A wonderfully savoury and nearly feral Cabernet from a proper mountain Cabernet vineyard site at the rugged Rockfall vineyard high up in Mayacamas. Mediterranean scrub, eucalyptus and lavender leap forth with a kick of white pepper spice. The palate offers a core of dusty blue and black fruits, California bay leaf, anise and freshly crushed stone minerality to finish the wine with a savoury edge.

This wine shows the wonderful complexity and ageability of the Vérité house in the inaugural bottling of La Joie. Without a doubt, this wine has improved over its years. Anise, violet and rose petal aromatics hint at the elegance of the wine. Concentrated red and black berries are met with a beautiful savouriness.

Wildly floral, this Merlot-based blend from 10 years ago still aromatically puts on quite the fireworks. Far from fatigued, this wine feels like it's just getting warmed up. Dried violets and cherry kirsch notes balance ripe aromas with mineral graphite tones. The palate shows balsamic and strawberries, fennel, leather and mint. The wine remains exceptionally structured a decade later.

Less a homage to the Lucy Lawless television series and more a clever turn of phrase and nod to the Zena Crown Vineyard, this wine is pure Oregon terroir in character. Elegance balanced with robust blue fruits, this wine shows aromas of pine bough, brambleberries and a savoury herbal melange. The palate shows clove star anise, smashed raspberries and fresh mint. It is balanced and brilliant.

A Merlot dominant blend with whispers of Cabernet Franc and Malbec (5% each). More generous than dense with ample structure, silken texture and elegance alongside understated power. Aromatics are marked by espresso beans, irises, violets, and crushed stone alongside cedar plank and cinnamon spice. The palate is elegantly outlined, with fine tannins, mocha powder, blue fruits denoted by huckleberry and fig and a sinuous streak of graphite across the finish.

At over 730m the, Christopher's site produces concentrated Cabernet with freshness and lift. It is a rugged vineyard site atop the Stonestreet estate mountain complex—aromas of evergreen bough, chicory root, crushed raspberries, and mineral notes of smashed black stone. The palate shows a density of black fruits lifted by bay leaf, Chinese five-spice, crushed stone minerals and pine tar. It's still coming along at nearly a decade.

From the Upper Barn vineyard at over 480m in the Alexander Valley planted in 1982 to Old Wente clone Chardonnay, old vines in this part of California for Chardonnay. Aromas of roast corn husk, peach fuzz, and savoury herbs flanked with a crushed chalk mineral character. The palate is finely etched in its precision, honeyed apricot, lemon cream and candied ginger with a laser-focused minerality. This Chardonnay is evolving beautifully.

A polished Pinot Noir from the Mendocino County Docker Hill site. Savoury aromatics of mountain herbs with cocoa nibs and blue fruits. The palate shows ample elegance, structure and gorgeous texture. A core of blue fruits, evergreen tips, cocoa nibs, and a finish lifted by fresh mint.

From the Upper Barn vineyard at over 480m in the Alexander Valley planted in 1982 to Old Wente clone Chardonnay, old vines in this part of California for Chardonnay. 2019 shows the early makings of the 2011 and is developing a similar elegance but is complete in its richenss of fruit at present. Cardamom and bruised apples and accents of lemon cream aromatics lean into a palate of lemon cream, honeyed peach and almond notes. It doesn't show the laser precision of the 2011 but offers generous, ample fruit.

Released in 2022 after 7 years en tirage. Pretty aromas of crushed chalk and slate meet lemon cream. The palate shows cut Granny Smith apples, tangy lemon cream, flaky almond cream pastry notes, and a depth of ripe stone fruit.

The Laguna Ridge soils have higher iron content, producing wines of great minerality. This Pinot flashes beautiful blue fruit aromatics with hints of cola and crushed slate. The palate is showy, with turned earth-based umami, fresh red berries and a spiced cassia bark undertone. Fresh, bright mint carries a finish of true elegance.

The Jennifer's Chardonnay is stunning from Hartford Family, showing the old Wente Hyde heirloom clones. Located smack dab in a wind tunnel, this site produces wines of verve and energy. White flowers and bee pollen aromas are showy and bright. This wine has a richness and body that is carried on by bright green mangoes, lemon cream and early-season papaya—a beauty of a wine.

This wine eschews stereotypes and delivers on depth, complexity and minerality while offering an incredible value. Aromatics of honeyed apricot, candied ginger and bee pollen hint at ample elegance. The oak adds structure and helps raise the wine without becoming it. Spiced apple, nutmeg and cardamom flash on the palate, balanced by freshness and lemon drop brightness to finish.

“Well this is apple-like, it’s not just the power of suggestion, it’s like biting into something cold and crunchy, lemonade and frozen meal, backed by nectarines, backed by nuts and stones. This dials back the intensity slightly, lifts the elegance, splays the flavours into a complex carpet, and then stretches its legs fully through the finish. It’s a stunning wine, and my pick of this year’s releases (by a whisker)”

“This is an absolute bloody cracker. It tastes of cranberry and red cherry with pomegranate and twiggy, peppery spice. It’s lively, perfumed, juicy, complex and complete. There’s crunch here, there’s perfume, there’s difference and yet there’s pure, ripe, juicy, urgent fruit. Great face, great body.”

“When we taste the Giant Steps chardonnays we usually start at the warmer of the single vineyard sites and work our way up, or to cooler sites. Two we have here. Tarraford is a leased vineyard though it’s a key member of the Giant Steps SV range.
This is a tight release, though highly textural, but what really shows through here is the fruit intensity of the year. There’s a concentration to this wine, a sense of bounty. It tastes of brine, apples, citrus and cedar, with attractive bacon and salt-like highlights, plus quartz, plus some greenery. I wrote the word ‘incredible’, which says it all.”

A beautiful, elegant Pinot Noir from the Sta Rita Hills site, John Sebastiano. Silky, textured, and fresh, this wine flashes delicate purity and minerality. Pungent floral aromas of dried violets, sois bois and evergreen tips are accented by seaspray minerality. The palate is a study in beautiful blue fruits, crushed stone and grilled orange peel. This Pinot shows ample depth and a true sense of the wonder of the Sta Rita Hills.

Gary's Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands features a suitcase clone, Pisoni and varied elevations throughout the site. Fresh fruited with ample barrel spice, the aromas hint at a ripe Pinot Noir. The palate delivers ripeness, but it's backed with great dried savoury herbs, black plums and spiced fig. A wine is carried out on a spicy, peppery finish.

Redolent of sweet cherries and blue berry fruits, this wine flashes plenty of savoury nuances. Aromas of tomato leaf, purple violets and mountain scrub are backed by blue fruits. The palate shows grilled blood orange, smoked sea salt and a savoury, garrigue-driven finish.

A bigger Pinot Noir, the Rosella's shows savoury herbs and crushes stone minerality backed by a baked cherry component. Blue and black fruits predominate on the palate, as well as ripe and rich fig, chocolate, and blackberry compote. Finishing with desert sage and white pepper accents.

A ripe, jammy and broad-shouldered Pinot Noir from what is a cool, windy site in the Sta Rita Hills. Ripe, dried fruits mark the aromatic profile accented by mountain scrub. The palate shows strawberry fruit leather, tobacco, and black plums and finishes with black pepper spiciness.

Ripe and fruit forward with ripe blackberry, cinnamon, Christmas spice and rum cake, reflective in both the aromatics and the palate. The wine shows heat on the finish from the alcohol.

A very pretty, properly Oregon Pinot Noir from Siduri, this Zena Crown vineayrd from 2019 is revelatory. Elegant and finely etched, with lovely, pungent floral aromatics backed by red fruit and spice. The palate shows fleshy berries, basalmic umami character, savoury dried fennel, and thyme accents. Elegance and depth are both on display.

A gorgeous Pinot Noir from the Gran Moraine site shows crushed raspberries on hot stone, cassia bark and dusty gravel. The palate is elegant and refined; delicate red and purple fruits are framed by blue florals; there is a depth of umami character marked by soy, balsamic and wet moss. Wonderful.

A ripe vintage from the Willamette Valley plays to the strength of Siduri winemaker Matt Revelette. Power and spice with ample depth and complexity colour this Pinot Noir from Zena Crown in the Eola-Amity Hills. Cocoa nibs, bay leat and mint accent black and red berries in the aromatic profile. The palate is lush and fruited yet amply savoury. Cherries, raspberry and currant are sprinkled with cocoa powder; there is a smoky flint element to this showy wine with a peppery finish, a bit chewy.