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 couple of heavy hitters of California wine and a brand new producer debuting in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Let’s go!

Fans of California Sparkling wine need little introduction to the venerable Domaine Carneros, a project established by Taittinger Champagne in 1987. The estate sent through its current releases, all of which are worth paying attention to. Fans of leaner wines with more primary fruit will appreciate the Ultra Brut bottling and its lemon and lime flavors. The Brut Cuvée and Late Disgorged Brut offer a more traditional and generous expression of lees-aged sparkling wine. But the crown jewel of the lineup is Le Rêve, the all-Chardonny bottling that gets six years of lees aging in the bottle before release. It’s got a gorgeous texture, wonderfully rich flavors, and a fantastic balance, all of which make it one of California’s best sparkling wines.

I was particularly excited to get introduced to the cleverly named Folly of Man wine brand this past week after winemakers Tracy and Aaron Kendall sent me their first vintage of wines. I’ve met a few superstar winemaking couples in the world, and I’m now adding the Kendalls to the list. Tracy cut her teeth at Vasse Felix and Felton Road before spending a decade at Nicolas-Jay in Oregon, while Aaron started winemaking in the Finger Lakes before coming out to Oregon to lead Beaux Freres winery. Together they’ve purchased 48 acres in the Eola-Amity Hills that they farm biodynamically and regeneratively, as well as buying some fruit from select growers in the region. The two Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs they sent through for me to taste were all excellent, though their estate wines somewhat outshone the other two wines. This is definitely a producer to watch out for.

It’s always a good press sample week when I get a box from Corison Winery. Winemaker Cathy Corison sent along her two newest releases, her 2022 Cabernet and her 2022 Helios Cabernet Franc from the Sunbasket Vineyard. The Cabernet Franc, at a lean 12.3% alcohol, wouldn’t stick out at all in a lineup of reds from Chinon with its lovely perfume and bright berry and herb notes. The 2022 Cabernet on the other hand represents yet another demonstration of Cathy’s winemaking prowess, and, as usual, a reminder that you can get all the flavor, power, and complexity you need from Napa Cabernet under 14% alcohol. This wine is stunning and will improve over the next two decades.

Notes on all these below!

Tasting Notes

2019 Domaine Carneros “Ultra Brut” Champagne Blend, Carneros, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass with very fine bubbles, this wine smells of candied lemon and lime peel. In the mouth, a soft mousse delivers bright lemon and lime peel flavors mixed with a touch of wet chalkboard and a faint saline note. There’s a chalky sensation in the finish. A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. 5 g/l dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $52. click to buy.

2021 Domaine Carneros “Brut Cuvée” Champagne Blend, Carneros, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of brioche, lemon pith, and sea air. In the mouth, a voluminous mousse delivers flavors of apples, lemon pith, brioche, and a touch of salinity. Round and balanced with excellent acidity and a wisp of sweetness in the finish. A blend of 51% Chardonnay and 49% Pinot Noir. 9 g/l dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $39. click to buy.

2017 Domaine Carneros “Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs” Chardonnay, Carneros, Sonoma, California
Pale gold in the glass with very fine bubbles, this wine smells of sea air, dried lemon peel, and grapefruit pith. In the mouth, a silky robust mousse delivers flavors of dried lemon peel, toasted sourdough, wet chalkboard and salty apple. Beautifully balanced, with a lovely patina of flavors, this is a regal, delicious wine. Aged for six years on the lees before disgorging. 8 g/l dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $128. click to buy.

2018 Domaine Carneros “Late Disgorged Brut” Champagne Blend, Carneros, Sonoma, California
Light gold in the glass with medium bubbles, this wine smells of dried lemon peel, dried apples, and dried berries. In the mouth, a silky, voluminous mousse delivers flavors of saltine crackers, brioche, lemon and grapefruit pith as a chalky texture coats the mouth and saline notes linger in the finish along with lemon peel and a touch of green apple. There’s also a hint of toasted sesame seeds in the finish as well. Excellent balance and acidity. A blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay, aged on the lees for 6 years before disgorging. 8 g/l dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2023 Folly of Man “Estate” Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of snuffed candle, lemon pith, and grapefruit zest. In the mouth, lemon pith and grapefruit pith flavors mix with candied lemon peel and a faint flinty quality that is very appealing. There’s a light salinity here as well, with excellent acidity and vibrancy. Very tasty. 12.8% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $85.

2022 Folly of Man “Colleen” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd and lemon peel. In the mouth, lemon curd, pink grapefruit, and lemon peel flavors have a bright zip to them thanks to excellent acidity. There’s a faint vanilla and floral top note, but this is a citrus-driven wine with nice drive and dynamism. 13.1% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $75.

2023 Folly of Man “Estate” Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of raspberries, cherries, and chopped green herbs. In the mouth, bright raspberry and cherry flavors mix with wet earth and chopped herbs, as dried herbs and flowers linger in a long finish with just a hint of sweet oak. Excellent acidity and fine powdery tannins. Very pretty. 13.5% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $100.

2023 Folly of Man “Momtazi” Pinot Noir, McMinnville, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Medium garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of black raspberry and boysenberry. In the mouth, boysenberry and grapey raspberry flavors are wrapped in mouth-coating, powdery, stony tannins and give all the impression of carbonic maceration, both from a flavor and a texture perspective. Great acidity, with a hint of orange peel in the boysenberry finish. 13.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $95.

2022 Corison Winery “Helios – Sunbasket Vineyard” Cabernet Franc, St. Helena, Napa, California
Medium to dark garnet in the glass with a faint haze, this wine smells of crushed nuts, plums, and cherries. In the mouth, juicy cherry and plum flavors are shot through with brambly cedar, chopped green herbs, and dried flowers. Faint fleecy tannins coat the mouth, and add structure as excellent acidity keeps things juicy and fresh on the palate. Notes of chopped herbs, including mint, linger in the finish with a whisper of sweet oak. 12.3% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $156. click to buy.

2022 Corison Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Napa, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry and blackcurrant. In the mouth, mouthwatering flavors of black cherry, blackcurrant, and Bing cherries are crackling with intense acidity as powdery, fine-grained tannins flex their athletic muscles in the corners of the mouth. Intense and juicy without weight or richness, this is, as usual, a tour de force of deliciousness. Beautifully integrated oak sneaks into the taste of the finish a little, but mostly lives as texture and structure in this expansive, poised wine that has a real presence on the palate. Superb. 13.5% alcohol. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Cost: $137. click to buy.