Inviting aromas of sliced almond, orange blossom and grapefruit. Medium-bodied. A blast of citrus and tang on the palate with a nutty finish. Fun stuff. Drink now.

The wine is crisp and moderately herbal on the nose in a way that I like: green grass and boxwood, kind of a milder version of a classic New Zealand sauv blanc. On the palate, this wine opens into gentle fruit, shot through with zingy lime. It ebbs slowly and satisfyingly on the finish, making me want to keep taking another sip, and another. Not glugs, but savoring sips; it’s a weekday after all. Serve super chilled.

Juicy and very open in feel, with loganberry and red licorice notes melding with hints of red and black tea. A flash of singed vanilla lines the finish. Crowd pleaser. Drink now through 2025.

Dark and quiet, this wine opened beautifully over two days of tasting, becoming smoky in its thick-skinned savor and dark purple fruit, with a hint of dashi in the background. Decant and serve with smoked trout.

Grown in Chalone’s limestone soils, this stylish, mildly rustic syrah delivers savory olive, plum skin and pine sap notes along with a salty tang. That all plays nicely into the wine’s dark plum flavors, with the grippy tannins to age.

With its nose of cinnamon, cherry, and rose, this inviting Pinot Noir shows brilliant minerality and a light, airy mouthfeel. A touch of white pepper seasons cherry, cranberry, and red tea.

There are pleasantly herbal and seashore-like characteristics to the nose of this bottling, which offers aromas of green sage, kelp, cranberry, smoke and chiseled rock. The palate begins with baked red-cherry flavors before hints of leather and wild thyme arise, as sandy tannins hold everything together.

Offers lemon meringue, marmalade, green apple and Bartlett pear flavors that are fresh and polished, with details of toasted sesame seeds, spice and orange blossom. Drink now through 2035.

The Penner-Ash 2019 Estate Pinot Noir is refreshing and savory — a delicious effort by Kate Ayers, the winemaker. It is a terroir-driven Pinot Noir that showcases the distinguishing textures and flavors of Willamette Valley. The first sip releases high-toned notes of wild strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, rose petal, wet stone, cherry, and crushed earth. The palate is fresh and lush with supple tannins and a soft mineral core that provides complexity to each layer of the wine.

This bears the Greek symbol Epsilon (the letter E), which the winery translates as “the sum.” Three-fifths of the ferment used whole clusters, which puts a frame of drying tea type tannins around the finish. The fruit mixes red plum and berry and the overall balance is spot on.

This is the first release of a vintage sparkling wine from Gran Moraine. Half was barrel fermented, bringing a light but welcome toasty note around the crisp and fresh apple fruit. The wine was disgorged early in 2021. Aromatic, with bright acidity, it should drink very well for a decade or longer.

This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot made from a selection of vineyards, including the high-elevation Alexander Mountain Estate. Earthy in sage, cedar and dried herb, it shows a wealth of mountain power and tannin, with wisps of tobacco and blackberry dappled in oak.

This wine has strong layers of structure and tannin, bold swathes within an otherwise elegant, restrained style of graceful complexity. Plum, graham cracker, currant and leather combine in dense bolts of concentrated intensity and length.

Dark-red-fruit, singed wood and unique nutty aromas show on the nose of this bottling. The chestnut quality runs through the palate too, where toasted wood, burned herb, spicy peppercorn and rich red-fruit flavors align.

Dark-boysenberry, star anise and licorice aromas show on the nose of this lush and powerful Pinot Noir. The palate packs into ripe, dark fruit, with loads of hard spices, as a blood-orange-rind element adds tart balance and texture.

Aromas of dark-cherry, black-raspberry, incense and charred wood converge for a compelling and elegant nose on this bottling. Dark-red-cherry flavors also come through on the sip, which offers a uniquely woody streak.

This is an intensely structured, mountain-powered white, made in small amounts and built to show power and grace. Slate, stone and flint give it a mineral edginess amidst plenty of depth and length.

This medium-bodied, barrel-fermented wine offers light, toasted oak aromas, attractive baked apple flavors and accents of butter and vanilla. Good balance keeps it going sip after sip, revealing spice and almond nuances.

Dark magenta. Assertive cherry and dark berry scents pick up hints of baking spices and cola with air. Shows very good depth and sharp focus to the bitter cherry, blackberry and mulberry flavors, which turn sweeter and tighten up with air. Smooth, even tannins frame a long, spicy finish that strongly repeats the berry and cola notes. 30% new French oak.

Translucent ruby-red. Cherry, black raspberry, candied licorice and oak spice aromas are complemented by a steadily building mineral nuance. Succulent and penetrating on the palate, offering appealingly sweet red and dark berry flavors, a touch of savory herbs and a vanilla note that gains strength on the back half. Finishes long and spicy, with a resonating cherry note and gentle tannic grip.

Glistening ruby-red. Ripe cherry and blueberry on the nose, along with building floral, earth and succulent herb nuances. Broad and gently chewy on the palate, offering sappy red and blue fruit flavors that show appealing sweetness and an undercurrent of spiciness. Clings very nicely on the finish, which features gently framing tannins and a repeating cherry note.

Dark magenta. Expressive, oak-tinged aromas of cherry, black raspberry, candied flowers and mocha. Supple and broad on the palate, offering juicy, smoke-laced red and blue fruit and spicecake flavors that show very good depth and a hint of smokiness. Round, even tannins frame the clinging finish, which leaves a repeating cherry note behind.

Deep, shimmering crimson. Smoke-accented cherry and black raspberry scents are complemented by suggestions of allspice, mocha and candied rose. Pliant and expansive on the palate, offering gently sweet, spice-laced red fruit and cola flavors and a touch of cured meat. Finishes on a gently tannic note, with persistent cherry and floral qualities and a hint of botanical herbs.

The team at Yangarra started bottling wine from their Hickinbotham estate in 2012. The dry-farmed vineyard in Clarendon produced a shiraz with the meatiness and bloodiness of rare roast beef, backed up by McLaren Vale tannins that add a black mushroom savor. It's smooth and ripe, a pleasure with filet mignon.

Sleek and savory, this red simmers with a steely minerality that pairs with cherry and forest floor accents. Drink now through 2028.