Hello and welcome to this week’s 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.

After almost two decades of making only red wine, Tim Mondavi’s family, whose primary efforts have been at their Continuum Estate up on Pritchard Hill, have launched a new brand called Sentium, for their first release of a Sauvignon Blanc, which comes from several (unspecified) organic growers of (unspecified age) old vines in Mendocino’s Redwood Valley and Potter Valley. The wine represents a project of Tim’s children, part of the fourth generation of the Mondavi family in California, led by Chiara Mondavi. This barrel (and tank and concrete) fermented wine is a nod to the family’s historical Fumé Blanc in California, and marks an interesting new chapter in the Continuum story (the superb 2022 vintage of which I also review below).

This past week also included a couple of interesting Chardonnays. The first is from a special project by German winemaker Ernie Loosen. Loosen has a passion for Pinot Noir, which led to a collaboration with J. Christopher Cellars in 2005 that he called Apassionata Estate. The vision was to create a Pinot Noir that would see extended bottle age and would not be released until Loosen felt it was perfectly ready. As with many things in the wine business, one thing led to another, and now Appassionata makes several wines, including a “GG” Riesling, and Loosen is now the owner of J. Christopher wines. Among the wines now made by Appassionata is the Willamette Valley Chardonnay that I tasted this week, which has an unusual and distinctive character.

The Sonoma Coast Chardonnay from Moone-Tsai Wines is a bit more classic in profile, if a tad richer than the current trends in Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. But if you’re a fan of more traditional California Chardonnay, you’ll appreciate the lemon curd and pastry cream this wine has to offer.

I’ve got a couple of interesting reds to recommend as well this week, beginning with the crunchy, fresh, and aromatic interpretation of alpine Nebbiolo from Tenuta Scerscé. The Sassella is a fresh and vibrant expression of Valtellina, with electric acidity and a wonderful combination of complexity and deliciousness.

Château Malherbe is a beautiful property in coastal Provence, organically and biodynamically farmed by the Ferrari family who can trace their ownership of the estate back four generations. The estate makes a number of different wines, of which the red I’m reviewing this week is their “entry-level” estate red, a nice blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Grenache.

Lastly, I’ve got three bottlings from Pride Mountain Vineyards, that unique estate whose vineyards quite literally straddle the county line dividing Napa and Sonoma, allowing them to make wines from either appellation or in the case of many of their top wines, a mix of both. That is the case for the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Reserve Claret wines I’m reviewing this week, both of which were excellent expressions of the 2022 vintage. The estate’s reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon was also worthy of attention.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2022 Sentium Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of ripe Fuji apples. In the mouth, aromatically sweet apple and lemon flavors have a nice crispness to them thanks to excellent acidity. Silky textured, with that appley note lingering in the finish. Contains 1% Semillon. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $77. click to buy.

2020 Appassionata Estate Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers, lemon peel, toasted nuts, and lanolin. In the mouth, lanolin, lemon pith, grapefruit, and a hint of salinity have a nice filigreed acidity that builds in strength through the finish. The sheepy lanolin flavor is quite strong here and gives the wine a unique character. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $71. click to buy.

2022 Moone-Tsai “Charles Heintz Vineyard” Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Pale yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of rich lemon curd and white flowers. In the mouth, lemon peel, lemon curd, and pastry cream flavors mix with a hint of sweet oak and slightly softer-than-I’d-like acidity. There’s a touch of spicy heat in the finish. Aged for 17 months in 40% new French oak. 14.3% alcohol. 188 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $122. click to buy.

2019 Tenuta Scerscé “Sassella” Nebbiolo, Valtellina Superiore, Lombardy, Italy
Light ruby in the glass with orange highlights, this wine smells of dried flowers, orange peel, and strawberries. In the mouth, salty strawberry and dried herb flavors are electric with orange peel acidity that puckers the cheeks and kicks the salivary glands into overdrive. Delicious, bright, and wonderfully easy to drink. Outstanding. 13% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $57. click to buy.

2022 Château Malherbe Red Blend, Côtes de Provence, Provence, France
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of blueberry, mulberry, and black cherries. In the mouth, rich mulberry and blueberry flavors are bright with juicy acidity and wrapped in a felt-like blanket of tannins that stiffens slightly with some time. Hints of strawberry linger in the finish. Tasty. A blend of 55% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, and 15% Grenache. 14% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $57. click to buy.

2022 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet oak, mocha, and black cherries. In the mouth, sweetish cherry and black cherry fruit mix under a fleecy blanket of tannins and a dried and chopped green herb note that lingers with sweet cherry in the finish. Decent acidity. A blend of 51% Napa County and 49% Sonoma County fruit. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $95. click to buy.

2022 Pride Mountain Vineyards “Reserve Claret” Red Blend, California
Inky garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet cherry and chocolate. In the mouth, sweet black cherry, Bing cherry, and mocha flavors have a nice bright acidity and very tasty licorice root note that lingers in the finish. Fleecy tannins coat the mouth and stiffen slightly with time. There’s a nice freshness to this wine. A blend of 61% Napa County and 39% Sonoma County fruit. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $149. click to buy.

2022 Pride Mountain Vineyards “Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet black cherry and sweet oak. In the mouth, sweet cherry and chopped herbs are wrapped in fleecy tannins as sweet oak and licorice root notes linger in the finish. Decent acidity. 14.6% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $149. click to buy.

2022 Continuum Estate “Sage Mountain Vineyard” Proprietary Red, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Very dark, opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of dark chocolate, blueberries, and black cherries. In the mouth, incredibly smooth black cherry and blueberry flavors are shot through with dark chocolate, blackcurrant, and a hint of dried herbs. Incredibly seamless and supple, with tannins that have a velvety quality. Excellent acidity and balance, with a lot of richness but not much weight. Extremely impressive. A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot, and 4% Merlot aged for 21 months in 58% new French oak, with 3% of the wine in concrete amphorae. 14.9% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $330. click to buy.