California

Like the Carex Chardonnay, this is sourced from the coolest part of Green Valley to the east of Occidental and fairly low-lying, which makes it something of a fog trap. The Swan clone here produces very small berries and modest clusters, which translates to impressively concentrated, intense wines. Joyous aromatics of rose, raspberry and cherry without feeling sweet, this maintains a fine earthiness, tension, and structure, whilst also being juicy, upfront, and approachable. A gorgeous Pinot to drink or cellar. 2024-2032+

The Peter Martin Ray vineyard lies in the Northern Santa Cruz Mountains at more than 500m, representing Ceritas' highest site. The vines must work hard in this extreme and rocky terrain, producing very small and intensely flavoured fruit. Expressive, mineral for sure and lifted, it offers a little oak, citrus and succulent stone fruit, savoury elements too, and a lovely silky texture. Great appeal. 2024-2032.

Coming from the Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Peter Martin Ray is a deeper red color and is layered and complete, with fantastic intensity to its notes of cassis, kirsch, fresh flowers, and forest herbs. It has a long-lasting, ripe feel, and the finish is velvety but well-defined. It's a wine you can use to inch people over to the wines of Ceritas. The berries are tiny in this vineyard, contributing to the profound intensity this wine brings forward. 97 Points, Jebdunnock.com

Very fresh with a core of succulent peach, toast and a rich mealy nature. Delicate aromas give way to richness and texture on the palate undulating between ripe nectarine and fresh pink grapefruit. A long dissection on the finish of mineral with a citrus tang and salty notes. Wow!

Plenty of silky morello cherry fruit with an attractive herby nose. Full of concentrated blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar notes on the palate before a long, complex finish.

The 2022 Fenix is based on 70% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the final 3% Cabernet Franc. It has classic Merlot darker cherry and currant fruits as well as some chocolate, herb, and leafy tobacco-like nuances that pick up a floral edge with time in the glass. It's beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, has a round, layered, lush mouthfeel, and ripe tannins. This upfront, sexy, seamless Merlot will shine for 10-15 years if well stored. 96 Points, jebdunnuck.com

The 2022 La Sangre De Jonata is just about all Syrah yet includes 3% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts a gorgeous nose of blackberries, darker raspberries, sage, violets, and ground pepper. Medium to full-bodied and incredibly well-balanced, with building yet fine tannins, it's a more elegant and seamless expression of the cuvée yet still brings incredible richness, flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, and acidity, and a great finish. Drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years. 96 Points, jebdunnuck.com

This represents the warm days and cool nights of Carneros, offering up notably bright fruit notes of lemon citrus (fruit and peel), pineapple, stone fruits, hints of orange flowers, honey, ginger, toast, and a certain stony minerality. This is, as always, a generously proportioned Chardonnay, it is neatly structured and part of the blend spends time in 40% new French oak. They eschew malolactic fermentation and the acidity is absolutely spot-on! 0-7 years. ‘‘This luminous Chardonnay fills the glass with elegant aromas of citrus blossom, honeysuckle, and exotic spice. Flinty minerality and bright honeydew melon add lift, while vibrant acidity and lithe structure create a sense of purity and poise. Beautifully balanced, it delivers energy, freshness, and lasting finesse.” — Elias Fernandez, Winemaker

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot all from Napa and mostly Shafer's vineyards in the Southern Foothills just south of Stag's Leap District. This is a superb TD-9, richly structured thanks to the long growing season and 18 months in new French oak barriques, offering up rich cherry and plum fruits, cassis and raspberry, graphite and dark flowers. It is both luxuriously textured and bright with plentiful, fine tannins and the freshness makes it appealing to drink on release. 0-9 years. “The 2023 displays beautiful complexity with layers of blackberry, black plum, and spice, accented by layers of tobacco, toast, and savory herbs. Both lush and energetic, this mouth filling Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, round, and perfectly balanced. Silky tannins provide structure and grace, promising even greater elegance and depth with time in your cellar.” — Elias Fernandez, Winemaker

“The unparalleled 2023 vintage has produced a Merlot offering abundant layers of red plum, dark cherry, and raspberry, lifted by violet and lavender florals. Notes of vanilla, baking spices, and cherry pie evoke richness, while cranberry and subtle herbs add vibrant freshness. Seamlessly integrated tannins carry through to a remarkably long, graceful finish.” — Elias Fernandez, Winemaker

“From the landmark 2023 vintage, One Point Five is an exceptional expression of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at its peak. Layers of blackberry, raspberry, and black licorice unfold alongside notes of bay leaf, sage, cinnamon, clove, and dark chocolate. Complex, expressive, and lush, this wine captures the purity of vintage and varietal character, all wrapped in a structure of ripe tannins that offer evolving, profound beauty for decades.” — Elias Fernandez, Winemaker

The 2021 Hillside Select is a pure Cabernet Sauvignon, produced from Shafer's hillside vineyards in Stag's Leap District and includes their prized blocks: Sunspot, John's Upper Seven, Hitching Post, and Firebreak. The long growing season of warm days and cool nights developed rich, highly concentrated Cabernet with superb aromatic power and clarity of cassis, crisp black cherry, blackberry and red plum fruits, with pressed dark flowers, and notes of cedar, tobacco and dried tea from 28 months in new French oak barriques. Full-bodied, ripe and wonderfully deep with beautiful tannins, a cool mineral vein highlighting the Stag's Leap terroir, lovely acidity and a luxuriously long finish. There are near perfect scores out there for this brilliant edition. 5-25 years. “The 2022 Hillside Select opens with generous aromatics, poise, and elegance. Hailing from a true Mediterranean vintage, the balance of opulence and freshness is striking with vibrant aromas and flavours of blackberry, plums, acai, toast, espresso, dark chocolate, and dried herbs. The ripe tannins are exquisitely integrated offering tension, depth, and enormous promise for layers of beauty and complexity in the coming decades.”— Elias Fernandez, Winemaker

Like the Estate Chardonnay, this is a blend from Bentrock and Radian, aged in French oak (20% new) for 11 months. A very pure cherry Pinot nose, pressed spring flowers, a little leaf and pepper, and black plum. The palate is elegant and expressive, layered with spiced red and black fruits, a touch of blood orange, and wild herbs.

A blend which takes in fruit from Bentrock and Radian, a range of clones and matured in mainly old French oak for 11 months. Medium bodied but racy, tense and bright making it feel tighter, there are notes of patisserie and toast, intense citrus, palpable mineral flavours, and lightly creamy white and stone fruits. Great freshness and balance with superb length of flavour.

Radian is an extreme vineyard which rises to 1000m asl, it is very exposed, steep, and moon-like, and brings a steely edge with laser focus. No new oak here this time, it's all about an electrifying vivacity, purity of fruit and drive. There are fascinating delicate aromatic notes of orange blossom, lemongrass, pithy citrus, and honeysuckle, and tantalising complex mineral flavours with some haunting exotic fruits ahead of a moreish, salt-kissed finish. Patience is required for this to show its potential!

Bentrock is on less-exposed gentle slopes at 500-700 feet asl, and this is aged with a little more (40%) new French oak. There is a step up in concentration, breadth, and richness, showing more ample and exotic fruit thanks to the radiating effect of the galet-like stones and slate topsoil. Wonderfully fresh, textured, and complex with a mouthwatering salinity on the long finish.

A mix of clones and 25% new oak here, displaying a gorgeous perfume of sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with a darker personality than the Estate Pinot, more blood orange, a little mint, and spicy cedar. There is a compelling generosity to the mid-palate and some muscle; it's a deliciously expressive, ripe and supple experience and the balance makes it hard to resist now, but it has so much more to give!

12 months in French oak, just 10% new, and a complex mix of clones and blocks from the wild, exposed Radian vineyard. As is often the case here, there is great detailing throughout with a Northern Rhône-like perfume of dark fruit and dark flowers laced with strawberry, raspberry, soft spices and fragrant herbs. This dazzles with energy and brightness, the palate is wonderfully poised and beautifully balanced with layers and layers of complex, long-lasting flavours. Matt reckons this is a legend in the making.

From a variety of old sites including Napa, Lodi, Mendocino and Paso Robles. The vines are a minimum 40 years old, some are over 100, and produce concentrated flavours of red cherry, liquorice and spice with plenty of dried fruits. 3-9 years.

Bright red berries and masses of fresh summer fruits show the elegance and restraint of the Kirschenmann vineyard. The vines are protected from extreme heat thanks to ocean breezes and the cool Mokelumne River AVA that the vineyard lies in. 3-9 years.

Bright red berries and masses of fresh summer fruits show the elegance and restraint of the Kirschenmann vineyard. The vines are protected from extreme heat thanks to ocean breezes and the cool Mokelumne River AVA that the vineyard lies in. 3-9 years.

This is from the vineyard surrounding the winery in Napa. Showing plenty of concentration from low yielding dry-farmed Zinfandel, there's a medley of black cherry and plum with hints of spice, leather and a minty freshness. Certified organic. 3-9 years.

Ueberroth is the oldest of the Turley Zinfandel vineyards, planted in 1885. The location, close to the sea, enhances freshness and elegance whilst the characteristic heat of 2020 shows roasted black fruits with vanilla spice on the palate.