Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep 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 arrived recently.

This past week included a couple of nice wines from Shalini Sekhar and her Ottavino brand: a really lively and electric Chardonnay from a great vineyard in the Anderson Valley, plus an intriguing red St. Laurent (after reviewing her rosé of St. Laurent last week). Both wines are quite tasty and personality-driven.

The folks at Weatherborne (winemaker Cris Carter and brand manager Anya Farquhar) started their project in Santa Barbara, but have since moved to Anderson Valley in Mendocino, where they focus on making wines from various sites in the region. For starters, they’ve got a nice Chenin Blanc from a vineyard I’ve never heard of in the region, but I’m always up for new Chenin plantings! Their Pinot Noir is also tasty, but my favorite wine from them this week was their Grenache, which had a nice combination of sweet fruit and stony, crunchy qualities.

It’s getting tougher to find decent wines under $15 here in the United States, where costs of production, land, labor, and materials make it pretty difficult to put quality juice in the bottle at that price. Less so in Europe. Case in point: the SCAIA wines from Tenuta Sant’Antonio in Italy’s Veneto region. At $15 and under (sometimes $11.99 in certain outlets), they offer pretty great quality for the price. Their white, a blend of Garganega and Chardonnay, offers a very nice flavor profile, and their rosato of Rondinella is just what you want for a porch-pounder of a pink wine this summer.

Lastly, this week I’ve got three wines from the folks up at Troon Vineyard in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. Their new Mourvedre rosé is a cracker of a pink wine, floral, bright, and wonderfully zippy. The other two wines are also takes on the same grape, one fermented and aged in amphora, with a slightly more rustic, wild feel, the other a more traditionally made wine that offers lovely floral and lifted fruit flavors for those who want a slightly less edgy interpretation of the grape.

Tasting Notes

2024 Ottavino “Ferrington Vineyard” Chardonnay, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon zest, bee pollen, and yuzu. In the mouth, wonderfully bright flavors of citron zest, pink grapefruit, and lemon juice mix with a hint of white flowers. Fantastic acidity and lovely balance. There’s a hint of vanilla and lemon peel in the finish.13% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.

2023 Weatherborne Chenin Blanc, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears and white flowers. In the mouth, pears, white flowers, and a hint of pastry cream have a faint stony quality that lingers in the finish along with a hint of dried herbs. Decent acidity.12.6% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $30.

2024 Tenuta Sant’Antonio “SCAIA” Bianco, Trevenezie, Veneto, Italy
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of sweet ripe apples, a hint of lime zest, and a touch of passionfruit. In the mouth, bright ripe apple and pear flavors have a faint sweetness and decent acidity. Silky and smooth, but missing a little bite. Notes of white flowers in the finish. A blend of 55% Garganega and 45% Chardonnay. 12.5% alcohol. SQNPI certified sustainable. Closed with a Vinolok glass stopper. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $12. click to buy.

2025 Tenuta Sant’Antonio “SCAIA” Rosato, Veneto, Italy
Pale peachy pink in color, this wine smells of orange peel, cantaloupe, and strawberries. In the mouth, silky, faintly sweet flavors of strawberry, cantaloupe, and orange pith have slightly softer acidity than I would like, though there is a faint minerality to the wine. Citrus peel and white flowers linger in the finish. 100% Rondinella. 12% alcohol. SQNPI certified sustainable. Closed with a Vinolok glass stopper. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $15. click to buy.

2024 Troon Vineyard Rosé of Mourvèdre, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon, Oregon
Light gold with a hint of peach color, almost looking like a white, this wine smells of citrus peel, white flowers, and a hint of raspberries. IN the mouth, crisp and bright orange peel, peach, unripe raspberries, and a hint of crabapple are juicy and fresh thanks to excellent acidity. Regenerative Organic Gold Certified, Demeter-certified biodynamic. 11.7% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $35.

2023 Weatherborne “Filigreen Farm” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of candied cherry, cranberry, and redwood bark. In the mouth, faintly sweet flavors of cherry, cranberry, and dried herbs have a faint cottony tannic texture and a sweetness of oak that lingers in the finish. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $60.

2024 Ottavino “Ricci Vineyard” St. Laurent, Los Carneros, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of boysenberries, dried herbs, and black cherry. In the mouth, black cherries, boysenberries, dried herbs, and a hint of dried flowers have a nice acidity and a very faint tannic texture. Very good acidity. 11.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $35. click to buy.

2022 Weatherborne Grenache, Mendocino County, California
Light ruby in the glass with garnet highlights, this wine smells of strawberry jam and herbs. In the mouth, strawberries, herbs, and crushed stone flavors are wrapped in a chalk-dust cloud of tannins that coats the mouth, as crunchy acidity lingers in the finish. There’s a slight confectionery quality to this wine, but that is balanced by freshness. 13.7% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $37.

2024 Troon Vineyard Mourvèdre, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon, Oregon
Medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of blueberries, violets, and other flowers. In the mouth, bright blueberry and floral notes are wrapped in cotton-ball textured tannins that coat the mouth and stiffen slightly, leaving a stony quality through the finish. Excellent acidity. Regenerative Organic Gold Certified, Demeter-certified biodynamic. 12% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $43. click to buy.

2024 Troon Vineyard “Amphora” Mourvèdre, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon, Oregon
Medium ruby in the glass with garnet highlights, this wine smells of blueberries, flowers, and a hint of horse sweat. In the mouth, powdery tannins coat the mouth and stiffen as flavors of blueberry, boysenberry, dried herbs, and a touch of farmyard mulch linger through a long, earthy finish. Decent acidity. Regenerative Organic Gold Certified, Demeter-certified biodynamic. 12.9% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.