Tastes like a box of rocks drizzled with citrus oil. Poached pear, orange rind, stony white peach notes, and striking minerality are reminiscent of a Chevalier-Montrachet from the likes of Michel Niellon. With lovely body, acidity, and purity, it should be drunk over the next 4-5 years.

The 2016 Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard is deep, unctuous and full of flavor, yet also has quite a bit of the freshness that is so typical of Russian River Zinfandels, especially in this vintage. The Dina's has a bit more tannin and structure than the other wines in the range, which makes it reticent. Dollops of Alicante add character and personality to this super-expressive Zinfandel from Hartford.

Jolene’s Vineyard comes from head trained vines planted over 100 years ago. It is aged for 12 months in French oak, 55% new and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2015 Zinfandel Jolene’s Vineyard presents black cherry, baked blueberries and blackberry preserves notes with hints of incense, sautéed herbs and dusty earth. Rich, full-bodied and packed with layers of berry coulis and savory flavors, it has a gorgeous velvety texture and great length.

Bright saturated ruby. Extremely dark aromas of crushed blueberry, violet, bitter chocolate, licorice and camphor. Peppery and precise but not green, with outstanding dark fruit and violet intensity accentuated by an electric impression of energy. This seriously tannic Le Desir will need at least eight years of cellaring before it approaches its plane of peak drinkability.

Deep ruby-red. Terrific lift to the aromas of cassis, licorice, mint, minerals and bitter chocolate, accented by herbs and rose petal. The middle palate offers outstanding depth for 2011, as well as terrific definition and energy to the dark berry, nutmeg and cassis leaf flavors. Finishes classically dry, with subtle building length. Seillan told me he uses the malbec for spice, not to add color or volume. A huge success for the vintage.

Good deep red-ruby. Complex aromas of cherry, plum, musky brown spices, licorice and menthol lifted by a floral topnote. Quite dry and youthfully imploded initially, then opened to show a creamy sweetness and growing pliancy to its red fruit and mineral flavors. This has firmed up since I saw it in barrel a year ago, while La Joie has become more harmonious. The most tannic of this outstanding trio of 2007s today, with the structure for a long and positive evolution in bottle.

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice and cedar on the nose. Broad and round but backward, with a distinctly medicinal reserve to the flavors of black fruits, menthol and smoke. The middle palate is currently dominated by the wine's spine and yet the very long finish is lush and sweet. The least obviously minerally of these three 2006s today, but offers great potential.

(65% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot) Bright ruby-red. Black and blue fruits complicated by licorice, minerals and fresh herbs on the nose. Rich, broad, lush and full, even if it conveys less easy sweetness and personality today than the Muse (but then this is Seillan's Pauillac-style blend). Best today on the sensational back half, which features a major coating of suave tannins and an extremely long, aromatic finish that reverberates with subtle floral tones. Interestingly, this cabernet-based wine has a higher pH than the merlot-based Muse: 3.78 vs. 3.64.

Good bright ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of cassis, black cherry, graphite, iron, tobacco, menthol and spice cake. Lush and broad on entry, then sweeter and lusher in the middle palate than the Muse, with a captivating chocolatey quality and outstanding volume. As rich and full as this is, there's no sense of excess weight. Finishes long, dense and palate-saturating with major dusty tannins. This Pauillac is sweeter and deeper than Seillan's Pomerol, a comment on the comparative quality of cabernet sauvignon and merlot in California's North Coast.

Very pale yellow. Captivating nose combines exotic apricot, white plum, crushed rock, brown spices and a lavender high note. Intense and tactile on entry, then tightly coiled and penetrating in the middle, a step up over the foregoing wines in its impression of acid spine. Very powerful, youthfully aggressive, palate-staining wine that will need time in bottle to open and expand. Less thick and sweet at the same stage than the 2008, but at the same time more glycerol than the 2009 Gravel Bench. A great example of a California chardonnay, by which I mean that I would not mistake it for Burgundy in a blind tasting.

Aromas of minerals, star anise and cherry pits start off tightly wound and benefit from a bit of air. This is a wine of excellent posture, with a slate-like spine carrying brambleberries, mixed cherries and tilled earth. Minerals and pressed violets in the long, tense finish. Drink or hold.

A wave of effusive fruit rolls from the glass, and aromas of cinnamon- and anise-spiced cherries and wild blueberry compote follow through to a velvety palate. Brandied cherries, warm figs, chocolate ganache and mocha fan out in the broad yet structured finish. Drink or hold.

Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2023 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard needs a lot of shaking to wake up lifted notes of cranberry sauce and raspberry coulis, plus nuances of iris bulb and black pepper with a touch of lavender oil. The medium to full-bodied palate is soft and juicy with plenty of freshness and a long red berry-laced finish.

Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2023 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard floats out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of lilacs, star anise, and forest floor, leading to a core of fresh raspberries and Bing cherries, with a hint of Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, the palate is vibrant and energetic with wonderful tension and fine-grained tannins defining the fragrant red berry flavors, finishing on a lingering ferrous note.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple colored. Notes of wild blueberries, black cherries, and boysenberries spill from the glass, giving way to hints of lilacs, underbrush, and mossy tree bark. The full-bodied palate delivers seamless freshness and plump, juicy black fruit layers with loads of savory accents and a fine-grained texture, finishing earthy.

This is saturated with cassis, plum reduction and boysenberry pâte de fruit notes, all framed by robustly singed apple wood and carried by an energetic spine of bramble and tar. Shows an extreme side—how could a wine not in this vintage—but the definition and drive set this apart. As good as it gets in ’22. Best from 2026 through 2038. —J.M.

This sports heady flavors of boysenberry and blackberry preserves that pump through with authority thanks to a lively licorice snap note and flickers of iris, ink and apple wood along the edges. Offers a level of density, definition and completion that sets this apart from the pack in this vintage, with only a slight balsam wood edge adding an ever-so-subtle impingement to the finish. Drink now through [year not specified]. —J.M.

Pale straw-gold color, the NV - 1 Seascape Vineyard Blanc de Blancs races out with notes of
preserved lemons and grapefruit oil, leading to a core of Marcona almonds, croissant, and fresh
ginger. The palate is lively and energetic with loads of citrus and chalk sparks and very fine bubbles,
finishing long and savory. This is so beautifully poised—gorgeous! It is a blend of 58.9% of the 2015
vintage, 23.8% of 2014, and the rest is vintages going back to 2008—a "cuvee perpetuelle" style.
The dosage is 0.9 g/l of residual sugar. 140 cases were made.

The 2022 Malbec is another terrific 2022 in the lineup from Carpenter. Inky colored, it delivers a rocking array of blue fruits, sappy herbs, sage, and resinous notes, with an interesting rhubarb character that adds rather than detracts. Medium to full-bodied, this shows impressive purity and elegance on the palate, with perfectly integrated acidity and a balanced, ripe, juicy profile. The wine spent 22 months in French oak (26% new) and should drink nicely for a decade or more. There were just 161 cases produced.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Brave offers up a complex bouquet of red and black currants, tobacco, sandalwood, and savory herbs. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with beautiful fruit and a round, velvety texture yet building tannins. There's solid mid-palate depth and concentration. This Cabernet-dominated blend (94% Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) was aged for 23 months in 81% new French oak and will keep for 15 years if well stored.

The 2022 La Jota Merlot Howell Mountain is a deep ruby-purple effort that incorporates 14% Petit Verdot and was aged 22 months in 60% new French oak. It delivers beautiful notes of red and black plums, dark cherries, leather, and graphite, along with subtle baking spice nuances. Medium to fullbodied, rich, and concentrated, it stays remarkably straight and focused on the palate, with a beautiful texture and outstanding balance. This impressive Merlot from Chris Carpenter will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for 10-15 years.

The 2022 La Jota Chardonnay W.S. Keyes Vineyard is a terrific expression of the variety from Howell
Mountain. It offers a precise, mineral-driven profile with stone fruits, hints of melon, white flowers,
and honeydew nuances. Medium-bodied and layered on the palate, it shows a remarkable sense of
purity and precision, nicely integrated oak (12% new), and a balanced, layered, elegant profile that
will drink nicely over the coming 7-8 years.

The 2022 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a mountain powerhouse, offering up a complex bouquet of red cassis, purple fruits, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and violets, with underlying notes of iron and forest floor. Based on 91.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, and aged 22 months in 77% new French oak, this full-bodied, concentrated effort has a focused, structured profile on the palate with plenty of ripe tannins that will benefit from short-term cellaring. This classic Howell Mountain Cabernet should evolve gracefully for 15-20 years

The debut vintage of the 2022 Syrah from Napa Valley–based winemakers Chris Carpenter and Gianna Ghilarducci is sourced from one block of Les Collines Vineyard, giving the wine a cool climate character of sinewy, leathery texture and enduring gaminess, with plenty of class and complexity. The dark, brambly berry fruit stays bright within a full bodied core of structure and underlying acidity unfettered by oak; the wine was aged 15 months in only neutral French oak. Drink now through 2037.

A structured wine with beautiful bright cherry and blueberry fruit, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley is lovely and memorable in medium bodied grip and weight, with youthful grip on the palate. Savory earthiness persists in the form of cedar, tobacco leaf, and sage. This wine should age another 12–15 years.