The 2018 Chardonnay Gold Run is an incredibly distinctive wine. Apricot, exotic flowers, butter and passionfruit all flesh out in an unctuous, textured Chardonnay long on class. This is an especially overt, tropical style, and there is terrific freshness as well. These vines planted in 1982 yield a Chardonnay of notable complexity.

The 2019 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard emerges from vines planted in 1906. A heady, exuberant wine, the Hartford Zinfandel builds nicely in the glass as sweet floral and spice notes emerge to complement dark-fleshed berry fruit. This creamy, layered Zinfandel is pure sensuality.

Fresh melon, Key lime and celery aromas make for a unique and refreshing nose in this tantalizing wine by Greg Brewer. The wine zips across the palate with vibrant, titillating acidity, carrying flavors of sea shell, light herb and zesty citrus into the relentlessly grippy finish.

This is cool-climate Syrah on full amplification, courtesy of Greg Brewer. Aromas of cracked peppercorn, tar, graham cracker, raw lamb and elderberry show on the nose. The raw-meat flavors of the nuanced while bold palate are intense, and dusted with accents of pepper, bay leaf, rosemary and lavender.

Hawks Butte shows blackberry, cherry bouquet with hints of licorice, black pepper and blueberry. On the round balanced palate proper tannin/acidity supports plum, blueberry, cigar box and cumin flavors through a long clean finish. I was surprised at its flavors and long finish due a medium purple color which suggested a less complex wine.

Refined, rich and powerfully structured flavors of cherry, currant and dried raspberry are tensile, supported by firm acidity and tannins. Ends with a minerally flourish on the firm finish, with notes of savory herbs. Best from 2022 through 2027. From California.

The 2018 Chardonnay Journey is fabulous. Rich, unctuous and beautifully layered in the glass, with notes of lemon confit, white flowers and marzipan that give the 2018 stinking texture. The 2018 Journey is silky, with notable creaminess, depth and textural resonance, all in an understated style that holds tons of appeal.

The 2019 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard brings serious richness and depth yet still has a more mineral-laced, pure, balanced style. Ripe tangerines, white currants, brioche, honeyed minerality, and toast all dominate the bouquet, and this beauty is balanced, with nicely integrated acidity and a great finish. It doesn't match the vibrancy and precision of the 2017 and is more in the softer, more rounded style of the 2018.

The 2019 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard is cut from the same cloth yet seems to have a touch more purity and precision than the Highwire release. Blueberries, candied strawberries, toasted spice, graphite, and spicy wood notes define this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a wonderful sense of purity, ripe tannins, and a great finish.

The 2019 Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard Old Vine is another beauty. Revealing a ruby/purple hue as well as a beautiful nose of ripe blueberries, red plums, flowery incense, and sandalwood, this outstanding red hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, layered texture, perfectly integrated tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s already hard to resist, but I think it has the balance as well as the density to keep for at least 5-7 years, if not upwards of a decade if you’re so inclined. There’s certainly no need to delay gratification, though.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards is another Sonoma Coast release from this great producer. Medium ruby/purple-hued, with an exotic bouquet of black cherries, blueberries, candied violets, and flowery incense, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a juicy, racy mouthfeel, supple tannins, and a great finish. It will benefit from a year in bottle and drink brilliantly through at least 2030.

Coming from the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters has textbook savory, herbal, mineral style as well as wonderful darker cherry and exotic blueberry fruits, medium to full body, loads of floral and violet nuances, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's up-front and fruit-forward, yet it has plenty of tannins as well as remarkable purity and freshness. Drink this singular Pinot Noir over the coming 7-8 years.

Slightly more pear and honeyed peach fruits as well as honeysuckle, sappy green herbs, and a subtle sense of minerality emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard, a more focused, elegant wine from the cooler Green River section of the Russian River Valley. The purity of fruit is spot on, I love its overall balance, and this crisp yet rich 2018 is going to keep for 5-7 years, if not longer.

The 2018 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, which comes from the cooler Green Valley portion of the Russian River, offers a very clean, pure, complex style that's already a joy to drink. Notes of honeyed orchard fruits, spice, brioche, and floral nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated Chardonnay that has good acidity, plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, and a great finish.

I always seem to find a tropical slant in Chardonnay from Carneros, and the 2018 Chardonnay Sevens Bench Vineyard has it in spades, with ample pineapple, honeyed peach, pear, and toasted spice-like aromas and flavors. This is another balanced, rich, medium to full-bodied Chardonnay from this estate that's loaded with character. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years.

This has a rich, red-plum, red-berry and pastry nose with some stony elements on offer, too. Offers perfume and an almost chalky edge and the spice is starting to build here. The palate has exceptional tautness and a lively, crunchy texture. Red and dark-berry flavors abound. Long finish. So smoothly resolved and powerful. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

This packs in lots of dense yet sleek blackberry, mulberry and black currant fruit flavors, while anise, sassafras and violet notes add range throughout. There's plenty of structure embedded as well, though it tilts to the zesty, acid-driven side of the ledger, further enlivening the fruit. This has a serious oak treatment, but it's very precise and fine-grained. For the cellar. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Jam-packed with bright and juicy cassis, plum preserves and raspberry reduction notes, this pumps along nicely, with sleek licorice and graphite notes adding support. Flashes of sweet bay leaf and violet skitter through, and there's serious coiled-up energy on the finish, so a little patience will be rewarded. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Medium to light red/purple colour. Very floral and rose-petally, with a tinge of lavender. Highly aromatic pinot. The palate is light to medium-weight and finely-textured, with a sheen of firm but fine tannins adding grip and structure. The aftertaste has a brothy umami savouriness and a lingering aftertaste. Compact and focused. An excellent Yarra pinot but if anything just a bit light. (Site is 230m, similar altitude as Applejack but the difference is the soil, which is red basalt)

Medium-depth red/purple hue. Lovely ripe red to dark cherry aromas, fresh and bright, already very accessible. Ample fine tannins , in balance. Beautifully made. A juicy pinot to enjoy relatively young. This gives a stack of pleasure. (One of their warmest sites, the earliest pinot harvested; 100m altitude, east facing. All MV6 clone.)

Slightly reductive at first—smoky, then talcy and restrained, fresh and crisply tart, refined and lingering, with a hunger-inducing saltiness and grip at the finish. A beautifully refined, subtle and harmonious wine. (300m altitude. Unfiltered. Tiny crop due to poor fruit-set)

This coastal wine comes from a site north of Fort Ross and at high elevation. Rich and rounded in style, it has texture and complexity that complements and tames the opulent flavors of peach and vanilla. The finish is spicy and lifted, with a lasting tang. Enjoy from 2028–2032.

It can be hard to find coastal Syrah, so this hearty version from the producer’s Far Coast Vineyard stands out in several ways. It is lifted in tones of dried herb, lavender and garrigue, with a meaty midpalate that is notable in blueberry and game flavors. Supple, integrated tannins and oak accents surround it all.

A full-bodied, generously flavorful and robust wine, this is spicy and earthy in tree bark, cedar and dried herb. Fresh acidity confronts a wall of riotous intensity of crushed rock and deep, dark cherry.

This is a gorgeously crafted, complex and structured wine, made from a cool-climate site at 1,150-feet-elevation near the town of Occidental. Meyer lemon citrus bursts from the opening, leading the way to a silky texture of great tension and acidity. Green apple, Asian spice and a taste of tea round out the finish.