Hello, and welcome to my periodic dig through the samples pile. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This week included a few gems from around California and one from Italy.

Last week I featured newest Chenin Blanc from Lang & Reed winery, sourced from Mendocino. This week I’ve got their traditional Napa apellated wine, which has even more depth and complexity.

This week I’ve also got a couple more wines from Katy Wilson’s LaRue cellars. The first, her Sonoma Coast bottling seems like it’s been slapped with a touch too much new wood, and isn’t holding it very well at this point in its evolution, despite having some very pretty fruit. The other bottling on the other hand, a Pinot from the Thorn Ridge Vineyard, is a knockout wine that shows just how talented Ms. Wilson really is. The wine is nervy, electric, and gorgeously delicious.

Attems is a famous name in northern Italy, as the Count Douglas Attems helped found the Consorzio dei Vini del Collio which established the Friuli DOC region of Italy. The estate was bought by the Frescobaldi family in 2000 and is now part of that vast empire. Their Ramato, a version of Pinot Grigio which is left to macerate on the skins for some time, in which it picks up some of their rosy color, is quite tasty.

Finally, I’ve got a few blockbuster red wines to finish with this week including two from Aperture Cellars, their Del Rio Cabernet, and the perennially great Devil Proof Malbec, which is, true to form, outstanding.

Along with these two I received the newest edition of Blackbird Vineyards’ Arise proprietary red, which is a deliciously restrained, elegant expression of Merlot (and a few other things).

All these and more below.

2017 Troon Vineyard “Whole Grape Ferment” Riesling, Applegate Valley, Oregon
Pale amber in the glass, this wine smells of creamsicle and wet leaves. In the mouth, citrus peel and marzipan flavors mix with wet leaves and pear jelly. A light tannic structure lingers in the finish. Interesting and distinctive, guaranteed to be unlike any Riesling you’ve ever had. Bone dry. 11.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2017 Lang & Reed Chenin Blanc, Napa Valley, California
Palest gold in color, this wine smells of wet chalkboard, pear and quince. In the mouth, electrically bright pear and quince flavors have a citrus knife edge to them thanks to fantastic acidity. Bright, juicy and delicious. With a long pear and quince flavored finish. 13.5% alcohol. 275 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $27. click to buy.

2017 Blue Rock Vineyards “Baby Blue Blanc” Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of green apple candy and peaches. In the mouth, bright peachy and appley flavors are faintly sweet, with good acidity and a nice silky texture. Notes of peaches linger in the finish. Contains 9% Viognier. 14.1% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $22. click to buy.

2015 Jigar “Peters Vineyard” Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of toasted oak and lemon curd. In the mouth, flavors of lemon and vanilla are shot through with toasted oak and butterscotch. Excellent acidity keeps the wine bright, but the bitterness of oak is what lingers in the finish. A bit overdone. 14.1% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $28. click to buy.

2017 Attems “Ramato” Pinot Grigio, Friuli, Italy
Palest baby pink in color, this wine smells of berries and citrus peel. In the mouth, strawberry and orange peel flavors have a nice wet leaves undertone to them even as bright grapefruit and pith flavors linger through the finish. 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2015 LaRue Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherry and cranberries. In the mouth, sweet cherry and cranberry flavors are shot through with the vanilla confection of new oak, which lingers a bit too strongly in the finish for my taste. No denying there’s very pretty fruit here, but definitely a bit heavy handed on the wood. 13% alcohol Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2015 LaRue “Thorn Ridge Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of raspberry and redcurrant. In the mouth, bright flavors of raspberry and redcurrant have a spicy, citrus kick to them and a gorgeous powdery tannic backbone that caresses the edge of the palate and the back of the mouth, while citrus peel notes and hints of wild thyme linger in the finish. Outstanding. 12.9% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $70. click to buy.

2016 Blackbird Vineyards “Arise” Proprietary Red, Napa Valley, California
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of dark cherry fruit and a touch of earth. In the mouth, rich, dark cherry and dark chocolate flavors are clasped in a velvety fist of tannins that have equal parts musculature and plushness. Excellent acidity and depth. A blend of 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. 14.1% alcohol. 5900 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $58. click to buy.

2015 Aperture Cellars “Del Rio Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky garnet in color, this wine smells of cherry and blueberries. In the mouth, lush and juicy flavors of cherry and cocoa powder mix with boysenberry and a hint of bitterness as licorice root and black cherry flavors linger in the finish. Beautifully polished and put together. 14.8% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $100. click to buy.

2015 Devil Proof “Farrow Ranch” Malbec, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherries and blueberries. In the mouth, black cherry, blueberry and dark chocolate flavors swirl under a blanket of fleecy tannins. Excellent acidity keeps the wine quite fresh, as the tannins build muscle over time and the wine finishes with floral notes. Expansive and utterly delicious. 14.6% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $150. click to buy.

2015 Blue Rock Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry and boysenberries. In the mouth, cherry and boysenberry flavors are wrapped in a muscular skein of tannins and shot through with notes of herbs and earth. Excellent acidity keeps the wine fresh, and there’s little to no trace of wood save for the tannins, which are smooth. Very pretty and restrained. 14.1% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $50. click to buy.