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 new releases from a project in Napa I’ve been following since its inception. Dôi Dá is a new estate founded by Cuong Pham and his family, the folks behind the popular Red Boat Fish Sauce. They’ve enlisted Nova Cadamatre MW as their winemaker, and I was particularly impressed with their first release of Cabernet (made from purchased fruit while the newly planted estate vineyard comes online) a couple of years ago. They’ve now come out with their first Sauvignon Blanc, as well as a Cabernet from a different site in Yountville. I got to taste both this week. They’re good, but don’t reach the heights of their first bottling. In particular, I want more acid in my Sauvignon Blancs.

Next up, I’ve got a few new releases from Big Table Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a perennial favorite producer for me. Clare Carver and her husband Brian Darcy have an organic, biodynamic, and regenerative approach to their winegrowing, working on a closed-loop ecosystem farmstead with sheep, cows, chickens, goats, bees, and more. This week I tasted their Wild Bee Chardonnay, their ever-popular rosé, and their “basic” Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. All three are worth seeking out.

This week brought some sad news for those of us who pay attention to exceptional vineyard sites in California. Owner Stuart Bewley announced that 2026 will be the last vintage he will farm his Alder Springs Vineyard in remote Mendocino County. The vineyard has long been a fruit source for dozens of producers making hundreds of wines, and its loss is a real blow to many of California’s finest boutique producers. I’ve got tasting notes on a few Alder Springs Syrahs this week. The first is from Six Cloves Wines, a project helmed by Japanese-born winemaker Sonoe Hirabayashi. The second is a mini vertical from Quigley Family Wines, whose 2021 I liked best of the three I tasted. And finally I’ve got a library selection from Arnot-Roberts – their 2007 bottling of Syrah, which is well into its tertiary aromas and wonderfully pretty for it.

As an aside, I hope someone comes along and works out a deal with Stu to keep farming this remarkable vineyard site, which has added so much to the California wine scene over the last three decades.

Notes on all these wines below!

Tasting Notes

2025 Dôi Dá Sauvignon Blanc, Carneros, Napa, California
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers, crushed nuts, and apples. In the mouth, apples and lemon pith flavors are silky and nutty with the taste of oak. Filigreed acidity is softer than I would like, making this wine creamier than crisp. I’d like more zip and less oak influence. Barrel fermented and then aged in neutral French oak for 6 months. 13.5% alcohol. 79 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $35.

2024 Big Table Farm “The Wild Bee” Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon peel, chamomile, and white flowers. In the mouth, lemon pith and lemon peel flavors mix with a hint of chamomile and pollen as a faint chalky note emerges towards the finish. Excellent acidity. 13.3% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $34. click to buy.

2024 Big Table Farm “Laughing Pig” Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale ruby in color with a hint of orange, this wine smells of orange peel, raspberries, and a hint of herbs. In the mouth, raspberry and redcurrant flavors mix with sour cherry and a touch of sweet oak as dried herbs and citrus peel linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. 14.2% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $35. click to buy.

2024 Big Table Farm Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light garnet in color, this wine smells of tangy raspberry, wet earth, chopped herbs, and a hint of something gamey. In the mouth, faintly fleecy tannins wrap around a core of raspberries, sour cherries, dried herbs, and a sweet oak. Excellent acidity and a very lithe character complete the picture. 13.3% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50. click to buy.

2024 Six Cloves “Alder Springs Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Mendocino County, California
Light to medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of dusty raspberries, dried herbs, and chopped fresh herbs. In the mouth, chopped green herbs and road dust are wrapped in thick fleecy tannins that tighten on the palate and dry slightly with time. There’s a nice umami character here, but overall, the wine has more herbs than fruit. Very good acidity. 13.2% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $62. click to buy.

2019 Quigley Family Wines “Alder Springs Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino County, California
Very dark ruby in the glass with garnet highlights, this wine smells of cocoa powder, baking spices, prunes, and dried cherries. In the mouth, dried black cherry and dried herbs mix with dusty tannins and even the flavors of road dust. There’s a faint green herbal bitterness in the finish. The tannins are only barely perceptible at this point. Good acidity. A bit evolved for only being 7 years old. 13.1% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $45.

2021 Quigley Family Wines “Alder Springs Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino County, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of meaty black cherry, herbs, and a hint of mocha. In the mouth, black tea, earth, black cherry, and herbs have a faintly saline quality and a dusty, powdery tannic texture as the tannins fill every nook and cranny of the mouth, slightly drying it in the process. Very good acidity. A light herbal bitterness lingers in the finish. 13.1% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $45. click to buy.

2022 Quigley Family Wines “Alder Springs Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino County, California
Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of conifer, earth, dark berries, and a hint of roasted meat. In the mouth, a bit of soy, earth, and something meaty mix with dried herbs and dried red and black fruits. Powdery tannins coat the mouth. Decent acidity. 13.1% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $45.

2007 Arnot-Roberts “Alder Springs Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino County, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of flowers, roasted meats, dried herbs, and berries. In the mouth, fleecy tannins have a rippled, muscular character. Smoked meat, dried blackberries and dried blueberries, chopped green herbs, and reduced balsamic mingle with a nicely saline quality in the finish. 13.7% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $n/a

2024 Dôi Dá Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville, Napa, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherries, black tea, and licorice. In the mouth, black cherries, licorice, carob, and sweet oak flavors are wrapped in thick, fleecy tannins that coat the mouth and persist for a long while. Very good acidity keeps things dynamic on the palate. Contains 3% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in 67% once-used French oak and 33% neutral French oak. 14% alcohol. 213 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $50.