Pale ruby-purple, the 2018 Pinot Noir Slope takes some time in the glass to reveal scents of cranberry sauce, orange peel, charcuterie and flinty streaks that make the generosity on the palate all the more surprising. Medium-bodied, it's bursting with layer after layer of concentrated, savory fruit and is loaded with floral perfume.Grainy and fresh, it offers a harmonious structural balance and glides effortlessly into an incredibly long, detailed finish. Wow!

Medium deep crimson. Lifted dried roses strawberry graphite aromas with hint of musky notes. Well-balanced wine with voluminous strawberry raspberry, musky plum fruits. Fine loose knit chalky textures, superb mid-palate density and integrated mineral acidity. Superb layered wine with wonderful fruit complexity and energy. Drink now - 2034.

The 2020 Syrah from Ex Post Facto is lovely at this youthful stage, made without new oak and sourced mainly from the Santa Maria Valley (although moving forward, winemaker Greg Brewer says fruit will come instead from the Sta. Rita Hills). Medium ruby-purple, it offers blackcurrants, dried red cherries and incredible natural spice, like black licorice, cocoa powder, cracked pepper and lilac. The palate is stunning, offering powerful, spicy fruit supported by generous freshness and powdery tannins, and it finishes with great length and definition. Wow!

The Diatom 2021 Chardonnay has inviting poached pears, quince and lemongrass aromas with touches of baker's yeast, honeycomb and acacia. The medium-bodied palate balances generous, exotic fruits and a touch of textural grip with bright waves of acidity, finishing long and flavorful. This Chardonnay is dynamic and so delicious!

The 2020 Chardonnay 3D features delicate, precise aromas this vintage: lemongrass, candied citrus and white peach are complemented by deeper wafts of matchstick and honeycomb. Medium-bodied, its generous, ripe citrus flavors are enlivened by bursts of mouthwatering acidity and anchored by a gentle textural grip, and it finishes with exotic, alluringly herbal flavors and great length. Such a singular expression this vintage!

Luxurious aromas of red cherry sorbet, strawberry, light tar, dark mint and a slightly dank herb are cut by smashed stone on the incredibly complex nose of this bottling, arguably this brand’s best of this vintage. A bright, tonguetingling, long-lingering acidity sails through forest floor and tarragon flavors that give complexity to that core of ripe red cherry on the palate.

Intricate aromas of kirsch, tobacco, potpourri, pine forest, and smoky cedar. Massively powerful and concentrated dark fruit gives buoyancy to this brooding Cabernet. Firm, fine woody tannins lay a solid foundation for a wine that keeps giving through layers of wet river stones, underbrush, herbs, dried currants and walnut husks. A very precise wine with the freshness of a cool, crisp Spring Mountain morning.

Powerfully aromatic black fruits, dried herbs, dark-roast coffee beans, toasty oak and dried flowers. Full-throttle, structured and dense, with firm, elongated tannins and compact black-toned fruits, scorched earth, iron shavings and crushed cocoa nibs. A long finish of brandied spiced cherries. Since 1995, Lokoya has produced Cabernet from the Veeder Peak Estate at 548m on the western ridges of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Incredibly rich and opulent. Sumptuous aromas of ripe cassis, boysenberry, blackberry and mountain herbs. The incredibly vivid dark berry fruit – deep and penetrating – is accompanied by a tapestry of granular mountain tannins that are long and laced with a saline minerality. The finish reveals a plethora of pie spices, blueberry compote, chocolate and very fine oak. A powerhouse Cabernet that is pleasure-packed.

The 2019 Le Desir is based on Cabernet Franc, with the remainder 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is complex and layered, with hints of saddle leather, pencil shavings, tangy red cherry, and blackcurrant. The palate is full and elegantly structured, with mocha, red plum, and turned soil. This is an incredible wine with lots of underlying tension that will be a pleasure to revisit if afforded the opportunity. Drink over the next 20 or more years.

The 2019 La Muse offers a luxurious and layered perfume of red apple, sweet tobacco, and fresh leather. The palate is generous, with velveteen texture, noes of cassis, violets, and fresh earth, and a weightless feel. The most open of the three presented by Verite, this is an incredible wine and will be fantastic to check in on over the next two or more decades.

Coming from the Sebastopol Hills, the 2019 Chardonnay Jennifer's was aged for 13 months in 30% new French oak. Displaying aromas of fresh green apple and wet stone, the palate is concentrated and powerful, with a persistent long finish, and the feeling like a rod of energy in its mouthfeel. Drink 2024-2034.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota is compact with menthol oils, sage, dark iron-rich earth, and cassis. The palate is savory, with tightly wound structure, and delivers dried herbs, fresh fig, violets, and scorched earth. Allow for a few years in cellar and drink 2025-2045.

Blended with 7% Merlot from the famous site, along the benchlands of the Mayacamas, this is a juicy, delicious and sophisticated wine, with impressive, complementary bolts of freshness and intensity that are fully in sync. Notes of gravel, black cherry, currant and herb ride along a structured and generous palate of memorable greatness. Enjoy best from 2028–2038.

The fruit for this 2019 High Sands Grenache is sourced from the highest plot on the estate, from old bush vines planted in 1946. This an incredibly complex wine that undulates and ripples across the tongue; it brings blood and ferrous, crushed quartz and pink peppercorns, poise and succulence, but never, ever heaviness. Weight: no. This has silken sway and lithe flow, but no heaviness. What an amazing wine that lingers and echoes through the finish. An emphatic, resounding, YES. In fact, I was almost done with this tasting note, and it occurred to me that there is also framboise, licorice, a hint of anise, salami and graphite through the finish. It's a crime to spit this out—so I won't.

A blend of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 W S Keyes Merlot is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes bounding out with exuberant notes of baked plums, blackberry preserves, and boysenberries plus hints of licorice, underbrush, and Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, the palate is both rich and energetic, featuring super-plush, rounded tannins and fantastic freshness, delivering a very long, earth-laced finish. It should age well. 509 cases were made. The soils that these old vines are planted on run counter to everything you've learned about where Merlot should succeed. Here there is volcanic, tufa soil as opposed to the typical clay. It is fascinating how a microclimate can change the parameters.

The 2018 Le Desir is composed of 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec, aged for 16 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out with provocative scents of redcurrant preserves, kirsch, black raspberries, and dusty soil, followed by hints of tobacco, Sichuan pepper, and rosehip tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is very tightly wound, with loads of red and black fruit layers intertwined with minerals and savory nuances, framed by very firm, grainy tannins, leading to a long and earthy finish for this beautiful wine. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2004 Le Desir, made from 49% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, is very deep garnet-brick colored. Notes of blueberry pie, preserved plums, and Morello cherries come barreling out of the glass, followed by nuances of beef dripping, unsmoked cigars, pencil shavings, and black olives. The palate is full-bodied and lively, with vibrant blue and red fruit layers and a very plush texture, finishing long with a skip in its step.

The 2002 La Joie is composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Deep garnet-brick in color, it needs a lot of swirling to wake up evocative notes of blackcurrant cordial, prunes, and figs, plus hints of tobacco leaves, dried Provence herbs, charcuterie, and tapenade with a waft of incense. The full-bodied palate explodes with youthful cassis and kirsch flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and earthy.

The 2018 La Joie is made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it swaggers out of the glass with classic creme de cassis, cedar, and pencil-lead notes, giving way to notes of bay leaves, fertile loam, and cast-iron pan with a waft of charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and multi-layered. 2,500 cases were made.

Named after the Applejack eucalypts that surround the vineyard, which was planted at Gladysdale in 1997. Seven clones including 114, 115, MV6, D2V5, D5V15, Pommard and Abel! I've long considered the Applejack vineyard to be one of the greatest sites for pinot in Australia and I'm not sure I've seen a better version than the 2021. A deep, bright, crimson purple. Maraschino cherry into plum, there's an exotic and riotous amalgam of Asian five-spice and a gentle savoury, umami character. What elevates this vintage is the concentration, along with Applejack's trademark perfume and spice. Just so vibrant and fresh on the palate, the tannins are both silky and plentiful. You will have no problems opening and enjoying this now, but the wine's track record suggests you'll thank me if you still have some to drink 7–10 years from now, if not longer.

Lokoya's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is a bit floral and herbal, with lovely bay leaf and sage nuances vaguely reminiscent of some Margaret River Cabernets. Ripe cassis and cherries round out the full-bodied palate in a seamless combination of velvet and silk, finishing long and slinky, again marked by fine-grained, soft tannins. Fruit from two vineyards—Yverdon and Wurtele—goes into this wine, which aged in Sylvain barriques for their subtlety.

The purity of fruit with currants, spices and flowers is very impressive, as is the long, creamy texture. Full-bodied with medium, round tannins and a fresh finish. Oyster and iodine notes come through. Excellent. Drink after 2026.

Aromas of violets and blackberries with some black olives follow through to a full-bodied palate with finesse, polish and great length. Velvety tannins. Incredible finish. Great class here. Drinkable now, but better to hold for about five or six years.

This is an amazing young wine with blackcurrant, iodine, oyster shell and tile. Crushed stone, too. Full-bodied, yet bright and linear, with great depth and intensity. Tensioned and formed with superb tannins. Framed and real. Speaks of the place. Give this four to five years of bottle age. One for the cellar. Try after 2027.