A finish of sugary sweetness marks this Chard. It was grown in prime coastal regions, which accounts for the crisp acidity and long hangtime flavors of pineapples, green apples, Meyer lemons, kiwi fruit and spicy oak.

Bright, fresh, maybe a touch candied in an appley, lemony sort of way, this wine is very easy on the palate and holds onto that frontal, sweet fruit from front to back. Even a touch of coarse edge at the end does not detract from its attractiveness.

The wine that made America fall in love with Chardonnay is still semi-sweet, with a treasure trove of tropical fruit and spice flavors, boosted with creamy oak barrel influence, that's pretty irresistible at this price. Now sourced exclusively from coastal counties, the wine shows a brisk, citrusy acidity.

This mild and rather minimalist wine is drawn along slightly smaller lines in most respects, but it is clean, flirts with a bit of green apples and is reasonably crisp in basic balance.

There are some apple and peach flavors in this wine, and also a strong citrusy note that lends acidic brilliance to the mouthfeel. There's also an earthy, tobaccoey flavor.

A clean, correct California Chardonnay, reliable as ever. Pear, peach and citrus flavors go down easily buffered by graham crackery spice.

Medium red. Cherry, cranberry, plum, fresh herbs and oak spice on the nose, plus a whiff of celery seed. Finishes with modest tannins and slightly elevated acids.

Tough, earthy and leathery, with just enough rupe plum and black cherry. Cellar into 1999 in hopes the fruit pushes to the fore.

Overly oaked, meduim-bodied, tart, austere, emaciated effort displaying notes of earth and red as well as black fruits. There is not much depth, texture, or length in this preposterously priced offering.

Exhibits an impressive color and attack, but narrows considerably in the mouth.

Strawberry and rhubarb notes let lightly perky acidity ripple through, with tea and savory on the modest finish. Drink now. 117,477 cases made.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Vintner’s Reserve comes from Monterey, Sonoma, Mendocino and Santa Barbara counties. Matured for eight months in 12% new French oak, it’s scented of woodsmoke, cranberries, blood orange and forest floor. The light-bodied palate is chalky and fresh with somewhat dilute, earth-laced flavors and a simple, juicy finish. Drink it over the next year or two. 75,425 cases produced.

Straightforward lemon-lime and green apple flavors are juicy and refreshing, with a note of dried chamomile on the finish. Drink now.

Floral aromatics provide an earthiness of compost and violet to this wine, thick in tannin and robustly layered in clove, cedar and plum.

Ripe apple and pear flavors show some peachy accents, with a soft, spicy finish. Drink now.

This wine opens in inviting aromas of currant, blackberry and orange—a fruitiness that veers flat on the midpalate, overtaken by oak. Blended with 7% Petite Sirah, the wine is overtly ripe and brawny in style

A modest ensemble of green apple and herbal flavors. New from Kendall-Jackson.

Modest floral, plum and cherry flavors turn citrusy midpalate, their focus ebbing on the finish. Ultimately rather simple. Drink now.

...similarly-styled, with less herbaceousness, as well as less flavor intensity. Softened round, it will provide competent drinking over the next several years.

Sturdy, pleasant red offers a nice core of blackberry fruit and a touch of vanilla to make it gentle on the finish.

Light, fruity, supple, appealing for its pretty cherry and strawberry flavors.

From a series of plots, certified biodynamic. In the past this has been a belter of a wine, if not one of Australia’s best roussanne’s (not faint praise, a great white wine regardless). Something amiss here. Scents show discordant between lemon essence, lemon soap, sandalwood and barley sugar water. The palate is fine, sleek, but again feels like something is awry in lemon drop, sweet fruit flavours, resinous character, then a lack of mid palate, short finish, and a feel like a coarse filter has been applied to strip out something from the wine (not suggesting this, just a feel). The finish has a rustic thing to it, then resinous and slick again. It’s just not quite up to speed, it feels.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley seems straightforward, somewhat innocuous, light-bodied, with notes of sassafras, strawberry and red currant. Drink it over the next year.