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.

This week included a few more new releases from Two Shepherds Winery, including their tasting Clairette Blanche from the (relatively new) Dunnigan Hills AVA, as well as their Grenache Noir and a unique blend of Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir. In particular, I happen to love the latter two wines, which offer a fresh and crunchy quality along with bright floral berry flavors.

Raymond Vineyards is celebrating their 50th Anniversary vintage, and so they sent along their celebratory Sauvignon Blanc, which is tasty enough, but comes in a very heavy bottle (painted red and adorned with a big metal and gemstone thingy no less) that is both ostentatious overkill, as well as particularly bad for the environment. It’s gotta be possible to be fancy without a big carbon footprint.

I’ve also got two Chardonnays to recommend to you. The first, from Smith-Madrone up on Napa’s Spring Mountain, tends to straddle the more traditional ripe California Chardonnay style and a more acid-driven style. The second, from The Hilt in Santa Barbara is leaner in quality, as that region’s Chardonnays tend to be, though I wish it had a bit more zip. I preferred The Hilt’s Pinot Noir which seemed slightly more balanced, offering nice cherry and redwood bark flavors with a hint of sweet oak.

Dutton Estate also sent through a Pinot Noir this week, their Karmen Isabella, bottling, which has a somewhat caramelized quality in addition to its bright fruit, which may or may not appeal to some.

Ridge Vineyards needs no introduction for most wine lovers. They’ve recently sent along a bunch of their new releases, two of which I’m reviewing today, their Pagani Ranch and their East Bench Zinfandels, which offer two very different interpretations of the grape, thanks to their different vineyard locations. Of the two I prefer the Pagani Ranch for its greater complexity, but both will doubtless satisfy Zinfandel fans.

Lastly, I’m happy to recommend the 2020 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Silver Oak. In a year where many Napa producers made no red wine due to the fires, this wine is a great reminder of what an excellent vintage it would have been. There’s no trace of smoke or anything out of place in this wine’s bright cherry expression, and I find the oak extremely well-integrated at this point. If you’re a Silver Oak fan, this is a wine you won’t want to miss.

Tasting Notes

2023 Two Shepherds “JDM Organic Farm” Clairette Blanche, Dunnigan Hills, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears, apples, white peaches, and a hint of herbs. In the mouth, white peach and pear flavors mix with a touch of citrus pith and peel, as grapefruit and a hint of candied ginger linger in the finish. Very good acidity. Certified organic grapes fermented with ambient yeasts. 40% of the wine is aged in neutral oak, the rest in stainless steel. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 11% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $28. click to buy.

2023 Raymond Vineyards “50th Anniversary Collection” Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of golden apples, lemon peel, and white flowers. In the mouth, lemon peel and lemon pith mix with pink grapefruit and a hint of vanilla pastry cream as very good acidity keeps things bright and juicy. Notes of oak emerge in the finish. 13.5% alcohol. Comes in an unnecessarily heavy, red-painted bottle with a bejeweled metal insignia glued to the front of it, the total package weighing 1.65 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $90. click to buy.

2021 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain District, Napa, California
Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd, honey-roasted nuts, and a hint of butterscotch. In the mouth, bright candied lemon peel, lemon curd, and a touch of pineapple mix with a silky texture and excellent, juicy acidity. There’s a faint bitterness that lingers in the finish with a hint of wood. As usual, this wine is a mix of old-school richness with a nervy backbone. 14% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $43. click to buy.

2022 The Hilt Estate Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith, white flowers, and vanilla. In the mouth, lean lemon pith and peel flavors mix with a stony, wet chalkboard underbelly as hints of vanilla and white flowers linger in the finish. Bright and stony, but I’d love just a little bit more acidity. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2022 The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of raspberry and cherry fruit with a hint of redwood bark. In the mouth, bright cherry fruit is wrapped in a microfleece blanket of tannins as sweet raspberry and orange peel notes linger in the finish with hints of mocha. There’s a nice stony, earthy note beneath everything. Polished and ripe, but with enough acidity to keep things juicy. 14.1% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2023 Dutton Estate “Dutton Ranch – Karmen Isabella” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of toasted oak. In the mouth, sweet oak and cherry flavors mix with raspberry and redcurrant as gauzy tannins hang in the background. Very good acidity, but there’s a mocha and brown sugar caramelized quality that detracts from the pretty fruit. 14.1% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2023 Two Shepherds “Grenache Gris and Noir – Danaen Block” Red Blend, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Pale ruby in color, looking very much like a rosé, this wine smells of peaches, orange peel, and strawberries. In the mouth, powdery, chalk-dust tannins coat the mouth, as flavors of strawberries, peaches, and flowers swirl on the palate. Excellent acidity keeps things crunchy. Quite unusual and tasty. Organically and regeneratively farmed with a no-till approach. Fermented with ambient yeasts and then aged in neutral oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 11.2% alcohol. 100 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $32.

2022 Two Shepherds “Arya and Austin’s Vineyard” Grenache Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Light to medium ruby in color, this wine smells of strawberries, dried herbs, and flowers. In the mouth, fleecy tannins wrap around a core of stony ripe and unripe strawberry, dried and freshly chopped green herbs, and dried flowers. Excellent acidity keeps things crunchy and bright. Organically and regeneratively farmed grapes fermented with ambient yeasts and then aged for 10 months in neutral oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $26. click to buy.

2023 Ridge Vineyards “Pagani Ranch” Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma, California
Very dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of blackberries, blueberries, and black cherries. In the mouth, juicy and rich flavors of black cherry, blackberry, and blueberry have a lovely citrus peel brightness and an inky, fine-grained tannic texture. Seamless and dark, but without heaviness or sweetness. Really lovely. A field blend of 79% Zinfandel, 10% Alicante Bouschet, 9% Petite Sirah, and 2% Mataro fermented with ambient yeasts. 14.4% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.

2023 Ridge Vineyards “East Bench” Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, California
Dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of blackberries, blueberries, and licorice. In the mouth, bright blackberry and unripe blackberry flavors are shot through with blueberries and dried herbs, as hints of licorice root and a touch of coconutty American oak linger in the finish. Fleecy tannins coat the mouth, and bright acidity makes sure things stay fresh and mouthwatering. 14.3% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2020 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry, plum, and cola. In the mouth, fine tannins coat the mouth and gradually stiffen as flavors of black cherry, plum, dried herbs, and graphite swirl across the palate. Excellent acidity combines with an herbal note in the finish to leave a sort of clean, minty quality lingering in the finish along with the toasty nuttiness of well-integrated oak. 14.7% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $170. click to buy.