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 some new releases from Darling Wines in Sonoma, including their zippy Petaluma Gap Chardonnay which has that Burgundian resinous quality and salinity to accompany its lean lemon flavors. Darling also sent along a heavily stem-influenced Pinot Noir, a pretty Gamay, and a savory Syrah, all of which are worth paying attention to if you’re into lean, acid-driven wines with whole-cluster flavors.

I also got a couple of new releases from Can Sumoi, the ancient farm in Spain’s Penedes region run by Pepe Raventós, from which he makes natural still wines that are often great values. The Xarel-lo bottling has an interesting pear and sarsaparilla quality, but I especially liked the blend of Grenache (called Garnatxa in that region) and Sumoll, a rare ancient local variety that Raventos has been reviving.

The folks at Notre Vue estate sent along few new releases from Balverne Wines a sister brand to Notre Vue, and the original name of the winery and property that owners Bob and Renee Stein purchased in 1992. Both brands are made with fruit from the roughly 250 acres that the couple farm on a hilltop that spans the Chalk Hill and Russian River Valley AVAs in Sonoma. This week I’m tasting their Pinot Noir, which is rich and ripe, their Zinfandel, which has nice sweet fruit, and their Cabernet Sauvignon, which is my favorite of the three, as it handles its oak better than the other two.

Lastly, I’ve been tasting some Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon lately for a future column and a bottle of Cabernet Franc snuck into the lineup, so I’m throwing that into the mix today from House Family Vineyards, a bottle with some age on it already, for those who don’t want to wait.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2023 Darling Wines Chardonnay, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon zest, white flowers, and a hint of resin. In the mouth, bright lemon peel and lemon pith flavors mix with pink grapefruit and a touch of white flowers. There’s nice salinity here and that faintly resinous note that is very appealing. Lean and zippy with outstanding acidity. Planted on a steep hillside of decomposed shale, sandstone, and loam at 480 feet of elevation. Whole-cluster pressed and then fermented with ambient yeasts in 16% new French oak. Full natural malolactic conversion. Aged for 15 months in those barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 11.8% alcohol. 150 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $65. click to buy.

2024 Can Sumoi Xarel-lo, Penedès, Spain
Pale blonde in color, this wine smells of pears, pastry cream and citrus pith. In the mouth, pear and crème anglaise flavors mix with a hint of sarsaparilla layered over wet pavement. Very good acidity. Certified organic. Made in the natural style, with ambient yeasts, no temperature control, and no added sulfur. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $19. click to buy.

2023 Can Sumoi Garnatxa Sumoll Red Blend, Penedès, Spain
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry, blackberry, and flowers. In the mouth, the wine has a wonderfully aromatic quality, with blackberry, blueberry, and boysenberry flavors mixing with floral overtones as faint powdery tannins coat the mouth, and a stony minerality lingers in the finish underneath the fruit. Excellent acidity. A blend of Grenache and Sumoll. Made in the natural style, with ambient yeasts, no temperature control, and no added sulfur. Certified organic. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $22. click to buy.

2023 Darling Wines “Den Chòsta” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium hazy garnet in the glass, this wine smells of chopped herbs, peeled willow bark, and raspberries. In the mouth, raspberry and raspberry leaf flavors mix with chopped green herbs, marijuana, tomato leaf, and wet earth. Very savory in quality, with a high stem influence. Excellent acidity, and faint gauzy tannins. Organically dry-farmed (uncertified. Fermented with 50% whole clusters and ambient yeasts and then aged for 10 months in neutral French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12.1% alcohol. 275 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $57. click to buy.

2024 Darling Wines “Baytree Lane Vineyard” Gamay, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma, California
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries, boysenberries, and blood orange. In the mouth, blood orange, chopped green herbs, and a hint of cola are wrapped in a fleecy blanket of tannins that gets slightly muscular with time. Excellent acidity and a stony minerality make this wine quite brisk on the palate, with a nice herbal freshness. Grown at 700 feet of elevation on volcanic and raynor clay soils. Carbonically macerated for 10 days and then 4 days of punchdowns fermenting with ambient yeasts. Spends 6 months in neutral French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12% alcohol. 150 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $42.

2022 Balverne Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries and cranberries. In the mouth, bright raspberry, orange peel, and pomegranate flavors have a bright juicy acidity and faint, powdery tannic texture. Notes of sweet oak emerge in the finish more strongly than I would like. 13.8% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $45. click to buy.

2023 Balverne Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet blackberry and licorice. In the mouth, flavors of blackberry, brown sugar, sweet oak, and dried herbs have decent acidity and lightly tacky tannins. There’s a bit too much wood influence here for me. Certified Sonoma Sustainable. 14.3% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2023 Darling Wines “Den Chòsta” Syrah, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of blackberry, marijuana resin, and wet pavement. In the mouth, faintly salty flavors of blackberry and blueberry mix with green herbs and wet earth. Fleecy tannins coat the mouth and stiffen slightly with time. Very herbal. Not vegetal, but definitely herbal and savory. Excellent acidity. Fermented with 60% whole clusters and ambient yeasts and then aged for 10 months in neutral French oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 11.5% alcohol. 350 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2021 Balverne Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, Sonoma, California
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of cherry, tobacco leaf, and plum. In the mouth, bright cherry and plum flavors are juicy with fantastic acidity and wrapped in muscular tannins that coat the mouth. The wood is very well integrated here, giving structure but little flavor, letting the cherry fruit shine through the finish. Certified Sonoma sustainable. 14.3% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2015 House Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of bright plum and cherry. In the mouth, plum and cherry flavors are wrapped in a muscular sheaf of tannins that stiffens over time and dries the mouth a bit. There’s less oak flavor here than there is oak presence, a compression and texture and drying quality that makes me wish there was less wood influence. Very good acidity. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $100. click to buy.