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 the new incarnation of one of California’s most ambitious vineyard projects. Formerly called Aeris, this project from the folks at Rhys Vineyards has now reverted to the name of the site: Centennial Mountain Vineyard. Planted in the volcanic soils high above Lake Sonoma, this site holds California’s first plantings of Carricante, as well as Nerello Mascalese and Nebbiolo. I tasted all three this week, and my favorite was the Carricante.

I’m also tasting through the remainder of a bunch of Ridge Vineyards wines that were sent my way recently, including their 2023 Chardonnay, which nicely walked the line between rich and nervy. More on their reds in a moment.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know Darling Wines in recent years, and they have a couple of new releases worth paying attention to. The first is a light skin-contact Pinot Gris that gives all the berry and stone fruit you’d want from the grape, backed by some seriously great acidity. Likewise, their Deodora Vineyard Pinot Noir is also zingy and bright, with a nice balance of savory and fruit character.

Circling back to Ridge, their Paso Robles Zinfandel is full of juicy, bright fruit, as is the latest incarnation of their Geyserville field blend, which has an elegance and complexity that I always love. The 2023 vintage is a real winner from this site and will age beautifully for several decades. Ridge also sent along their 2022 Monte Bello, which, predictably, offers a profound and richly rewarding expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that will improve for many years to come.

This week I can also recommend the rather muscular mountainside Merlot from La Jota Vineyard Co. up on Howell Mountain in Napa, though not without chiding the (supposedly eco-conscious) owners for their continued use of overly heavy bottles that are horrible for the environment. Please get with the times.

Lastly, I received two lovely Cabernet bottlings from Laurel Glen Vineyard in Sonoma County this past week: their Counterpoint bottling, which is released a bit earlier, and their estate Cabernet Sauvignon, which sees extended aging in the bottle before release. Both are excellent, but the 2021 Counterpoint makes me pretty excited to see what the 2021 Estate Cabernet tastes like in a couple of years.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2021 Centennial Mountain Carricante, Sonoma County, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith, white flowers, and sea air. In the mouth, wonderfully zingy and salty flavors of candied lemon peel, white flowers, and grapefruit have an electric crackle thanks to fantastic acidity. Tangy, mouthwatering, and oh-so tasty. 12% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $49. click to buy.

2023 Ridge Vineyards “Estate” Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd, lemon peel, and a hint of pineapple. In the mouth, lemon and pineapple flavors have a hint of pine sap to them and a touch of butterscotch. Silky textured with very good acidity. There’s a hint of bitterness in the finish. Rich, but not too heavy. 14.1% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $75. click to buy.

2024 Darling Wines “La Cruz Vineyard” Pinot Gris, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, California
Pale peachy pink in color, this wine smells of unripe apricot and citrus peel. In the mouth, peach and orange peel flavors mix with a floral top note and a nice hint of wet pavement underneath. Tasty, with excellent acidity and just a hint of texture from the skin contact. 30% of the wine was macerated for 5 days with punchdowns, while the rest was direct-pressed to a combination of neutral oak and steel to ferment with ambient yeasts. Aged 6 months in neutral oak. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12% alcohol. 150 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2023 Darling Wines “Deodora Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass with a faint haze, this wine smells of chopped green herbs, cola, and berries. In the mouth, raspberries and that unusual hint of cola mix with dried and fresh herbs as light tannins coat the mouth. Excellent acidity. An intriguing wine made from grapes grown 12 miles from the coast at 480 feet of elevation. 100% whole-cluster fermentation with ambient yeasts, then aged 10 months in neutral oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12.6% alcohol. 100 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $72.

2021 Centennial Mountain Nerello Mascalese, Sonoma County, California
Medium hazy ruby in the glass, this wine smells of cherries, berries, and a hint of dried herbs. In the mouth, powdery tannins coat the mouth as flavors of strawberry and cherry mix with dried herbs and road dust on the palate. Hints of candied citrus linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $59. click to buy.

2021 Centennial Mountain Nebbiolo, Sonoma County, California
Medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of strawberry jam, chopped herbs, and earth. In the mouth, powdery tannins coat the mouth and stiffen as bright strawberry and dried herb notes linger with a hint of licorice root, citrus peel, and root beer in the finish. Excellent acidity, with a nice stony, earthy underbelly. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $79. click to buy.

2023 Ridge Vineyards “Paso Robles – Benito Dusi Ranch” Zinfandel, Paso Robles, Central Coast, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackberries and black licorice. In the mouth, blackberry pie flavors (though without overt sweetness) are boisterous and bright with excellent acidity. Hints of coconut, sweet oak, and a touch of brown sugar linger in the finish. Juicy and very tasty. 14.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $38. click to buy.

2022 Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Very dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of black cherry, plum, dried minty herbs, and a touch of whisky barrel. In the mouth, gorgeously supple, fine-grained tannins coat the mouth and drape a core of black cherry, plum, plum skin, blueberries, and licorice root. Fantastic acidity keeps the wine bright and lithe across the palate, with no heaviness to accompany its intense fruit. Lovely and poised, with the oak very well integrated even at this young stage, this wine will get better and better for the next 15 years. Outstanding. Contains 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. 13.8% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $388. click to buy.

2023 Ridge Vineyards “Geyserville” Red Blend, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of blackberries, blueberries, licorice, and cola. In the mouth, juicy blackberry and blueberry flavors are shot through with dried herbs, licorice root, and dried flowers. Fantastic acidity makes the mouth water, and a hint of sweet coconut reveals the presence of American oak. Faint, almost fluffy tannins coat the mouth but don’t exert much pressure on the palate. A very young wine yet, but one that will continue to blossom for the next 20 years. Outstanding. A field blend of 70% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 9% Petite Sirah, and 3% Alicante Bouschet. 14.6% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2021 La Jota Vineyard Co Merlot, Howell Mountain, Napa, California
Inky opaque garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of sweet oak and dark plums. In the mouth, black plum, brown sugar, sweet oak, and cola notes have very good acidity. Fleecy tannins coat the mouth and stiffen slightly with time. Sweet oak notes linger in the finish. Grown between 1700 and 1820 feet of elevation. 15.1% alcohol. Comes in a nasty, heavy bottle weighing 1.64 kg when full. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $107. click to buy.

2019 Laurel Glen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of carob, black cherry, green herbs, and licorice root. In the mouth, cherry and black cherry flavors mix with a hint of tobacco and lovely dried and fresh herb flavors. There’s also a faintly saline, meaty quality to this wine that is quite attractive. Faint, powdery tannins coat the nooks and crannies of the mouth, but stay quite supple as the wine finishes with a hint of minty dried herbs and licorice root. Excellent acidity, along with that faint minty note gives this wine exceptional freshness. Delicious. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $123. click to buy.

2021 Laurel Glen Vineyard “Counterpoint” Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherry and tobacco with hints of earth. In the mouth, juicy flavors of cherry and a hint of plum skin have a lovely black cherry note and hints of chopped herbs as extremely fine-grained, even powdery tannins coat the mouth. Fantastic acidity, and a really lovely balance, with the oak so well integrated there’s really no overt trace of it. Delicious. 14.3% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $62. click to buy.