($17):  Dry Creek vineyard draws on their nearly half-century experience in Dry Creek Valley to fashion beautifully balanced wines that speak rather than scream.  This Sauvignon Blanc has a bit — but not too much — of the bite characteristic of the grape variety. … Read more

($24):  The name of the winery, Center of Effort, is a sailing term, which, to my non-nautical brain, means the wind hits the sail in exactly the right place.  This well-price Chardonnay, which they call an introduction to their estate, hits all the right notes. … Read more

($35):  Nathan Carlson from Center of Effort insists that Edna Valley is ideally suited for Chardonnay.  And indeed, Chardonnay is the most planted grape in the area, according to him.  Judging from this five-year old wine, I agree that Edna Valley is an ideal place for this variety. … Read more

($45):  Despite its 14.5 percent stated-alcohol, Sosie (pronounced so-zee) is fresh and lively, not overdone at all.  Paradoxically, there’s almost a lovely austere character to it.  Firm, not hard, tannins frame its racy red fruit flavors.  Mineral-like notes — you can almost taste the volcanic soil — and a pleasing hint of bitterness in the finish adds to its allure. … Read more

($38):  Full disclosure: Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, which comprise 99 percent of the blend of this wine, are among my least favorite varieties because, when converted to wine, they often display power and little else.  So, imagine my surprise when I discovered how well Dry Creek Vineyard manages them. … Read more

($45):  Gary Farrell is a winery known for brilliant single vineyard Pinot Noirs, which show that terroir is alive and well in California.  This one, however, is a blend to represent the Russian River Valley in general — and it does. … Read more

($90):  Though Coeur de Vigne might suggest highly selected grapes and an over-extracted precious wine, this one is not.  Though more immediately appealing — slightly softer and rounder — than their Estate Bottling (previously reviewed), it displays the classic savory-ripe dark fruit mixture for which top Napa Valley Cabernet is known. … Read more

($48):   Lovely savory, olive-like notes balance the dark fruitiness of this big bold and broad Cabernet.  Fine tannins provide structure without being astringent or intrusive.  There’s a delightful hint of bitterness in the finish to emphasize this is not a “fruit bomb.” … Read more

($25):  A whiff of savory notes peek out from the ripe Sonoma fruit lending intrigue to this Pinot Noir.  A touch of heat and sweetness in the finish reflects the stated 14.5 percent alcohol.  Mild tannins allow you to enjoy it with grilled salmon.… Read more

($32): Dry Creek Vineyard, still owned by the Stare family, is approaching their half-century mark of making wine in Dry Creek Valley.  Though I’ve always been a fan of their balanced wines, I think they are just getting better and better. … Read more

($38):  Merry Edwards, one of California top Pinot Noir producers, is also making a name for herself with Sauvignon Blanc.   Edwards’ working with Sauvignon Blanc should come as no surprise since she was responsible for the legendary ones from Matanzas Creek when she was the winemaker there. … Read more

($22):  It is not surprising that Rodney Strong’s Chalk Hill Chardonnay continues to be an outstanding wine.  If anyone knows where to grow Chardonnay in Sonoma, it’s Rodney Strong.  He was bottling a Chardonnay under that label before there even was a Chalk Hill AVA. … Read more

($55):  Symmetry, according to Rodney Strong’s website, means balance.  And I must admit, this wine is aptly named.  It’s a suave complex Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant (70%) blend of five Bordeaux varieties.  Roughly equal amounts of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot fill out the blend. … Read more

($54):  Changes abound at Merry Edwards Winery, one of California’s leading Pinot Noir producers.  In 2019, Louis Roederer, the Champagne house, purchased the winery.  With the 2018 vintage, Heidi von der Mehden, who worked with Merry Edwards since 2015, took the reins as winemaker. … Read more

($110):   This is, in a word, a powerhouse.  But along with all the deep black fruit there’s an appealing tar-like mineral and earthy component.  Substantial but not intrusive tannins support the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (87 percent) and Petit Verdot.  A youthful wine, it needs to sit in the glass to appreciate its complexity. … Read more

($60):  The riper and deeper Merry Edwards Russian River Valley bottling, whose fruit comes from a variety of vineyards in that warmer AVA, is a fascinating contrast to their Sonoma Coast bottling.  A weightier wine with black rather than red fruit tones, the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is juicy and well within bounds despite a 14.5 percent-stated alcohol. … Read more

($73):  The floral 2018 Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir displays a gorgeous, layered complexity, with minerality and dark fruitiness intertwined.  It conveys far more mineral-like nuances than the Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Pinot, reflecting the focus of a single vineyard.  Hefty intensity without being over the top coupled with suave tannins and an engaging bitterness in the finish make it hard to resist now.… Read more

($80):  Unlike the Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch and Olivet Lane Pinot Noirs, the youthful 2018 Meredith Estate displays toasty oak flavors but little else initially.  However, befitting a youthful, tightly wound wine, its considerable charms emerge over time.  Denser and more concentrated than the other two, it remains balanced and within bounds. … Read more

($72):  The dark and brooding 2018 Olivet Lane Pinot Noir is amazingly refined, especially considering its concentration.  Less floral and fragrant than the Klopp Ranch, it expands and explodes as it sits in the glass.  Initially, black fruit flavors predominate, but with air and time, savory notes appear and take over. … Read more

($63):  One of the many attributes of Merry Edwards’ Pinot Noirs, is how different they taste.  Her range of vineyard-designated wines show the importance of site.  The 2017 Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir is almost at the opposite pole compared to the Bucher Vineyard. … Read more

($63):  The Bucher Vineyard Pinot Noir, a new addition to the Merry Edwards portfolio, could be considered Heidi von der Mehden’s “baby.”  Heidi, who took over as winemaker with the 2018 vintage, had been working with Merry Edwards since 2015 and was given the responsibility for making the 2016 Bucher Pinot Noir, their first. … Read more

($68):  First planted in 1973 by the Pellegrini family, the Olivet Lane Vineyard was one of the first in the Russian River Valley devoted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Merry Edwards has used Pinot Noir from Olivet Lane for a single-vineyard bottling since the founding of her winery in 1997. … Read more

($42):  David Coventry, the head winemaker at Talbott explained during a webinar in the excellent SommCon Geographical Digest Series (a collaboration between The Somm Journal and National Geographic), that the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is truly a cool climate area because of its proximity to the ocean. … Read more

($16):  With roughly twice the acreage planted as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio, in Italian) is Oregon’s second most widely planted variety, after Pinot Noir.  As a wine, Pinot Gris’ spectrum is wide, ranging from light and innocuous to rich with stone fruit flavors and even some sweetness. … Read more

($35):  Gary Farrell is well-known for producing excellent single-vineyard Pinot Noirs.  They also produce a bevy of single-vineyard Chardonnays.  This one, however, their Russian River Selection, is a blend of Chardonnay grown in five vineyards: Westside Farms, Bacigalupi Vineyard, Rochioli, Allen and Olivet Lane. … Read more

($22):  Let me jump to the bottom line: This is a great value Chardonnay.  Racy and clean, this vigorous Chardonnay has the barest hint of alluring creaminess as well.  Though not an opulent style of Chardonnay, it still has plenty of stuffing and terrific energy. … Read more

($68):  Wow!  It’s worth repeating, Wow!  And I don’t mean that in terms of power, I mean that in terms of stature and finesse.  Merry Edwards has always been one of my favorite producers, especially for Pinot Noir, but she has outdone herself with their 2017 Meredith Estate. … Read more

($44):  Full disclosure: I am prejudiced against Zinfandel.  So, perhaps my enthusiasm for this wine is helped by the absence of a varietal name on the label, but I don’t think so because I tasted it in a line-up of Zinfandels at a SommCon Virtual Summit. … Read more

($20):  Founded in 1972 by David Stare and still family-run, Dry Creek Vineyard continues to excel.  Dry Creek Vineyard’s initial focus was on Sauvignon Blanc because Stare loved the wines of the Loire Valley.  So, it’s not surprising that Dry Creek Vineyard continues to make a consistently fine Sauvignon Blanc. … Read more

($22):  The focus of the 2019 Raeburn Pinot Noir is firmly on bright pure cherry-like fruit.  Suavely textured, it is easy to enjoy this mid-weight wine now.  A touch of heat and a hint of sweetness in the finish likely results from the 14.5 percent stated alcohol. … Read more

($90):  An over-sized bottle with the wine weighing in at 15.1 percent stated alcohol accurately predicts the nature of this Cabernet Sauvignon:  powerful.  Fruit-forward and dominant, it’s a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with small amounts of Merlot, Malbec, Carmenere and Saint-Macaire, an ancient grape from Bordeaux, which is no longer used there, but was included in the allowed mix for Meritage wines in California. … Read more

($60):  The packaging — over-sized bottle — and 15 percent stated alcohol suggests this Cabernet is from the “bigger is better” school.  And there is no question, it’s a big, ripe wine with plenty of power.  Yet, it’s not overblown or overdone. … Read more

($80):  Site matters.  A skeptic of that statement just needs to taste this Pinot Noir made from grapes grown in a vineyard located in the windy Petaluma Gap of Sonoma next to the Gary Farrell Pinot Noirs from the Russian River Valley. … Read more

($70):  Santa Maria Valley’s east-west orientation is unusual in California where most of the valleys run north-south.  Its orientation, which allows cooling Pacific Ocean breezes, explains its cooler climate despite its southern California location.  The bright red fruit-like profile reflects the coolness of the site. … Read more

($55):  The warmth of the Russian River Valley compared to the Sonoma Coast or Santa Maria Valley accounts for riper raw material for this Pinot Noir, which is translated into a more robust wine.  Similar to the one from Martaella Vineyard, it delivers power at the expense of subtlety. … Read more

($65):  Those who love a more robust style of Pinot Noir will embrace the Martaella Vineyard bottling from Gary Farrell, in relation to the rest of this producer’s lineup.  The focus here is on the ripe, plum-like fruitiness.  As with all of Farrell’s Pinot Noirs, the tannins are fine and the textured refined, which makes it easy to enjoy now. … Read more

($55):  This wine presents a fascinating comparison with the Farrell’s Dijon Clones Pinot Noir from the same vineyard.  The winemaker says it’s a blend of five clones of Pinot Noir instead of two Dijon clones.  It has the same power as the Dijon Clones bottling, but reveals less complexity at this stage. … Read more

($60):  The warmer Russian River Valley compared to Farrell’s Fort Ross bottling explains the riper style of this Pinot Noir.  Black fruit flavors mingle with savory earthy components in this juicy, bright, and long wine.  Though slightly bigger and bolder than their Fort Ross Pinot Noir, it remains impeccably balanced. … Read more

($75):  The Fort Ross Vineyard is a cold site, lying less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean and roughly 1,500 feet above sea level.  The temperature rarely exceeds 85º, all of which explains the wine’s profile: a fabulous combination of beguiling fruitiness and smokey savory nuances. … Read more

($30):  To borrow Sosie’s phrase, first things first: people will either love or hate this well-made sparkling wine because it’s different.  Composed entirely of Roussanne, a white grape indigenous to France’s Rhône Valley, it conveys stone fruit — think nectarine-like — flavors. … Read more

($35):  Full disclosure, Zinfandel is one of my least favorite wines.  Petit Sirah runs a close second because both usually are impossibly overdone wines.  So, I shuddered when I read the blend:  Zinfandel (76%), Petit Sirah (22%) and Carignane.  But that’s why you taste. … Read more

($40):  This Merlot shows why it’s such a popular kind of wine.  Silky tannins enrobe plummy-like fruitiness and make this wine a delight to drink now.  In the Frog’s Leap style, it shows restraint, impressing you with elegance and suaveness rather than weight and power. … Read more

($65):  John Williams, owner and winemaker at Frog’s Leap, has a knack for whimsy.  It’s apparent from his website, from his tagline, “time’s fun when you’re having flies,” to the fine print at the very end of the back label —”open other end.” … Read more

($35):  Here’s a Zinfandel for those of us who generally avoid that wine.  Frog’s Leap signature style of restraint highlights the charms of the varietal.  Briary and spicy notes complement its dark fruitiness.  Bursting with flavor, yet not overdone, it’s balanced. … Read more

($50):  Dry Creek Vineyard, founded by David Stare in 1972, has been a leader in the Dry Creek Valley wine renaissance.  Stare started by focusing on Sauvignon Blanc because of his love of Loire Valley wines, but quickly expanded the portfolio. … Read more

($25):  Consumers should be pleased with this well-priced Pinot Noir because it has more complexity than you’d expect at the price.  It’s ripe and supple, but unlike many Pinot Noir at this price, it has some earthy, savory nuances.  It’s not just sweet cherry juice. … Read more

($35):  Full disclosure, Zinfandel is one of my least favorite wines.  Petit Sirah runs a close second because both usually are impossibly overdone wines.  So, I shuddered when I read the blend:  Zinfandel (76%), Petit Sirah (22%) and Carignane.  But that’s why you taste. … Read more