Nielson's 2015 Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley) is done in a fresh, vibrant style that emphasizes energy. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and a host of more citrus-driven flavors are front and center. This is very nicely done.

The 2015 Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley displays lovely melon and baked pear notes with hints of croissant and clover honey plus a touch of ginger. Medium-bodied and richly fruited with good concentration, it has a satiny texture and great length with a citrus lift to the finish.

Honey, butter, yellow pear, pineapple and vanilla cream show on the supple and soft palate of this bottling—one of the new appellation blends branded under the Nielson name. Sea salt and caramel apple show on the palate, which is underlied and bound by a rain-on-slate minerality, and finishes on an apple custard note.

Among the best wines I’ve tasted from Murphy-Goode in the past decade -- even though it is “just” an entry-level release -- this shows exceptional purity of fruit and very fine structural balance. There’s virtually no discernible oak, just juicy red fruit notes recalling strawberries and raspberries with a little spice around the edges. Refreshing but quite flavorful, this won’t overwhelm even delicate fish preparations, but can hold its own very nicely with a roast chicken.

Delicious cherry and plum flavors are accented by touches of black tea, rhubarb and forest floor in this complex, medium-bodied wine. It’s slightly soft in feel, but has light tannins and enough acidity to give it some snap.

This has an elegant, fruity, lightly spicy profile. Red cherry and nutmeg aromas meld with fresh and pure fruit flavors like red cherry and raspberry shaded by cinnamon and clove. It also offers a silky-smooth texture and medium body.

Good fruit concentration and a velvety texture make this deeply colored, dry wine substantial enough for a special occasion. It smells like spicy oak and tastes like ripe black cherries and blackberries, with a smooth mouthfeel.

Good fruit concentration and a velvety texture make this deeply colored, dry wine substantial enough for a special occasion. It smells like spicy oak and tastes like ripe black cherries and blackberries, with a smooth mouthfeel.

Dark, smooth and bright with tangy plum, spice and earth; rich, meaty and balanced. 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot.

68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot. Voluminous aromas of black cherries, roast coffee and caramel join rich, forest-floor spice in making for a genuinely head-turning start here, and the wine lives up to that promise once in the mouth with positively plush, highly-oaked flavors of varied black fruits. Its richness begs early drinking, but its back-end tannin cautions of age, and four to five years of patience would seem the best idea.

Dense purple in colour with a cedary, blackcurrant bouquet. Full-bodied, dry with richly extracted blackcurrant and blueberry flavours. Firmly structured with ripe tannins and will reward 2 to 3 years cellaring.

Smooth and toasty with deep black plum and soft herbs; rich and balanced, long and dense.

This 100% varietal wine opens with a strong bouquet of black licorice, maybe even fennel, before big, boisterous tannins stomp the stage. Full bodied and exuberant in blackberry and black cherry, the oak is measured. A backbone of structure could stand up to aging.

From a vineyard in the foothills of the Mayacamas Range, this shows dramatic ripeness in flashes of alcohol, and plenty of new oak in scents of coffee and smoke, yet there’s clarity of flavor here: tangy black raspberry and cedar tones that provide a center of energy to its roasted edges. The fruit fights mightily, and wins out in the end. Its burly intensity would ease the transition between a porterhouse and a plate of firm cheeses.

From a vineyard in the foothills of the Mayacamas Range, this shows dramatic ripeness in flashes of alcohol, and plenty of new oak in scents of coffee and smoke, yet there’s clarity of flavor here: tangy black raspberry and cedar tones that provide a center of energy to its roasted edges. The fruit fights mightily, and wins out in the end. Its burly intensity would ease the transition between a porterhouse and a plate of firm cheeses.

Dark and juicy with lush texture, blackberry and cherry fruit; dense, rich and balanced with lovely notes of earth, spice and complexity; long and stylish.

From a vineyard in the foothills of the Mayacamas Range, this shows dramatic ripeness in flashes of alcohol, and plenty of new oak in scents of coffee and smoke, yet there's clarity of flavor here: tangy black raspberry and cedar tones that provide a center of energy to its roasted edges. The fruit fights mightily, and wins out in the end. Its burly intensity would ease the transition between a porterhouse and a plate of firm cheeses.

Lush and juicy with ripe plum and blackberry fruit; smooth, dense and nicely structured with notes of coffee, spice and cedar; a charming, deep wine with a long finish and lovely balance.

With sizable yet soft tannins firmly in place, this wine unleashes substantial flavors of raspberry and prosciutto-wrapped fig. Its seamless texture is dotted in vanilla and smoky meat, ending with plush, round knots of blackberry pie.

Sleek and jammy, with appealing aromas of huckleberry and sassafras and ripe but focused flavors of black cherry, licorice and toffee. The tannins sneak in on the finish.

Smooth, lush and ripe with intense alcohol and rich berry fruit; spicy, long and balanced with rich, powerful flavors; deep and stylish.

Ripe and plush, this is well made for the style. Cherry pie aromas open to lively flavors of jammy raspberry, cinnamon and toasted spice. A crowd-pleaser.

Ripe and plush, this is well made for the style. Cherry pie aromas open to lively flavors of jammy raspberry, cinnamon and toasted spice. A crowd-pleaser.

Cherry pie aromas open to flavors of raspberry, cinnamon and spice.

Perfumy, this lusty Zin is also structured and juicy, offering plenty of jammy blackberry and cherry to keep a palate coming back for more. Powerfully built, it’ll stand up to chunks of meat very well.