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 the latest releases from Paula Kornell, who continues to carry on her family’s legacy of producing sparkling wine in California. It seems like from vintage to vintage, I prefer one or the other of her Blanc de Blancs or Blanc de Noirs. In 2020, it looks like I favor the latter.

I recently caught up with Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts at Arnot-Roberts and got a chance to taste through a few of their new releases. This week I’m featuring their stellar, racy Sauvignon Blanc from the Santa Cruz Mountains, their Chardonnay from the old vines at Sanford & Benedict vineyard in Santa Barbara, and their perpetually pleasing Rosé of Touriga Nacional, this year with some Trincadeira blended in (as an aside, the guys believe this is the only wine bottle in California with the grape Trincadeira mentioned on the label). All these wines are, as usual, exceptionally good.

I recently received some wines from winemaker Luca Leggero, who has for nearly 20 years, been working on his eponymous winery project in Villareggia in Piedmont. Luca works organically and biodynamically, making lower-intervention wines, aged primarily in amphorae and large format, old oak. This week I’m recommending his Dolcetto—which lives up to its name “little sweet one” as a bright juicy mouthful—as well as his much more serious “La Vila” Nebbiolo Canavese, which is made from the Picotener biotype of Nebbiolo, a smaller, thicker-skinned version of the grape thought to originate in the Val d’Aosta. I suspect the Nebbiolo will age beautifully. The wines aren’t widely distributed in the US, but are worth keeping an eye out for.

Sticking with northern Italy for a moment, I’ve got two more wines from Kellerei Kaltern to recommend this week: their Pinot Nero and their Quintessence, which is a really elegant bottling of Schiava. Both of these wines show their alpine heritage, but the Schiava, in particular, shines bright. The Pinot Nero is a pretty good value for under $25.

To finish up, I also received the two latest releases from Lang & Reed in Napa. Their California-designated Cabernet Franc is bright and cheery, easygoing and tasty, while their North Coast Cabernet Franc offers a next level of elegance and complexity.

That’s all for this week. Notes on all these wines below.

Tasting Notes

2020 Paula Kornell “Blanc de Blancs” Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Light gold in the glass with medium bubbles, this wine smells of lemon zest and freshly sliced apples. In the mouth, a soft mousse delivers flavors of apple, lemon peel, and hints of pomelo zest along with a faint bitterness, as notes of honey and apple skin linger in the finish. Very good acidity. Dosage 7 g/l. Disgorged November 2024. 12% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $75. click to buy.

2020 Paula Kornell “Blanc de Noirs” Champagne Blend, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Light gold in color with medium fine bubbles, this wine smells of orange peel, berries, and a hint of nut skin. In the mouth, a voluminous mousse delivers flavors of apple, berries, and a touch of dried herbs. Notes of citrus peel and a faint salinity linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. A blend of 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. 7.5 g/l dosage. Disgorged in October 2024. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2024 Arnot-Roberts “Ascona Vineyard” Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers and passionfruit. In the mouth, lean and bright passionfruit and kiwi fruit flavors mix with a touch of green apple and guava. Crisp and bright with wet pavement minerality. Juicy, stony, and mouthwatering. This biodynamically farmed vineyard sits at 2500 feet of elevation. Whole cluster pressed and then fermented with ambient yeasts in stainless tanks. Aged in neutral wood for 9 months. 13% alcohol. 200 cases made. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $45. click to buy.

2023 Arnot-Roberts “Sanford & Benedict Vineyard 1971 Block” Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California
Light greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd, white flowers, and a touch of orange peel. In the mouth, lean lemon zest and orange peel flavors mix with juicy saline pink grapefruit and crushed quartz. Crystalline and beautiful with a deep stony minerality. Own-rooted vines were planted in 1971 and are farmed organically. Whole cluster pressed and then fermented in steel with ambient yeasts. Aged in neutral oak for 10 months. 12% alcohol. 275 cases made. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2024 Arnot-Roberts Rosé, California
Light coppery pink in the glass, this wine smells of peach and watermelon. In the mouth, crisp watermelon, plum, and strawberry flavors mix with a wet chalkboard minerality as well as hints of dried flowers and herbs. Great, mouthwatering acidity. A blend of 15% Trincadeira and 85% Touriga Nacional. The grapes are foot tread, pressed with whole clusters, settled, and then fermented with ambient yeasts in stainless steel. After fermentation, the wine is cold stabilized, cross-flow filtered, and held in tank until it is bottled in January. 12% alcohol. 1970 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $25. click to buy.

2023 Luca Leggero “Retrò” Dolcetto, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of blueberries and blackberries. In the mouth, juicy blueberry and blackberry flavors are boisterous and bright, with a faint tannic texture and excellent acidity. Not especially complex, but juicy and fun, with a nice unadorned purity of fruit. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $??

2022 Luca Leggero “La Vila” Nebbiolo, Canavese, Torino, Piedmont, Italy
Light to medium blood red in the glass, this wine smells of strawberries and flowers with a hint of earth. In the mouth, juicy and bright flavors of strawberries, orange peel, and a hint of green herbs are mouthwatering thanks to excellent acidity. Fresh, juicy, and delicious, with lightly grippy tannins. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $??

2023 Kaltern “Quintessenz” Kalterersee Classico Superiore, Alto-Adige, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
Light ruby in color, this wine smells of strawberries, dried herbs, and a hint of root beer. In the mouth, bright berry and herbal notes mix with dried flowers and a nice citrus peel brightness as excellent acidity keeps things very juicy on the palate. Faint, gauzy tannins add texture over a crackling stony mineral character. Delicious. 100% Schiava. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $35. click to buy.

2024 Kaltern Pinot Nero, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of candied cherries and raspberry pastilles. In the mouth, bright raspberry flavors have a slightly candied aspect, as dried herbs emerge on the palate. Fine, barely perceptible tannins caress the edges of the mouth. Very good acidity. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $24. click to buy.

2023 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, California
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of roasted nuts, plums, and cherries. In the mouth, fine grained tannins coat the mouth as bright plum, plum skin, and orange peel flavors mix with crushed nuts and a hint of mocha. The tannins tighten slightly with time, and excellent acidity keeps things juicy. 14% alcohol. 1330 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2023 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, North Coast, California
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black plum, cherries, and green herbs. In the mouth, plum and plum skin flavors are bright with citrus peel notes backed by excellent acidity. Fine, muscular tannins coat the mouth as dried herbs and hints of nut skin linger in the finish. Very tasty. 14.5% alcohol. 178 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.