Kosta Browne 2022 Chablis Premier Cru Burgundy ($115 / $70 Wine Club Members)

 

I've been fortunate enough to try a handful of Kosta Browne's red offerings from Burgundy, which they have been making for several years. This is the first white that I've had the pleasure of trying. Yes, Kosta Browne's wines are expensive, and yes, this wine is probably 90% sold to wine club members. It's still worth a note, because it's very, very good. Suffice it to say that I am now a BIG fan of Kosta Browne and winemaker Julien Howsepian, who makes wines that truly respect the terroir of the grapes. I write primarily about California wines, so I don't get a lot of French samples these days. In 30 years of writing about wine, I seldom received samples of Burgundy at all, so a bottle of wine hailing from that esteemed region is always appreciated. What I love about this chardonnay is, not surprisingly, that it tastes purely of Chablis. That Kimmeridgian clay and limestone soil full of sea shells delivers a mineral note that you just can't really find in California. It's in the nose, it's in the finish, it's everywhere in this wine. The rest is white peach, orange zest, green apple, and thyme. It's essential, beautiful Chablis. (94 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber 

MacRostie 2022 Nightwing Vineyard Calera Clone Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap California ($68)

This is a bewitching, nervy wine with tart cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, raspberry, coriander spice and paprika notes that persist through a curiously spicy finish. It's 100% recognizable as California pinot noir, but it is also impeccably elegant and nuanced. The brightness, tension, and freshness of the wine really speaks to the Petaluma Gap origins. The Petaluma Gap refers to a gap in the Coastal Range where the daily influx and outflow from from the Pacific Coast marine layer can be particularly intense, windy, and chilly. And if you want to dig deeper into the Calera clone story, you can follow the link.  (94 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber 

 

Acumen 'Peak' 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Atlas Peak Napa Valley ($55)

 

 

As a life-long, devoted fan of sauvignon blanc, I feel like California is finally reaching it's full potential in producing wines from the variety. It has taken an evolution of appreciation of the nature of the grape variety as well as a steady maturation of the way it is treated in the winery. These days, California is producing both good value wines as well as top echelon ultra-premium versions of sauvignon blanc. This bottling from Acumen is one of the latter. It's enchantingly direct and primal, elegant and razor sharp, with grass, melon, clover, lemon and thyme aromas. Medium-bodied and mouth-filling, it sings with acidity through a very long finish. It doesn't get much better than this. This wine comes from the Attelas Vineyard planted at 1,300 ft. elevation by Jan Krupp in 1992 on volcanic gravelly loam soil. It spends 9 months in French oak barrels (presumably neutral, because it isn't overtly oaky at all. Only 117 cases produced.  

(96 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber 

Alma de Cattleya 2023 Chardonnay Sonoma County ($30)

This isn't a terribly expensive bottle of wine, but it oozes class and sophistication. It's subtle. It has a great sense of place, and it has style that you just don't find in less expensive Chardonnays. Bibiana Gonzalez Ravé is a winemaker that should be on your radar if you are a California wine fan. A native of Colombia who never had much contact with wine growing up, she managed to talk herself into some pretty impressive apprenticeships and worked at some of the world's best wineries. This new release has seamless lemon, apricot, and canteloupe flavors with nice acidity and very subtle oak notes that are barely noticeable. Highly recommended, and reliable year in, year out. (91 Points) 

- Tim Teichgraeber 

 

Acumen 'Peak' 2022 Edcora Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak, Napa Valley ($150)

The 2022 vintage in Napa Valley was a tricky one, with a heat wave in the middle of harvest. You would not know that from tasting this wine, because winemaker Phillip Titus handled those challenges with aplomb. The flavors are big and bold, definitively Napa Valley, and definitively Napa mountains, with deep cassis, black cherry and mulberry fruit, rock, smoke, graphite, madrone, and sage notes. It's the aromas that really give the wine freshness and make it stand out. There's lavender, thyme, blueberry, and more smoky tones that give the wine tremendous range. * I should note that wildfires were not a problem in Napa Valley in 2022. That smoky note that adds complexity is not obnoxious and it seems to be a pleasant, recurring note in this particular wine, so I think you can chalk that up to terroir and not natural disasters. (95 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber 

 

Cuvaison 2022 Carneros Napa Valley Pinot Noir ($39)

 Kudos to winemaker and Carneros veteran Steve Rogstad, this is an amiable wine from a tricky, but largely successful, vintage. Rogstad nails the bay-influenced profile with this silky, slinky, cherry and raspberry-fruited Pinot laced with subtle cinnamon and anise notes. As soft and velvety it is on the tongue, it doesn't lack focus at all, and it paired beautifully with pork tenderloin marinated in a Vietnamese-leaning marinade. Cuvaison has a lovely tasting room that's only a one hour drive from San Francisco - just call in advance for an appointment. Definitely recommended. (92 Points)