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 week included a couple more wines from the Napa-goes-to-Finger-Lakes project called Trestle Thirty-One, by consulting winemaker Nova Cadamatre and her husband. The first is a classic expression of Finger Lakes Riesling, while the other is a perfectly competent Chardonnay. I wish both had a little more dynamism and complexity, but they’re both eminently drinkable.

I also received a bunch of new releases from Big Table Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. These included two crystalline Chardonnays from different sub-appellations within the Willamette, both excellent and several regional and vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs, of which the Sunnyside Vineyard wine was my favorite for its balance of fruit and savory notes, along with its wonderfully refined texture.

Closer to home, I’m happy to recommend a few more stellar Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley. The first, from Weatherborne Wine Company, features one of the best-named vineyards in California, the “Helluva Vineyard” and it’s a helluva wine, bursting with juicy raspberry and redcurrant fruit.

The Wentworth Vineyards bottling of Pinot from the Nash Mill vineyard is also compelling, with a bit more whole cluster grip and savoriness coming through, but equally bright fruit and refined tannins.

Lastly a really wonderful, slightly older vintage of Waits-Mast Family Cellars Pinot from the same vineyard showed exceptional finesse and the beginnings of some secondary aromas and flavors that proved very compelling. These bottles are probably hard to come by these days, but if you can find one, you won’t be disappointed.

Lastly, I’ve got two more wines to recommend from the Busch family’s Folded Hills project, with winemaking by the talented Angela Osborne of A Tribute to Grace. Their estate Grenache from 2017 is a knockout of red-fruited energy, while the Carbonic Syrah is a crunchy, tangy expression of black and blue fruits.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2022 Trestle Thirty-One Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale greenish gold in color, this wine smells of pear and pastry cream. In the mouth, silky flavors of pear, citrus peel, and white flowers have a hint of tropicality but also not enough acidity to make the wine truly vibrant. There’s a faint minerality underneath the fruit that adds some complexity, but I find myself wishing for more zip. 12% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $32. click to buy.

2022 Trestle Thirty-One Chardonnay, Finger Lakes, New York
Near colorless in the glass with a hint of straw, this wine smells of vanilla and lemon pith. In the mouth, faintly salty lemon pith and vanilla notes mix with a hint of toasted, buttered sourdough. Lean and bright with very good acidity, but not a huge depth of flavor. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $38. click to buy.

2022 Big Table Farm Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon pith, Meyer lemon zest, and pink grapefruit. In the mouth, wonderfully bright lemon pith and grapefruit juice flavors mix with a touch of toasted bread and a whiff of butterscotch, as very good acidity makes for a brisk experience. Notes of white flowers and orange peel linger in the finish. Excellent. 13.3% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2022 Big Table Farm Chardonnay, Yamhill-Carlton District, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith and lemon curd. In the mouth, the wine has a wonderful crystalline quality, with lemon pith, lemon curd, and pink grapefruit flavors welded to a stony underbelly. Bright, very good acidity adds to the crisp, stony quality. A faint chalky quality lingers in the finish. 12.6% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2022 Big Table Farm Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton District, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light to medium garnet in the glass with ruby highlights, this wine smells of potting soil, raspberries, and cranberry nectar. In the mouth, cranberry and raspberry flavors are shot through with a hint of earth and barnyard, while dried herbs dance with gauzy tannins in the background that get thicker and fleecier with time. Silky texture and good acidity. This wine leans savory in quality, 12.8% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2022 Big Table Farm “Cattrall Brothers Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light garnet in the glass with a faint haze, this wine smells of red currant and citrus peel. In the mouth, redcurrant and sour cherry flavors mix with citrus peel and lightly dusty dried herbs. Bright and lean, with hints of dried flowers and a touch of green bell pepper in the finish. Excellent acidity. 12.2% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $72. click to buy.

2022 Big Table Farm “Sunnyside Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries and pomegranate mixed with freshly turned earth. In the mouth, raspberry and cranberry flavors mix with potting soil and chopped aromatic herbs, including a touch of spicy winter savory. Fine gauzy tannins and excellent acidity round out the nicely balanced package. 13.9% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $72. click to buy.

2022 Weatherborne “Helluva Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries, flowers, and aromatic herbs. In the mouth, juicy and bright raspberry and redcurrant flavors are silky textured and mouthwatering in their acidity. Notes of dried herbs and redcurrant linger in the finish. Made with organic grapes and 15% whole cluster fermentation. Ages for 10 months in barrel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 13.9% alcohol. 133 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $45. click to buy.

2022 Wentworth Vineyards “Nash Mill Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry, cherry, and citrus peel. In the mouth, citrus peel, raspberry, and dried herbs mix with fresh herbs and sour cherry. Lightly grippy tannins linger and stiffen over time. A mix of clones 115, 667, 943, and a little Pommard 5 clone fermented with native yeasts and 40% whole clusters. Aged 11 months in 57% new, 43% second fill barrels. Racked twice. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 13% alcohol. 177 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $78. click to buy.

2018 Waits-Mast Family Cellars “Nash Mill Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of sage and other aromatic herbs layered over tart berry fruit. In the mouth, raspberry and redcurrant flavors mix with dried herbs, including sage and thyme, while faint gauzy tannins coat the mouth. Excellent acidity and length, with herbs and citrus peel lingering in the finish. A mix of clones 115 and 667 farmed organically and fermented destemmed but uncrushed with ambient yeasts. Ages 16 months in 28% new oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 13.3% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2019 Folded Hills “Estate” Grenache, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California
Light ruby in color, this wine smells of strawberries and chopped green herbs. In the mouth, gauzy tannins coat the mouth as faintly saline flavors of green herbs, strawberries, and flowers swirl about the palate. There’s a gorgeous stony quality to the wine balanced with mouthwatering juiciness. Excellent acidity. Extremely tasty. 14% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $78. click to buy.

2019 Folded Hills “Whole Cluster Carbonic” Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California
Light to medium ruby in the glass with garnet highlights, this wine smells of wet earth and wet stone, with a hint of blueberries and citrus peel. In the mouth, blueberries, blackberries, crushed stone, and citrus peel are wrapped in a muscular skein of fine-grained, stony tannins. Crunchy acidity and tangy sour black cherry flavors linger in the finish. 14.2% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $35.