth. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2021.

The 2010 La Joie is a cool, mineral-drenched wine oozing with class and elegance. Today the 2010 is all about potential, and there is no shortage of that here. Blackberries, cassis, graphite and spices are some of the many notes that wrap around the powerful, insistent finish. This is another showstopper from Verite. In 2010 La Joie is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030.

The 2008's are strong efforts. Given the fact that Vérité's wines often perform better out of bottle than they do from barrel, this may be another powerful, long-lived vintage. The 2008 La Joie (72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec) reveals sweet fruitcake, crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, licorice, and incense characteristics as well as tremendous body. It is the biggest, richest, most substantial and promising of this trio. It reveals a Pauillac-like, cedary, black currant-scented nose that suggests a first-growth Bordeaux. It too, should age effortlessly for three decades or more.

The 2014 Chardonnay Stone Côte is actually a tiny parcel within the more famous and larger Durell Vineyard. Like most of these wines, indigenous yeast fermentations are encouraged, and the wine is 100% barrel-fermented and aged completely in French oak with the percentage of new oak generally ranging from the upper 30 percentile to 50% or so. This wine is a terrific example of Chardonnay, with a greenish hue to its light straw color and a stunning nose of tropical fruit, citrus oil and orange blossom. It is full-bodied, has great acidity and delicious up-front fruit. This will be a killer Chardonnay when released next year.

The 2012 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes from a site located on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross. Like its siblings, it was fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled unfined and unfiltered after spending 15 months in one-third new oak. It’s alcohol is among the lowest at 14.1%. A blockbuster Chardonnay, it boasts intense aromas of mangoes, Mandarin oranges, pineapples and wet rocks along with noticeable minerality, full body, and stunning purity as well as symmetry. This is another great Chardonnay from proprietor Don Hartford and his winemaking team. Enjoy it over the next 5-7 years.

From a panoramic ridge top parcel west of the village of Occidental, the 2012 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard reveals the lowest alcohol at 14%. It possesses great balance, a burgeoning complexity, good freshness and lots of honeyed tropical fruits intermixed with notions of wet gravel, spice and oak. With fabulous fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a long finish, it should drink well for 6-7 years.

The 2015 Zinfandel Jolene’s Vineyard comes from another site for century-plus-aged, head-trained bush vines. Aged in 100% French oak, it was to be bottled unfined and unfiltered right after my visit. Inky bluish purple, this wine from a vineyard on Olivet Road has loads of pepper, roasted meats, Provençal herbs and loamy soil undertones interwoven with blackberry, black cherry liqueur and spice box. It is a pedal-to-the-metal style of wine, with superb richness, a full-bodied unctuosity, but good acidity keeping everything energized and vibrant. Drink it over the next decade.

The 2015 Zinfandel High Wire Vineyard also comes from century-old vines and is aged in 100% French oak for 14 months. This looks to be sensational, with an inky ruby/purple color, a big, peppery, spicy nose with layers of charcoal embers, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, some licorice, spice box and earth. It is full-bodied and viscous, with layers of fruit (mostly black fruits like blackberry and cassis) and a deep, full-throttle, inky finish. Drink it over the next decade.

Bright, dark medium ruby. Medicinal black fruits, menthol, rose petal, brown spices, mocha, espresso and molten chocolate on the very ripe nose; some hints of _surmaturité. Boasts a texture like liquid velvet; not particularly sweet but delivers terrific depth of dark raspberry and chocolate flavor and an incredibly glossy texture. As seamless as this wine is, its powerful structure gives a kick to the finish, where broad, serious tannins saturate the entire palate. This very young, sophisticated wine is a beauty, but give it some time in a decanter if you plan to open a bottle anytime soon.

The 2012 Grenache High Sands is powerful and rich aromatically, with roasted meat and
star anise, licorice, clove, dark chocolate and even roasted fennel seed. This is deep and
dark. I like it so much and am attracted to its difference in the context of the more recent
vintage releases. The oak formats employed in some of these older vintages include
smaller format, as opposed to the newer, larger seasoned oak vessels employed now.

The 2013 Grenache High Sands is perfumed and floral, and this perfume translates
seamlessly on the palate in the cavalcade of dried rose petals, pomegranate molasses and
sweet roasted meat crust. This is brooding and yet fresh. It will have quite the personality
on it in a decade and beyond; for now, it is teetering on that precipice edge of aging, one
where it is possible to see where the characters came from and where they are going too.

Lokoya's 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain combines fruit from the Wurtele
Vineyard (at 800 feet above sea level) and the Yverdon Vineyard (at 1,900 feet above sea
level). Scents of sage and bay laurel accent this wine's more red-fruited core of ripe
cherries. It's full-bodied, like the other 2022s from Lokoya but not as lush or creamy. It's
concentrated, just slightly rougher-textured but still packed with aging potential, with a
long, lingering finish.

The 2022 La Muse is a blend of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec that matured for 16 months in 95% new French oak. It's shy on the nose to begin, but with time in the glass, it reveals pure, alluring scents of red cherry, pipe tobacco, graphite and coffee beans. The full-bodied palate is mineral-driven at this early stage, though it has a seamless structure of velvety tannins and refreshing acidity and a long finish with latent spicy accents. “The Merlot is very shy in comparison to the Cabernet Sauvignon,” vigneron Pierre Seillan explains. “It doesn’t explode immediately. That is the secret of Merlot. It’s very shy on the entry and with lots of spice on the back.” I retasted the La Muse over several days, and it only improved with air—give it plenty of time in the cellar or several hours in a decanter.

Orange blossoms, stone fruits, white flowers, and plenty of classic marine-like salinity and mineral define the bouquet of the 2023 Chardonnay Machado, which spent 15 months in 100% neutral oak barrels. It's one of the brighter, racier, more mineral-driven Chardonnays in the lineup, and it's nicely balanced, medium-bodied, has integrated acidity, and a gorgeous finish. Drink 2025-2035.

The 2023 Pinot Noir Machado has a beautifully expressive nose but is undeniably coiled up on the palate, a trait that likely bodes very well for the future. This is a very serious wine that's firmly planted in its nascent, primary phase. A well of complexity and structure resides beneath the top layers of clear, bright red berry fruit and savory herbs. Give this a few years for those deeper nuances to emerge, then reap the rewards. The 2023 is hugely promising.

The Primavera Vineyard sits at 300 metres above sea level. Oak is more present in this wine. Mahogany, red fruits, lots of herb and flowers, pomegranate and roasted nuts, quite grippy, whole bunch notes evident but tucked in, classic red fruits, rinds, musks and florals but with whispers of mescal. This felt slightly blocky and oaky at first but it came together in the glass and as it did, the wine’s deliciousness went through the roof. The aftertaste has that animal fat, smoky, bacon-like aspect. This is the sleeper in the range; it could be up with the best of them in time.

Smallest volume make in some time. Finer than the Tarraford.

Gentle reduction, stonefruit, brine, ginger, river-stones and a dry, almost salty feel on the finish. Gentle infusion of mango skin and citrus but juicy and fine throughout. There’s so much finesse to this release. There’s fantastic intensity to the fruit too; just when you think it’s finished it keeps on throwing punches. The small make has added, it would seem, to both the power and to the length here. This is a sensational Sexton chardonnay.

Light to medium crimson. Beautiful pure strawberry, chinotto aromas with camomile, hint aniseed notes. Generously concentrated with attractive strawberry, red cherry pastille, cola flavours, fine looseknit chalky, touch al dente textures, very good mid palate viscosity and fresh long crisp acidity. Finishes minerally, bittersweet and firmish with seductive red fruits. Allow a year for the elements to fold and integrate. From the highest block of 1946-planted bush vines. Drink 2026 – 2032

Intense ruby red in colour with purple highlights. Dark mature aromatic notes of black berry fruits, balsam, dark chocolate and exotic spice. Black cherry, blackcurrant, white smoke, liquorice, Kirsch, pomegranate, sweet tobacco and grilled herbs. Developed and beguiling on the palate, juicy and intense.Assertive in its structure. Wide and long on the close.

Another very well made, focused, but incredibly intense expression of Chardonnay that is simply brimming with smoky minerality, lemon and lime confit, crushed granite, green citrus, honeycomb, and vanilla pod spice. Beautiful balance, massive intensity of fruit concentration, and a truly delicious symmetry of acid and bright citrus fruit. Very impressive from a great vintage.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Clairière is inviting and kaleidoscopic on the nose: wild red and blue berries are accented by tones of orange peel, wildflowers, tea leaves, mushrooms and damp earth. The light-bodied palate is finely chalky and refreshing with latent flavor layers that gain detail as the wine opens. Despite its aromatic generosity, it's tightly wound on the palate and deserves 3-5+ years in bottle. 330 cases produced.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Slope comes from grapes planted in volcanic soils, and on the nose, tar and scorched earth aromas give way over time to pomegranate, rhubarb, dried herbs and amaro. The medium-bodied palate is expressive and inviting, flooding the mouth with dynamic flavor layers. It has suede-textured tannins, vibrant acidity and a very long finish streaked with flint and spice. It will reward five or more years in the cellar and should be long lived. 378 cases were made.