Deep ruby-red. Musky, complex nose combines redcurrant, flowers, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and spices. Then wonderfully intense and voluptuous, saturating the entire palate with dark fruit, spice and saline mineral flavors. Lovely definition here. Most impressive today on the brisk, very long, firmly built finish, where the ripe tannins are in perfect balance with the wine's fruit. This wine was neither fined nor filtered for the bottling.

(91% cabernet sauvignon and 9% merlot): Bright ruby-red. Restrained but complex aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, espresso, Cuban tobacco and sexy oak. Penetrating black- and blueberry fruit flavors are given precision and lift by a strong floral element. Lovely juicy, firmly structured wine that really requires at least five years in bottle to express itself. Not fat but boasts terrific definition and energy, not to mention superb persistence. In the style of the 2007 Cardinale but with even more grip. A distinctly adult style. Winemaker Chris Carpenter describes 2008 as a lighter year, and thus the selection for this wine was 95% from mountain fruit and the other 5% from To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville.

Bright, deep ruby. Vibrant, complex aromas and flavors of cassis, licorice pastille, spices and flowers. Penetrating, dense and juicy, with a slowly building sweetness that carries through to the very long, tannic, gripping finish. Still youthfully imploded but with the structure for an extended evolution in bottle. Classic 2007 in style.

Medium ruby. Aromatic nose combines wild blackberry, Cuban tobacco, chocolate cake, smoke and minerals. Concentrated, lush and impressively sweet, with snappy raspberry and mineral flavors dominating. This is kept fresh by harmonious acidity but is also lush, seamless and expansive. Finishes with broad tannins and impressive sweetness and persistence. This St. Emilion-style blend is still very young and may prove to be the best of the 2001 trio made under the Verite label.

Ruby-red. Brooding, perfumed aromas of dark fruits, violet and chocolate. Sweet and intensely flavored, with lively acids framing the currant, black raspberry, mineral and dark chocolate flavors. Very densely packed wine, with the sheer material to support its big, ripe tannins. Give this plenty of aeration if you plan to open a bottle anytime soon. Or, better yet, lay it down for six to eight years.

Dark ruby-red. Black cherry, mocha and licorice on the nose. Ripe, broad and dry; suave and sophisticated. Flavors of red berries lifted by floral and mineral components. Densely packed, backward wine, finishing with substantial dusty tannins.

Bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, bitter cherry, licorice and leather. Youthfully tight yet already quite penetrating; today the wine's licorice and fresh herb notes dominate its underlying dark fruit flavors. More backward than the 2011 La Muse, even austere today

Bright yellow. Pineapple, medicinal herbs and crushed rock on the nose. Very dense and tactile but less immediately fruity than the Upper Barn. Pineapple and grapefruit flavors are accompanied by strong saline and rocky elements. In a very dry style but broad, rich and long. The hardest of these chardonnays to taste today but a wine with considerable potential.

Pale, bright yellow. Initially closed nose opened to reveal steely, Puligny-like white peach, nutmeg, mint and crushed stone aromas. Dense but airy and dry; tactile and silky-smooth but with a lovely light touch. Today this very subtle young wine is showing more minerality than primary fruit. Finishes broad and weightless. Give this a couple years in the cellar. This stunning set of chardonnays made by winemaker Graham Weerts, who is from South Africa, was one of the revelations of my tastings of California wine this spring.

Bright ruby-red. High-toned, sexy aromas of black cherry, blueberry, licorice, graphite and sweet oak. Plush, sweet and pliant, with a wonderfully polished texture to the intense flavors of brambly dark berry, coffee and licorice. Finishes lush and very long, with building, fine-grained tannins and considerable elegance. This will be even better for five or six years in the cellar.

Medium ruby. Reticent but very pure aromas of blueberry, cassis, licorice and menthol. Shockingly rich and sweet but very young, showing superb concentration to its cassis flavor complemented by sexy oak tones. This really vibrates on the very long finish, where the wine's powerful mountain tannins are buried in fruit. Less showy today than the Howell Mountain cabernet but with outstanding long-term potential.

Good medium ruby. An essence of cabernet on the nose, with blackberry, licorice and floral aromas complicated by an exotic suggestion of fruity tropical chocolate. Then large-scaled, fat and sweet in the mouth, with highly concentrated black raspberry and chocolate flavors. The powerful mountain tannins coat the front teeth. Like a cabernet syrup today, in need of at least seven or eight years of aging and likely to be long-lived.

Good full ruby. Elemental, extremely primary nose features grapey blackberry, licorice and violet pastille. Big, sweet, broad and creamy; a huge, powerful wine with slightly rustic flavors of dark chocolate and minerals. Finishes with compelling sweetness of fruit, and very broad tannins that arrive late. From a block of vines that was recently torn out due to phylloxera. The richest of this trio of cabernets. Winemaker Chris Carpenter notes that the intention here is to make three wines of place by using neutral winemaking techniques. The only difference among the wines is maceration times, he added. All three of these bottlings are close to 15% alcohol.

Checking in as 100% Pinot Noir from Julia's Vineyard and aged 18 months in 100% new
French oak, the 2022 Pinot Noir Signature Collection Julia's Vineyard has a medium ruby hue
as well as complex, nuanced aromatics of savory red and black fruits, dried flowers, and
baking spices. These carry to a medium-bodied palate with soft, resolved tannins, good
acidity, and outstanding length. It has a certain accessibility right now, yet I wouldn't be
surprised to see this evolve nicely on its balance either. There's certainly no harm in
drinking bottles now or any time over the coming 8-10 years. Drink 2026-2036.

I loved the 2022 Pinot Noir Signature Collection Barbara’s, which is all clone 667 that spent
18 months in 100% new French oak. Spicy, meaty aromatics of black cherries, brambly
herbs, truffly earth, and spice define the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate,
with a round, supple, mouthfilling texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's a textured,
beautifully balanced 2022 that's drinking great today. Drink bottles over the coming 7-8
years. Drink 2026-2034.

Checking in as 100% barrel-fermented Chardonnay and aged 16 months in neutral French
oak, the 2022 Chardonnay Signature Collection Katherine's Vineyard gives up ripe aromatics
of stone fruits, orange blossom, spice, and hints of brioche on the nose. On the palate, it's
medium-bodied, with a rounded mouthfeel, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. As
with everything here, it's impeccably made, and I'd be thrilled to drink a bottle any time over
the coming 4-5 years or so. Drink 2026-2031.

Taut with tension and full of expression, this red is tightly focused with dense flavors of currant and blackberry. Underpinned by garrigue, savory pepper and grilled anise tones that build toward full-bodied tannins. Best from 2027 through 2037. 248 cases made.

The 2025 Chardonnay is yet another compelling edition of this wine, with generous curves,
enticing florality and prickly acidity. Gorgeous aromas of jasmine, orange blossom and
white peach press from the glass, soaking into the palate with staining density and a
delectable lick of salinity on the finish. This is more of a standalone singular wine than it is
a “Chardonnay,” but that happens to be a huge success. In 2025, the Diatom Chardonnay
comes across like an aromatic white, but with Chardonnay’s texture and structure. At this
scale of production, how can you go wrong?

The 2024 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard has moved to half fermentation and aging in
stainless steel, which yields a huge qualitative leap. Bright and floral, it delivers great
vivacity and purity of flavors, with so much less of the spicy sweetness from a heavier hand
with oak that has been the norm here in the past. Fresh apricot, white peach, orange peel
and chamomile stain the palate. Clean, crisp and creamy, the 2024 is a ridiculous value for
a wine at this massive production scale. Wow. -

The 2024 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is a very successful appellation-level wine. It delivers
the house style of purity, roundness and energy with classic Sta. Rita Hills salinity and
ripeness in solid balance. Golden pear, lemon peel, hazelnut and a kiss of gentle spice
tones all join together in total lockstep. This would be an automatic order if I came across
this on a wine list.

The 2024 Pinot Noir Perilune is a very delicate wine off this site, speaking softly with
understated layers of tart cherry, new leather, tobacco and cracked pepper. Though on the
soft-spoken side, it’s a very texturally attractive wine. All finesse, with really lovely
harmony and poise.

There’s a flinty kick to the nose of this bottling, which pairs earth and apple slice aromas. The palate sizzles with refreshing acidity and then drops into a rockier edge, again showing stone and orchard fruit flavors.

This longtime Pinot Noir bottling got a little more expensive recently, but still represents tremendous value. Crisp and clean aromas of raspberry pastry and crumpled purple flowers lead from the nose into a bright, tense palate loaded with pomegranate and rose petal flavors.

Modeled on txakolina-style wines of Basque country, this wine was many years in the making, and it’s quite an exciting debut. Slightly effervescent on the pour, the bottling begins with a zesty nose of chopped citrus peel and light apple on the engaging nose. The palate’s fun fizz carries fresh flavors of apple peel as a laser-sharp acidity drives into the finish.

You may find yourself making biscuits from scratch after you take in these aromas of honey butter, peach, pear, and a trace of wet slate. The hunger pangs will continue on the palate, with flavors of lemon curd and toasted almonds holding court. The Chardonnay’s acidity is lively, its mouthfeel juicy and silky smooth.