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 past week included some new releases from Eden Rift Vineyards down in the Cienega Valley. I’m recommending both their Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir this week, both nicely crafted examples of their form. The Chardonnay holds its oak very well, while the Pinot Noir a little less so, but both let the fruit shine and offer a lot of pleasure.

I’ve got a matching pair to those first two from Flowers Vineyards and Winery in the form of their Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay and their Seaview Pinot Noir. I slightly preferred the Pinot in this pair, but both have admirable qualities for those shopping in the three-digit price range.

The folks at Minus Tide Wines have been very diligent about sending me their newest releases, and I’ve enjoyed watching this small Mendocino-based project evolve. Their Carignan-based rosé is quite delicious and snappy, their Pinot Noir quite savory and herbal (perhaps slightly too much for my taste in this vintage), and their cool-climate Syrah from the venerable Valenti Vineyard is really excellent.

This week I got what I can only describe as a slightly confounding wine. A new release from Cliff Lede winery, their “Wild Fantasy” red, is one of the most fruit-forward red blends from Napa that I’ve had in recent memory. It tastes so ripe, plush, and fruity, I have a really hard time believing that it is naturally just 13.8% alcohol (which is what it says on the label) while packing that much flavor. Wines like Inglenook, Matthiasson, Corison, and Mayacamas clock in below 14% and they don’t have anywhere close to the fruit that is going on in this wine. So I don’t know whether this was a deliberately stopped fermentation that left a bunch of residual sugar in the wine (it is faintly sweet), or whether there was some technological intervention that reduced the alcohol, or what, but what we’ve got in this wine is essentially a low-alcohol fruit bomb. Sounds like an oxymoron, but if that’s your thing, the flavors are pretty boisterous and fun, so go for it.

Lastly, I’ve recently had the pleasure of tasting through some recent releases from Aperture Cellars in Alexander Valley. They sent through three of their single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons and their Red Blend that has recently received its own proper name, Proterra. Unfortunately, the winery persists in utilizing offensively heavy bottles for their wines, a continuing middle-finger waved at the environment, as reducing bottle weight is the single easiest thing a winery can do to lower its carbon footprint. There’s absolutely no excuse in this day and age for the glass to weigh more than the wine inside of it. The wines, as usual, are impressive, however. My favorites of the bunch were the SJ Ranch and the Proterra, both of which had a mouthwatering vibrance in addition to their rich powerful fruit. If you’re a Cabernet trophy hunter, these wines should definitely be on your radar.

Tasting Notes

2022 Eden Rift “Estate” Chardonnay, Cienega Valley, Central Coast, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith and green herbs with a hint of orange peel and struck match. In the mouth, tangy lemon peel and pink grapefruit flavors mix with orange oil and lemon pith. Zingy and bright thanks to fantastic acidity, with a nice pithy, lemon-oil high note in the finish. 13.7% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.

2023 Flowers Vineyards & Winery “Camp Meeting Ridge” Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon peel, lemon curd, and a hint of pineapple. In the mouth, bright lemon curd, lemon peel, and orange peel flavors mix with just a hint of toasted oak, which lingers in the finish along with a whiff of butterscotch. Silky and supple, with very good acidity. Grown at 1450 feet of elevation, 2.2 miles from the Pacific. 13.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $100. click to buy.

2024 Minus Tide “Feliz Creek Vineyard” Rosé of Carignan, Mendocino County, California
A pale coppery ruby in color, this wine smells of chopped herbs, forest berries, and wet chalkboard. In the mouth, crisp and saline flavors of red apple skin, sour cherry, chopped herbs, and crushed rocks have a zippy vibrancy thanks to excellent acidity. Extremely tasty. 13.3% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $27. click to buy.

2022 Eden Rift “Estate” Pinot Noir, Cienega Valley, Central Coast, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of ripe cherry and raspberry fruit. In the mouth, bright cherry and raspberry flavors have a pretty aromatic sweetness to them and a faint cottony tannic texture. Excellent acidity keeps things fresh and drives a hint of citrus peel along with dried herbs and a touch of toasted oak in the finish. 13.9% alcohol. Score: around 8.5 and 9. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2022 Minus Tide “Manchester Ridge Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge, Mendocino, California
Light to medium ruby in color, this wine smells of dried herbs and sagebrush, red berries, and road dust. In the mouth, very savory notes of berries, fresh and dried herbs, and road dust are wrapped in a powdery blanket of tannins. Very good acidity, but much more herbal than fruity. If you like your Pinots savory, this is definitely a wine for you. 13.4% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2023 Flowers Vineyards & Winery “Sea View Ridge” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Medium garnet in the glass with ruby highlights, this wine smells of cranberry and raspberry fruit with a hint of redwood bark. In the mouth, cranberry, raspberry, and cherry flavors are bright with juicy acidity, and faint, gauzy tannins hang in the background. Notes of dried herbs and the faint bitterness of redwood bark linger in the finish. Grown at 1875 feet of elevation, 1.8 miles from the Pacific. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $115. click to buy.

2023 Minus Tide “Valenti Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino Ridge, Mendocino, California
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of dried herbs, white pepper, and blueberries. In the mouth, blueberry, black cherry, white pepper, citrus peel, and dried herb flavors have a wonderful saline, umami quality to them that, combined with the excellent acidity makes this a mouthwatering package. Very faint gauzy tannins. 13% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.

2022 Cliff Lede “Wild Fantasy” Red Blend, Stags Leap District, Napa, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, with purple highlights, this wine smells of intense, candied blackberry, blueberry, and black cherry fruit. In the mouth, very ripe blueberry and boysenberry fruit mix with sweet black cherry and vanilla. Very fruity, very perfumed, and very plush, with velvety tannins. The fruit here is so ripe and sweet, it’s a bit mind boggling as to how the wine could be only 13.8% alcohol, making me wonder if some technology is at work or if the fermentation was deliberately halted with some residual sugar still remaining. Macerated for 6 weeks on the skins before pressing. Aged in 86% new French oak for 21 months. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $115.

2022 Aperture Cellars “Oliver Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky, opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blueberries and black cherries. In the mouth, rich black cherry and blueberry flavors mix with dried herbs and a touch of earth, as fleecy tannins wrap the palate and stiffen with time, getting thicker and more muscular through the finish. Rich and intense but with enough acidity to carry it off. 14.8% alcohol. Comes in a nasty, heavy bottle weighing 1.79 kg when full. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $150. click to buy.

2022 Aperture Cellars “SJ Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky, opaque garnet in color, this wine smells of Bing cherries, black cherries, and a hint of strawberries. In the mouth, juicy and bright cherry fruit has a wonderful purity to it. Lightly fleecy tannins coat the mouth, as that pure core of cherry fruit lingers with hints of dried herbs and licorice root. 14.8% alcohol. Comes in a nasty, heavy bottle weighing 1.79 kg when full. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $165. click to buy.

2022 Aperture Cellars “Del Rio Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, blackcurrant, and blueberries. In the mouth, rich black cherry and blueberry flavors are juicy with excellent acidity as lightly muscular, fine-grained tannins wrap around the core of bright fruit. Hints of baking spices and dried herbs enter the finish. Rich and dark without being too heavy. 14.9% alcohol. Comes in a nasty, heavy bottle weighing 1.79 kg when full. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $150. click to buy.

2022 Aperture Cellars “Proterra” Red Blend, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California
Inky, opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherries and black plums, Asian spices, and cocoa powder. In the mouth, intensely juicy flavors of black cherries, black plums, mocha, and blueberries mix with a hint of earth and dried herbs. Plush powdery, velvety tannins coat the mouth and stiffen only slightly as the wine finishes with a hint of licorice root. Big and brawny, but just this side of overdone. A blend of 82% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot. 14.6% alcohol. Comes in a nasty, heavy bottle weighing 1.76 kg when full. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $175.