Leaping from the glass are intense aromas of quince, kiwi, and green apple with complementing hints of raw honey, green almonds, and grapefruit. An enjoyable wine to produce, it was raised in an assortment of vessels including choice new French oak, stainless steel and neutral barrels—all of which promote lees contact during aging. On the palate, the wine is expressive and compelling with great fruit, salty salinity, and engaging acidity. Having spent a little longer in barrel than previous vintages, the added time on the lees complements the palate and finish with plushness and added length. This wine is youthful and flirty, however time in bottle will continue to showcase its sophistication with many years of enjoyment ahead....

A beautiful vintage for El Diablo Vineyard, the 2019 stands out as a very floral rendition, showcasing the unique Montrachet selection of Chardonnay. The first pick of the vintage, the El Diablo Chardonnay hits a sweet spot on the vine where fruit intensity is perfectly aligned with mouth-watering acidity at reasonably low Brix - this year picked on Labor Day. The Montrachet part of the blend is simply elegant with jasmine, candied almond, and anise on the nose. The Robert Young selection, however, lends dimension and tension to the wine providing stone fruit and green apple on the palate. A unique hallmark of this Chardonnay is the ability to both have a refreshing presence on the palate while delicately holding to a rich core supplied from the sunny summer days on Eastside Road....

ne of the more classic California vintages in recent memory, the 2019 is elegant on the nose with terrific concentration and depth on the palate. The striking difference in 2019, aside from the dynamic vintage, is the increased Musqué percentage in the final blend allowing the intense aromatics to shine through. The Musqué selection, now a heritage clone of Hyde Vineyards, has a lace-like mouthfeel and intensely perfumed with ripe apricots, honeysuckle and orange blossom. There is no malolactic fermentation due to our desire to capture the beautiful esters from harvest and preserving the purity on the palate. The Robert Young selection is weightier with meadow flowers and raw honey on the nose. This portion underwent full malolactic fermentation lending additional density and richness to the final blend. This wine is deliciously textured and truly graceful with the aromatics weaving effortlessly and finishing with distinct minerality....

Grown in rocky soils at the base of the Sonoma Mountain range, this vintage is concentrated and hedonistic while preserving plenty of verve on the palate. Similar to past years, we were able to obtain great fruit concentration while still preserving beautiful natural acidity—a testament to the diurnal shift from the cool nights to warm afternoons. Smaller berries and an overall increase of fruit concentration than previous vintages, the 2019 harvest was separated into three different lots with varying whole-cluster percentages from 10% - 30%. The separate lots were fermented in both oak foudres and stainless-steel tanks. On the nose, blue fruits, plum and violets dominate. The purity of the vintage shines through with a wonderful balance of richness and focus. One of the more generous Pinot Noirs in our portfolio, the Gap’s Crown Vineyard provides consistently balanced fruit at reasonable alcohol and ripeness....

Perched high on a north-facing slope on the westside of Spring Mountain, the Berler Vineyard is planted exclusively to Cabernet Sauvignon. A “suitcase” vineyard that Joe Nielsen brought to Ram’s Gate, this is an elegant and refined vineyard site, reminiscent of a bygone era for Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit sourced from this vineyard comes from block 7 which at its peak is 1600 feet above sea level. Hailing from an exceptional vintage that produced tiny clusters of power, coupled with a naturally low vigor site of 1.9 tons per acre, the resulting wine is concentrated and compelling. On the nose the wine is mysterious with red fruits, plum sauce and its hallmark forest floor and olive tapenade. Although young, the 2019 is showing a delicious core with velvety mountain tannins, with lifting acidity and a persistent finish....