Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. 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 past week included a few nice white wines from around northern California. Let’s start with the single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from Merriam Vineyards, labeled as “Fumé Blanc,” with an intent to convey the Graves-style oak aging it receives. It has a nice dose of Semillon, however, which adds an extra dimension to the wine.

Speaking of Semillon, it’s pretty rare to see bottlings of the grape on its own in California, but Lopai Cellars has done just that, picking fruit from the well-known Vozelgang vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Happy Canyon. It’s nice enough but, unfortunately packaged in an environmentally unfriendly heavy bottle like most of this winery’s wines. I have about the same thing to say for the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which I also tasted this week.

I’ll bang this drum as long as I need to: switching to lighter bottles is literally the easiest thing a winery can do to lower its carbon footprint while reducing long-term costs.

I’ve got a couple more wines to recommend from Eden Rift this week, including their positively thrilling “Reserve” Chardonnay as well as their lean and juicy “Terraces” Pinot Noir. Everything this winery is doing seems to point toward increasing quality for their wines.

Staying in the Chardonnay genre for a moment, Tolosa Winery offered two different interpretations of the grape this week. Their standard Estate Chardonnay should not be overlooked for its vibrant crystalline qualities. I actually preferred it to their single-vineyard “Poletti” wine from Edna Ranch which just had too much signature of barrel fermentation and battonage for my taste, though if you like your Chardonnay in a richer style, it might be for you.

Lastly, I’ve got the last two wines from the Brigaldara portfolio that was recently sent to me, both of them Amarone de Valpolicella. If you like the rich dried fruit and higher alcohol profile of Amarone, you’ll appreciate both of these wines. The Riserva is aging nicely and seems to retain more acidity than the Case Vecie bottling.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2022 Merriam Vineyards “Fumé Blanc – Danielle’s Estate” Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon juice and passionfruit. In the mouth, bright lemon and passionfruit flavors are juicy thanks to excellent acidity. Notes of vanilla and toasted nuts emerge on the finish. Includes 10% Semillon. Aged for 12 months in 35% new French oak. 175 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.

2021 Lopai Cellars “Vogelzang Vineyard” Sémillon, Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara, California
Light greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon and struck match. In the mouth, flavors of lemon and lemon oil mix with a hint of resin and dried herbs. Decent acidity, though I wish there were more. Sweet oak dominates the finish. 13.8% alcohol. 72 cases made. Comes in an unnecessarily heavy bottle weighing 1.54 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2021 Eden Rift “Reserve” Chardonnay, Cienega Valley, Central Coast, California
Pale yellow gold in the glass, this wine smells of struck flint, lemon oil, and lemon pith. in the mouth, wonderfully bright flavors of lemon oil, verbena, lemon pith, and pink grapefruit have a resinous herbal tinge and slight salinity this is very compelling. Excellent acidity and a light chalky texture linger with that resinous quality in the finish. Delicious. Whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented, and aged in 31% new French oak. 15 months of aging. Fined with bentonite and sterile filtered before bottling. 13.9% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $65. click to buy.

2022 Tolosa Winery Estate Chardonnay, SLO Coast, Central Coast, California
Pale gold with a hint of green, this wine smells of white flowers and lemon pith. In the mouth, lemon pith and lemon curd flavors have a nice crystalline quality, with juicy acidity and a clean minerality. Whole-cluster pressed and fermented in steel, with battonage. Partial malolactic. Aged for 9 months in 22% new French oak. 13.8% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2022 Tolosa “Poletti – Edna Ranch” Chardonnay, SLO Coast, Central Coast, California
Palest gold in the glass with a hint of green, this wine smells of lemon pith, white flowers, and vanilla. In the mouth, lemon pith, grapefruit pith, and nutty vanilla flavors have a nice brightness thanks to very good acidity. Lemon pith and toasted nuts linger in the finish. Whole-cluster fermentation in barrels. Partial malolactic with battonage. Aged for 11 months in 18% new French oak. 13.6% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $97. click to buy.

2021 Eden Rift “Terraces” Pinot Noir, Cienega Valley, Central Coast, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of chopped herbs, sawdust, raspberries, and raspberry leaf. In the mouth, bright and juicy raspberry flavors mix with chopped herbs both fresh and dry as well as some lovely floral overtones. Orange peel lingers in the finish with a hint of dried flowers. Excellent acidity. Light, athletic tannins. Very pretty. Fermented 100% whole-cluster with native yeasts in stainless steel, then aged for 16 months in 22% new French oak and a small portion in amphora. Fined with an egg white and then bottled unfiltered. 13.9% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $69. click to buy.

2020 Lopai Cabernet Sauvignon, Willow Creek District, Paso Robles, Central Coast, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry and cassis. In the mouth, rich and ripe flavors of black cherry and blackcurrant stop short of being too ripe, as a fresh acidity and underlying stoniness creeps in to support the lush fruit. Sweet oak emerges on the finish and somewhat overwhelms the fruit. A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petite Verdot, and 4% Petite Sirah. 14.1% alcohol. Comes in an unnecessarily heavy bottle weighing 1.55 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $70. click to buy.

2015 Brigaldara “Riserva” Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
Light to medium blood red in the glass, this wine smells of coffee, licorice, chocolate, and prunes. In the mouth, orange peel, mulling spices, dried cherries, and prunes mix with raisins, licorice, and candied citrus peel. Lightly fleecy tannins hang at the edges of perception. Good acidity. Sweet oak lingers in the finish with some alcoholic heat. A blend of 55% Corvina, 25% Corvinone, and 20% Rondinella air dried and fermented slowly, then aged for 5 years in oak before bottling. 16% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $82. click to buy.

2018 Brigaldara “Case Vecie” Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
Light to medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of mocha, licorice, and prunes. In the mouth, fleecy tannins wrap around a core of cherry, licorice, mocha, and sweet oak flavors, with notes of brown sugar and raisins lingering in the finish. Decent acidity. A blend of 39% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, and 31% Rondinella. Fermented with air-dried grapes, and aged for 4 years in oak before bottling. 16.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $80. click to buy.