The 2019 Pinot Noir Docker Hill is one of the most reticent wines in this range from Hartford. Bright, taut and classically austere, the Docker Hill is in no mood to show its cards today. Crushed rocks, mint , rose petal and white pepper lend brilliance. I am not sure this will ever fully soften, as the tannins are pretty incisive.

The 2019 Pinot Noir (Marin County) is savory, earthy and full of character. Dried cherry, leather, blood orange tobacco, game, cedar and herbs give the Marin County Pinot its distinctively wild personality. There's lovely depth in the 2019, not to mention a good deal of character too.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Seven's Bench is a soft, fruity wine with tons of upfront appeal.
Sweet red cherry/plum, spice, cola, new leather and cedar are front and center. Medium in body and supple, the Seven's Bench will drink well with minimal cellaring. There's lovely fruit expression here, all in a mid-weight style that is quite appealing.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Abel is attractive, but also a touch fleeting. Sweet floral accents, spice, mint, worn-in leather and dried cherry fruit all open in a stylish, ethereal Pinot that will drink well right out of the gate.

The 2020 Picpoul Blanc Copain Estate is a very pretty white. Light tropical accents and notable creaminess are more a reflection of vintage than variety, but all the
elements are nicely balanced.

This is a great cool-climate Chardonnay. Stone fruit and white pepper hints waft into the senses. It’s fruit-forward and creamy, with a refreshing palate that’s kept in check with good acidity.

There is a reason Cab from Mt. Veeder is nationally recognized. And that reason is in this bottle. Very deep and dark fruit is slightly uplifted by excellent natural mountain fruit acidity. The structure is firm, and the core is sound. It begs for a steak pairing.

Age has brought about the first signs of maturity in this Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon that sits on the throne of the company’s Estates Collection. There can be little doubt that 2017, in spite of a drought season was able to develop concentrated fruit so that this ferment would do well in elévage and emerge as a highly accomplished vintage wine. Which it is, with smart if just slightly furry acidity and the sharpness of trenchant tannins. Which incidentally will take another few years to fully settle and integrate into this highly professional wine. Drink 2023-2026. Tasted January 2023.

This is a very flavourful cabernet that is lighter on its feet than many in California, but still carries good structure. Will appeal to many tastes, which I sense is the drawing board design. Aromas are spot on somewhere between blackcurrant jam and black cherry. It is juicy and sweet-edged with with very good flavour concentration; then considerable sandy tannic grit. There is some immediate drinking appeal but it also has the stuffing to age. Best 2024 to 2028.

Lip-smacking, with fresh acidity and lemon sherbet, lemongrass, Honeycrisp apple and lime zest flavors. Reveals a distinctive thread of minerality on the finish, ending with precision. Drink now. 530 cases made.

Smooth, attractive melon and white peach fruit; quite elegant, the oak inputs well-controlled and balanced.

A super-rich, ripe and concentrated array of prune, plum, dark chocolate and leather with considerable structure reflecting the high alcohol.

Only 80 cases were made. Deep garnet-coloured, the 2007 High Sands Grenache gives notes of warm raspberries, kirsch, and baking spices with hints of preserved mandarin peel, anise and smoked bacon. Full bodied and opulently fruited in the mouth, it has a good firm level of chewy tannins and enlivening acid, finishing loing and very spicy. Drinking now, it should remain good to 2016+.

Medium to deep, bright red/purple colour, very good for its age. New leather aromas plus pepper and spice, and the palate is just medium-bodied and a touch lean, with a clean and tightly focused cherry-spice middle palate. The tannins are fine and sandy throughout. Appealing balance and length. It's young for its age and seems to be maturing slowly. A good grenache in an elegant style, but perhaps not everyone's idea of grenache, and the price is a stretch.

Very deep, youthful purple/red colour. The bouquet is vanillan, toasty and chocolaty, with overt coconut and vanilla (American?) oak touches. The palate is solid and grippy, with density and rusticity, with what seem like oak tannins rather dominant. There's also a metallic mineral note. It's not a finesse wine, but a grunt and guts wine. A big, brawny, solid, quite tannic wine which demands time and patience. It will reward cellaring. (1946-planted bush-vine vines, in deep sand. 160 cases made)

Deep yellow, bright colour; the bouquet is restrained but spicy with traces of apricot and faint traces of spice. The palate is likewise, fairly full-bodied, broad, a tad clumsy, with obvious tannins which add a certain texture, happily without attendant bitterness. The aftertaste resonates on and on. It's quite a big wine. It needs food: I'd suggest roast chicken. (Fermented in two 675-litre ceramic eggs. 60% of blend had 160-day extended skin contact; 40% was whole-bunch pressed)

Very deep, glass-staining, purple/red/black colour. Smoky spice and earth aromas, some humus and oak notes, the palate full-bodied, quite drying and savoury with lashings of tannin. It's strong on both tannin and oak, as well as rich fruit and needs a bit of time. The whole-bunch component doesn't unbalance the wine.

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2009 Shiraz has a pronounced nose of blackberry compote, blackcurrant cordial and chocolate box with touches of dried mulberries and mint. Concentrated on the medium to full bodied palate, the rich expressive fruit is nicely structured with firm chewy tannins and crisp acidity, finishing long. Drink it now through 2017.

Deep red colour with a good tint of purple. The bouquet has earthy, shaved almond to nutmeg spectrum of aromas. The wine is medium to full-bodied and savoury, dry and a little plain on the palate. It's a good, well-made wine that has potential and will very likely reward a bit of cellaring. The tannins are quite drying and it's a very savoury style all round.

Very deep, dense, saturated purple colour, the aromas are clean, fresh and very primary - dark plums and dried herbs. The palate is full and soft, rounded and gentle in its tannins, a little young and raw, but remarkably smooth and drinkable for its youth. Essence of blood plum. A little time may give it more character.

Very deep, youthful red/purple colour with a dusty, earthy, terracotta note to its bouquet - a savouriness that it's tempting to deduce is derived from the ceramic fermenters they use from time to time. It trumps the varietal fruit aromas. The wine has good intensity and concentration, density and texture, with ample powdery, drying tannins and good length. An unusual and worthy style of mataro.

Deep colour, with complex savoury aromas to complement the vibrant red cherry fruits; quite silky, and a touch of spice on the finish.

Medium-full red-purple; chocolaty and rich to sniff; palate soft and smooth, has depth and density, richness and flow. Medium-bodied but all in proportion. Black olives, earth, savoury blackberry, etc. Good depth. Big structure and depth, power and concentration. One of the most gutsy of its type - and tannic! Spicy, charry, a hint nof funk. More shirazzy than most.

Medium to full red to brick-red. Shows some age. Chocolate and charred-timber aromas, with sort of toffee-like notes. Palate soft and round, smooth and rich with flesh and nice balance. Bottle-age making a positive impact on the flavours. Spice/herb/sappy flavours. Ironstone minerality. Good intensity and length.

Blended of 60% Grenache, 22% Shiraz and 18% Mourvedre, the 2010 Cadenzia displays a deep garnet-purple colour and aromas of ripe black plums, blackberries and mulberries over hints of bacon, yeast extract, soy and black olives. Full bodied and with plenty of mouth-filling, muscular black berry flavours, it has lively acid and a firm level of grainy tannins, finishing long and a little earthy. Approachable now, it should drink to 2018+.