Anyone who knows me well is aware that I have a soft spot for Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. Now, one of my favorite Pinot producers has just released its first Chardonnay.Siduri, critically acclaimed for its elegant, cool-climate, single-vineyard Pinots, has only crafted a handful of white wines in its 27-year history. As a result, there’s no doubt that its 2019 Willamette Valley Chardonnay will automatically pique interest far and wide.It’s full of finesse, with the lovely fragrance of white flowers and orange blossom, plus heady notes of apple, lemon, nutmeg, and just a hint of vanilla.Cheers: If you’ve turned your back on Chardonnay of late, this one’s sure to win you back to the pleasures of this varietal.Winemaker Matt Revelette has previous experience making Chardonnay at Sonoma’s Sojourn Cellars, Sebastopol’s Kosta Browne, and Healdsburg’s Williams Selyem. The Siduri Chardonnay, of which I received a sample, is a blend of several vineyards that was divided up three ways to ferment in stainless steel tanks, concrete eggs, and 25 percent new French oak barrels. The resulting wine is the best of all worlds — velvety but without flabby richness, and bright with acidity but not overtly tangy.

Wine of the Week: Around the world with RieslingRiesling may not be the first grape variety you think of when you think of the Willamette Valley of Oregon, but the 2018 Penner-Ash Old Vine Hyland Riesling just may just change that. In the hands of founding winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash this wine is intoxicating. With aromas reminiscent of a classic Loire Valley Riesling, it features scents of citrus peel, roasted almonds, stony minerality and petrol (a good thing). On the palate, the wine sports a wonderful richness with flavors of ripe white peach, tart nectarine and a touch of green melon. The finish is expansive and lengthy, with just a hint of mineral-laden acidity to keep the wine in balance.

Top 6 in the 6ix – Rosé All Day!California knows how to party and their fabulous Rosé wines are no different! La Crema Pinot offers a beautiful bouquet of strawberries and cream alongside pink floral notes with a wonderful finish.

Bright crimson. Beautifully rich and flattering on the nose but by no means just sweet. Real combination of glowing, brilliant fruit, structure and freshness. This will clearly age well but is (just) ready to enjoy. Not heavy at all. Love this. More guts to it than many new wave Grenaches.

Mid crimson with a hint of purple. Gentle, sweet leathery nose. Good freshness and real transparency. Not at all like the McLaren Vale stereotype. Light, sweet and peppery. Tangy. Almost like Sangiovese with its fresh acidity and fine tannin - and its need for accompanying food! I wonder why they don't call this 'Old Vine' since the vines were planted the same year as those for the Old Vine Grenache?

Deep lustrous garnet. Pure Cabernet, quite leafy, notes but with a real undertow of ripe fruit. Enough acidity and very little tannin in evidence. Firm. Pretty dry finish. Very Cabernet.

Lean, high-acid, lime-fruited wine - very different from the richer, fruitier Oregon Chardonnays I have recently been tasting. Perhaps you lust after all this acidity if living in a hot climate but it strikes this British palate as just a bit demanding. Perhaps it will round out in bottle? Chablis style...?

Pale to very pale ruby with a broad, transparent rim. Very pretty nose indeed with violets and delicacy. Beautifully judged. Elegant fruit with a combination of strawberry and orange. Already very attractive fruit, sufficient acidity and very light tannin. Perhaps not a long distance runner but who cares?

Pale garnet. A bit more zest and concentration than the regular 2020 Pinot from this producer. Nicely judged. Intense with just a little bit of heat and fine tannin on the end. For current drinking I'd recommend the regular 2020. Wait until the second half of 2021 for this one.

A Stellar Season: Tasting the 2019 Vintage Through Premiere Napa ValleyLot# 66Inky, opaque purple in color, this barrel sample smells of grapey black cherry and cassis. In the mouth, plush and lush flavors of blackcurrant, black cherry, and blackberry have a bright acidity and powdery, supple tannins. There’s a nice tangy note in the finish, and the oak is very well integrated here. Still somewhat primary in quality, but going to develop into a nice wine. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the estate’s historic Howell Mountain vineyard, which dates to 1888. Native-yeast fermented, aged in French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered.

All the fruit here is hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, wild ferment in 500 litre French puncheons (20% new), no malo or punchdowns. The style is quite Chablis-esque, savoury, toasty notes on the nose, oyster shell, a bit more muscular in style on the palate, with a clearly defined phenolic and mineral content. Waves of citrus flavour (orange and green), intense, textural and with a real power behind the fruit (in a good not heavy-handed way).

The Murphy-Goode Zinfandel paired with the Chardonnay Smoked Salt & Cocoa chocolate. The briary, rich ripe fruit notes of the wine and the smokiness of the chocolate were in balance and the chocolate increased the length of the wine’s finish.

The Cambria Estate Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley paired with the Tart Cherry & Cocoa chocolate. The wine with tart cherry, cranberry, red fruit, and baking spice notes was in perfect harmony with the Tart Cherry & Cocoa. Together the cherry flavors exploded in the mouth.

The Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay paired with Almonds with Pink Himalayan Salt. The wine has notes of tropical fruit, baking spices, and vanilla. I loved the nuttiness of the chocolate to match the richness of the wine and the saltiness of the chocolate to cut through the richness and highlight the acidity.

The La Crema Rosé of Pinot Noir from Monterey paired with the Dark Chocolate. The wine has wild strawberry, watermelon, and citrus aromas, bright crisp flavors, and fresh acidity that paired beautifully with the smooth dark chocolate. But, the Rosé was also enjoyed with the Tart Cherry & Cocoa chocolate as the fruit notes of the wine and chocolate were in harmony.

Lighten Up With These Classically Low-Alcohol Wines6 refreshing, flavorful low-ABV wines to tryRipe and refreshing, this wine clocks in at 9% ABV and only contains 85 calories and zero sugar, and yet the juicy flavors of Meyer lemon and pineapple still burst from the bottle.

As the producers are proud to point out, the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County is one of California's coolest spots with a very long growing season. It's a paradise for Pinot, and this wine provided one judge with "an 'ooh' moment. It looks great, smells great and tastes great." Another judge elaborated: "There are black fruits and smoke on the nose, accented by lilac and pepper notes. The palate is quite full and round with a nice, silky mouthfeel."

A "standout" in the flight of Pinot Noir for more than one judge, this single-vineyard red is the work of three female members of Californian winemaking royalty the Jackson Family: Barbara Banke and her daughters, Katie and Julia Jackson. "Raspberries, dark oaky finish, firm but pleasant morello cherries in the mouth...a lovely balanced wine and representative of the style and region," the judges said. "Excellent value for money."

We loved this aromatic chardonnay from mountain vineyards in the Stellenbosch winegrowing region of South Africa. Rich, citrusy and intriguing.

This has a bready, buttery nose, as well as ripe peach and pear fruit. The palate is smooth with nice balance, showing some spicy framing to the soft fruit.

The variety offered in an appellation blend is fun for Kate Ayers. "There are times where I say this is a better wine, as it showcases an entire appellation rather than one single vineyard. It blows up the Willamette Valley picture really big, and that's cool." Darker fruit shines here, loved the tannins and their intensity that surrounded the fruit.

Strand Sarah Wuethrich on a desert island and she wants unlimited Chablis. "I know I could never replicate that, but if you see perfect fruit, then use minimal intervention. Chardonnay is as complex as any pinot noir or red wine grape." Grown at a higher elevation with bud wood from sister winery Stonestreet's excellent Upper Barn Vineyard, it has flavors of honeysuckle, pear, lemon, lime, warm rock and chalk.

California sunshine provided winemaker Gianna Kelly with plenty of tropical fruit flavors. There's a fresh-cut grass, green herb note and mossy rock note that keep things crispy and fresh.

Earth, dark cherry, tea, herbs and spice in this pinot that leans toward full-bodied with firm tannins and lingering finish. Very good.

Full cork-stoppered bottle 1,445 g. From a cooler year for the Clarendon Vineyard, planted in 1971. Chris Carpenter and Peter Fraser are said to be breathing new life into the property. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon from Blocks 315 and 316 and 40% Shiraz from Blocks 221 and 222 – the finest blocks on the estate apparently, picked on 6 and 4 April respectively. Aged for 15 months in 100% new oak. Just 120 cases made. Luscious fruit with black pepper and a saline quality on the nose. Composed and still a little tight on the finish but obviously very carefully made. Just a little minty at the moment but you could certainly enjoy it now.