Named after the black volcanic glass in the bedrock beneath the vines, our estate vineyard is one of the most unique in California. Here, the vines grow on a steep perch above the Franz Valley floor in the Knights Valley. While Obsidian is one of our warmest sites, it is also our most free draining soil, which leads to extremely low vigor, tiny berries and a flavor concentration that is nothing short of ethereal.
Learn about the latest release of Donelan Wines Obsidian Vineyard Syrah.
Syrah
30+ years
Volcanic
800 ft
For us, identifying a top-notch vineyard is like hearing a great song for the first time. It’s immediately identifiable. It has no blue-print for duplication. It won’t let go of you.
In a word, it is genuine.
From these extraordinary vineyards, we produce compelling wines year after year, doing our best to read their cues and allow their terroir to shine. The map below illustrates the depth of our obsession. From the cool-climate, redwood fringed Perli Vineyard in the Mendocino County AVA to a collection of wild sites we love in the Bennett Valley AVA, our journeys across Northern California have been exhaustive — but they have been so worth it.
Growing 1,700 feet above sea level in old redwood forest is Perli Vineyard, home to our 2.2-acre parcel of Tripp’s Block Pinot Noir in the Mendocino Ridge Appellation. Perli is among Mother Nature’s finest and wildest. It’s a rocky mosaic of steep slopes atop the coastal fog line, where cell service is rare and bears are aplenty. We’ve been working with owner and farmer Steve Alden for over a decade now up at Perli. The extreme growing conditions produce small harvests and tiny grape clusters, but monumental flavor.
One of our favorite sites is Devoto Vineyard, where a portion of Two Brothers Pinot Noir and Genevieve’s Block Chardonnay walk the line between the Green Valley appellation (of Russian River Valley) and Sonoma Coast appellation. Green-thumbed Stan Devoto has been farming apples, flowers, and grapes on the property for years. Genevieve’s Block is on a west-facing hillside above Sebastopol, where cool waves of fog hug the grapes and allow for extremely slow ripening each vintage. The Goldridge soil in this area is known for fantastic draining abilities and produces Pinot Noir with great verve.
Henry David Vineyard gave us butterflies when we were first introduced to it. Picture rolling, gravel hills planted to heritage clones of Pinot Noir, dotted with roses and mulberry trees, and filled with wildlife. It’s a stunning home for our Cushing’s Block single-vineyard Pinot Noir. Bennett Valley has become a key AVA for us. Cool mornings and moderate temperatures allow for extended hang-time without producing over-ripeness. The tiny, toy-like Pinot clusters burst with seductive flavors of ripe blackberry, black currant, and fig.
Another property from our Bennett Valley portfolio, Judge Vineyard stands out with how meticulously it’s cared for by proprietors Joe and Gail Judge living on the property. Judge Vineyard is tucked in the most northwestern part of the AVA, making it one of our coolest Syrah sites. We pull fruit from three distinct blocks, each planted to a unique clone of Syrah. This melange of Clone 877, Clone 174, and Estrella River Selection allows for vineyard built-in complexity. The chilly climate, lingering fog, and gravelly loam allow for ample hang time increasing fruit concentration and providing the tannin that gives Judge Syrah it’s signature velvety mouthfeel.
What the Richards Vineyard has taught us is that, sometimes, the best thing we can do as winemakers is to step aside and let terroir do the heavy-lifting. Richards Family Vineyard is nestled in the Schultz Valley near Annadel State Park in Sonoma Valley. The rocky soils once provided footing for a lavender farm. Most of the lavender was replaced with Syrah, but several rows remain, leading us to believe they leave their own mark in each vintage. This site has given us extraordinary, award-winning Syrahs year after year.
In the heart of the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, this vineyard grows Syrah and Viognier that create gorgeous and savory offerings.
Tasting Notes
Blackberry, cracked pepper, fresh violets, and a touch of apricot. Notes of pancetta, savory herbs, mocha, and new leather unfold.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Unctuous, heady, and plush tannin. Hold this wine for another 1-2 years. Drink by 2036.
Tasting Notes
Crushed black cherry, olive, and sage aromas. It continues to open with lavender, smoked meat, and savory herbs that coat the palate.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
January 2024 – Full-bodied, with layered richness and ripe broad shoulders. Decant for 1 hour if drinking now, or hold for 1-3 years. Drink by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Freshly roasted coffee and pink peppercorn on the nose, with hints of jasmine and plumeria. Whole cluster spice and white pepper meet on the palate with savory black olive, cast iron, and smoked oolong tea.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
January 2024 – High-toned and polished with judicious acidity and wonderful balance. Save for a couple of years or drink by 2033.
Tasting Notes
Red and black fruits, blood orange, tobacco, ground pepper, forest floor, and subtle bacon fat.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
January 2024 – Meaty, gamey, suave, and polished. Drink now or save for a couple of years. Drink by 2032.
Tasting Notes
Plum and currant on the nose with layers of apricot, black raspberry, white pepper, and salami. Vibrant, opulent, and sexy.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
January 2024 – Great finesse, texture, and natural acidity. Drink now or cellar for a few years. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
Black cherry, iron filings, olive brine, meat, smoke, tar, savory, copper penny, with a floral uplift.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
January 2024 – Brooding, fine-grained, and fresh on the palate. Drink now or save for another 1-2 years. Drink by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Cigar ash, savory spice, lardon, olive brine, iron filings, and dried herb. Sour cherry and chocolate on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Great aromatics. Bright, fresh, and lively. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
A big heady bouquet of fresh earth, black olives, tar, asphalt, black cherry, creosote, and fresh cracked ground pepper. Bittersweet chocolate in the mouth.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Complex and very elegant. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Super dark blueberries, petrichor, minerality, and high-toned white flower on the nose. Chalky tannin and roasted meat on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Deep, dark, and supple. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
A bouquet of mesquite, muddled raspberries, and dusty dry straw with red cherry and gamey Rhône flavors like whisky pepper steak on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Lithe, graceful, super-heady, with moderate tannin. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Blood sausage, iron, dried herbs, rhubarb, and beetroot aromas. Flavors of cedar, red berry, and bacon fat with super fine-grained tannin.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Fresh, dense, and classy. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Black truffle, beef teriyaki, poisson sauce, savory herbs, and violets on the nose. On the palate, sour cherry, black olive, and quince paste.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Juicy with super savory aromatics. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Lovely and striking red fruit. Noble reduction gives us an essence of struck matchstick and flintiness. This wine is very aromatically complex with a sweet and savory interplay.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Fine-grained tannin on the palate with a 45+ second finish. What a serious, complex wine. Drink now with a 1 hour decant or save for a few years. Enjoy by 2032.
Tasting Notes
Red currant, brown sugar, and cardamom are the first notes to greet you. Petrichor, rooibos tea, rhubarb, hibiscus tea, and cherry cordial appear on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Great tension and minerality in the mouth with a very long finish. Drink now with a brief decant or enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Sweet herbs and bright red fruit. A kick of white pepper is followed by very supple tannin with brambly and floral fruit.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – This vintage is expressive and pretty on the nose, and round and rich on the palate. Drink now with a brief decant or enjoy by 2029.
Tasting Notes
There is so much beautiful, juicy fruit here. Hi-C punch and white jasmine blossoms fill the glass. It’s lovely and lively with a nice interplay between freshness, fruit saturation, and brooding depth.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – This vintage is lifted and delicate but also powerful. Hold for another year, or decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now. Enjoy by 2040.
Tasting Notes
Palo-santo, sage leaf, and red currant peek out of the glass. Juicy red fruit and currants join on the palate with crunchy tannin and a very long finish.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This wine has a lovely interplay between fruit, tannin, and acid. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
On the nose and palate: saltpeter, candied red apple skins, sous bois, forest floor, iodine, and caramelized brown sugar.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – A brooding wine that’s slow to open up, but once it does, unique flavors come rolling out. Give it generous swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
A bouquet of brambly red fruit, Red Vine licorice, and sage herbs de Provence. Energy, verve, and tension are all present on the palate with mouth-coating tannin from start to finish.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Great freshness. Give it generous swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2034.
Tasting Notes
Damp forest floor and black fruit make for a brooding first impression. Much more of a plum-heavy flavor profile with a bit of foie gras.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Juicy, very fat, and rich on the palate with velvety tannin structure. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
Cherry ludens, orange zest, and red plum sauce. Strawberries and crème on the palate. Tannin and acid are in harmony.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Shy to open up but slowly unfolds. Very fresh and lively in the mouth. Give it generous swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2032.
Tasting Notes
Big red juicy Bing Cherry, orange peel, and cinnamon sticks. The tannin is finer-grained and a bit more resolved. A layer of dark sautéed plum appears on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This vintage displays darker-toned fruit than the 08 and 09. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
High-toned red fruits, sweet herbs, bay leaf, and cherry ludens waft from the glass. Full, palate-coating structure and tannin with a very long finish.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This is a wine that demands food. It would be killer with bouillabaisse or coq au vin. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
A bouquet of cherry paste, leather, and dusty library books. There is a great balance of acid and tannin, and firm structure. There are savory elements of au jus and iodine on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This wine gets fresher and more youthful with some air. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Loamy notes, lavender, kirsch, and pipe tobacco. On the palate, fresh waves of cacao, black olive, sweet browned butter, coriander, red and black fruit.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Elegant with great acidity and mouth-coating tannin. Hold for another year. Enjoy by 2040.
Tasting Notes
Big flavors of Hi-C fruit punch, green coffee, sage, mocha, cedarwood, and cinnamon. Velvety tannin and a rich dark profile. Fine-grained but palate-coating tannin with blood orange and a red, blue, and purple fruit medley.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – This wine is super layered, textured, dark, and brooding. It’s still a baby so hold it for 2 more years. Drink by 2040.
Tasting Notes
Sage, rosemary, and red currant lure you into this elegantly styled wine. Aromas of cigar wrapper, baker’s chocolate, and beef fond.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – Multi-dimensional and savory, but very young in its long life. Hold for 1-2 more years. Drink by 2038.
Tasting Notes
Complex, sexy, and savory. Black and blue fruit with reduction, petrichor, coffee box, and black olive. Fresh pine needles and big tannin on the palate.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – This is a great wine. Perfect balance and impressive length. It has a long life ahead of it. Hold for another 1-2 years. Drink by 2040.
Tasting Notes
Red-fruited with sweet herbs and dark baker’s chocolate. It has big mouth-coating tannin but the tannin is fine-grained. Notes of sausage and iron unravel with a bit of time.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – This is a shy but sexy wine that needs a lot of air. Decant for 1-3 hours if drinking now, or save and enjoy by 2036.
Tasting Notes
Herbal tea and brambly blackberry fruit dominate the nose. Elegant in the mouth, with an essence of struck matchstick, and creaminess on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Full-bodied with terrific depth. Give it a good long decant if drinking now. Try to save a bottle for a few years. Drink by 2037.
Tasting Notes
A high-toned wine with sweet underbrush, sage, and rosemary. There are very rich elements of red and black fruits and fresh ripe raspberries.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Very rich without being overwhelming. Drink this now with a 1 hour decant, or hold a few years. Enjoy by 2034.
Tasting Notes
Smoked meat, gravel, olive, and blue fruit on the nose. This is a full-bodied wine with great savoriness, minerality, and sweet tannin on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Very expressive and powerful on the nose. Decant for an hour if drinking now. Drink by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Green coffee beans and cigar box on the nose. Layered and complex in the mouth. Bergamot oil and herbal tea notes, with big tannin saturation on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – A more elegant and restrained vintage. Drink this now with a 30-45 minute decant. Enjoy through 2034.
Tasting Notes
Black and blue fruit, creosote, petrichor, and sagebrush compose the first wave of flavor. Iron, peat moss, and blueberry jam join in. It’s dense and palate coating, with a layer of chocolate-covered coffee candies.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This wine is very complex. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Bold savory notes of olive brine and railroad tie with plum and dark chocolate. It has bright lively acidity on the palate with a linear mouthfeel.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This wine is a bit shy and delicate but still exhibits a beautiful personality. Give it a good swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Effusive sage, underbrush, rosemary, and the aroma of leg of lamb being cooked over a fire. A big sandalwood top note. Good freshness, angular in the mouth, less body than previous vintages.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This vintage is very elegantly styled and pretty. Great acid, tannin, and fruit interplay. Drink this now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
A bouquet of mesquite tree bark, olive tapenade, sagebrush, and candied cherry. As it opens up, it evolves into layers of fresh basil leaf, balsam, spice, soy sauce, and blackberry jam.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Still quite powerful and rich after all these years. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Wild savoriness and exotic. Aromas of creosote, tar, and crude oil jump from the glass. The palate is saturated with green olive, bacon fat, and cherry.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This is a great, intense wine with a 40+ second finish. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Porty dark fruit and sweet plum on the nose. Very rich black and blue fruit on the palate. It’s brooding and dark with an essence of orange zest.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This wine presents fresher on the palate. Beautiful and rich. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
A dark nose of mulberry, menthol, bitter chocolate, sous bois, and wet fern leaves. A structured palate that’s lifted by notes of dried Bing cherries, blood orange, and fresh-cut white flowers. Rich tannin and full-bodied.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – Tight! It’s still super young and needs more time. Hold this bottle for another 2 years. Drink by 2037.
Tasting Notes
Coffee and juicy savory red currant greet you first. A secondary layer of fresh new leather, tobacco, and mocha spice slowly emerges.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – Quiet and shy at first but opens up nicely. Very big tannin. Hold this bottle for another 1-2 years. Drink by 2036.
Tasting Notes
High-toned pretty pine needles. Smells like the floor of a Douglas Fir forest. Big structure on the palate with red candied apple, blue and black fruit, and bitter-sweet chocolate.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Presents very young and fresh. Full-bodied and ripe. What a wine! Decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now, or hold a few years. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
This wine first opens with cedar, pine, iodine, and red fruit. Continued waves of lavender, spiced plum, parmigiano reggiano rind, mocha, and herbs.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – Juicy tannin and nice structure on the palate. Mouth coating. Decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now, or hold a few years. Drink by 2033.
Tasting Notes
Carbonic with high-toned fruit. Big fennel notes and dry extract. More red-fruited with notes of creosote, smoked game, and spring flowers.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – This is a very pretty wine but needs air to evolve. Decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now, or hold a few years. Drink by 2033.
Tasting Notes
Coffee box, licorice, and juicy fruit on the nose. Resolved tannin on the palate with notes of fresh-cut herbs, white pepper, and tapenade jumping into the mix.
Recommendation: Drink or Hold
March 2024 – What a baby! This is a pretty wine but still very tight. It needs air to loosen up. Decant for 1 hour if drinking now, or hold a few years. Drink by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Green coffee beans with a showy oak component and black cracked pepper. This wine is much more earthy and less fruit-forward. Mocha and coffee ice cream on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Burly, dark, and juicy but still has soft and supple tannin. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
Herbal and savory. A rich bouquet of creosote and crude oil, boysenberry, olive, and Santa Rosa plums. The tannin pushes to the back of the mouth.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – A supple wine with great balance. Decant or let breathe in the glass for 30 minutes. Drink now through 2034.
Tasting Notes
This is a rich wine with a dark fruit profile and big, round tannin. Sappy black and blue fruit on the nose with aromas of plum sauce and soy sauce. Savory gamey notes on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Bold and full-bodied. Give it a 30 to 45-minute decant or generous swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
White flower blossoms, violets, and lavender create a pretty floral aroma from this vintage. Orange peel and cardamom add to the nose with fresh red fruit on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Beautiful purity with a silky finish. Drink now through 2032.
Tasting Notes
Leather, roasted coffee bean, some fruit peaking through with a more red cherry profile. Soft and supple tannin.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – With air, the wine fleshes out and gains freshness and weight. Give it a 30-minute decant or generous swirling in the glass. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
So effusive, expressive, and high-toned. White flower and Hi-C punch. Pine needle forest floor and Black Forest cake.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – What a nose. The aromas jump out of the glass. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Lifted, pretty, and expressive crushed flowers and sweet blackberry aromas. A beautiful “yin” to the 2008’s “yang”.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Big tannin, dry extract, very structured. It needs to be enjoyed with a meal. What a wine! Drink this now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Smoked meat, old leather, and dusty library books lead to dark cherry paste, violets, Asian plum sauce, and Christmas spices.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – The tannins are nicely resolved with a great and full mid-palate. Lovely complex tertiary aromas. Drink this now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Cherries jubilee, sweet macerated cherries, raspberry candy, cardamom spice, spice box. Black cherry paste and big youthful tannin on the palate.
Recommendation: Hold
June 2024 – Mouth-watering acidity, perky, perfumed, with a refreshing finish. Hold until 2025, then drink with a 30-60 minute decant. Enjoy by 2036.
Tasting Notes
Ponzu paste and plum sauce, graphite. Silky tannin in the mouth, juicy and great acidity, red fruit, orange peel, amaro. Sweet tea, mulberries, fresh cut straw.
Recommendation: Hold
June 2024 – This wine is in such a great spot. Hold it for another year then drink through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Savory elements of green conifer needles, peat moss, potter’s clay, rhubarb, and black juicy cherry.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – A young wine. Sexy finish, very fresh in the mouth. Drink now with generous swirling in the glass. Enjoy through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Whole cluster spice, good balance, round silky tannin, juicy fruit, Red Hots candy spice, brambly raspberry, and red plum.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – This vintage is a shift to a darker fruit profile. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
Dusty saddle leather, white chocolate, black cherry compote. Grippy tannin and edgy acidity.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Shy with more personality on the palate than the nose. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Reduction, parmesan cheese rind, orange peel, cherry paste. Juicy vibrant tannin, bright acidity, delicate red flower, aromatically high-toned.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Ethereal. A bit tight and might benefit from a short 30-minute decant. Drink now through 2031.
Tasting Notes
Red candy apple skin, tree duff, conifer forest, fresh nose. Bing cherry, cherry paste, resolved tannin, coffee grounds, reduction, cherry pit.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Youthful and vibrant beyond its years. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Classically styled bouquet of peppery herbs, black cherry, forest floor, and earth. Dried cherry, tobacco, and anise.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Lifted, pure, and perfectly balanced. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Cherry, raspberry, cardamom, and orange peel leap out of the glass. The big fruit personalities are backed up by a briary-dusty note that adds to the complexity.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – A bit demur at first but opens beautifully. Drink now with generous swirling in the glass. Drink through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Raspberry, rose petal, cinnamon, spiced meat, nutmeg, and cedar.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Delicate and pure. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Cardamom, orange peel, crushed raspberries, lovely lifted fruit, tree bark, rooibos tea. Juicy red fruit with baking spices.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – This wine is so perky in the mouth. A stellar job. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Cracked pepper, rhubarb, beetroot, warm baking spice, cranberry and raspberry fruit, and oolong tea.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Round acidity is complemented by palate-coating fine-grained tannin. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Rhubarb, tree bark, damp clay, sou bois, marshmallow root. Great perky acidity, mushroom, orange marmalade, dusty tannin, potter’s clay, leather-bound books.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – A deliciously mature nose with bright acidity and round tannin. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Blackberries, raspberries, iron, smoked meat, flowers, pepper, espresso, and crushed stone.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
April 2024 – 2017 was Obsidian’s smallest crop ever. Beautifully potent and expressive. Drink now with a 30-60 minute decant or cellar it for years to come. Enjoy by 2040.
Tasting Notes
A spectrum of blackberry and raspberry is lifted by a savory bouquet of cured meats, bacon fat, cracked pepper, sweet wood smoke, and petrichor.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
April 2024 – Polished with ripe tannin and a huge finish. Enjoy now with a 30-minute decant. Drink by 2036.
Tasting Notes
Big tannin and intense notes of charred embers, tar, grilled herbs, blackberry preserves, and Black Forest cake.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
April 2024 – Powerful but very well-integrated. Drink now with lots of air in the glass. Enjoy by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Classically styled and elegant. A more feminine perfume of bouquet garni, kirsch, chocolate-covered currant, and pepper.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
April 2024 – Still presents young and will continue to age effortlessly. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
This is a lavish vintage with a huge, singular perfume of blueberries, bacon fat, charcoal, pepper, and woodsmoke.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
April 2024 – Extraordinarily rich and round wine with perfectly ripe tannins. Drink now through 2033.
Tasting Notes
Sweet fruit galore on the nose with green olive and tropical dragon fruit. Sweet teriyaki, beef jerky, and creosote arrive as this wine opens up.
Recommendation: Drink
April 2024 – Great acid-tannin balance. This is for people who respect old-world finesse. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Red raspberry liqueur, sweet tar, parmesan cheese rind, and green olives. Fruitier in the mouth with great roundness and richness.
Recommendation: Drink
April 2024 – Phenomenal. Very serious wine for an ‘11. Bravo! Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Chambord and red velvet cake on the nose. Great saturation of fine-grained tannin with notes of sweet herbal underbrush.
Recommendation: Drink
April 2024 – What a nose on this wine! The palate plays much younger and fresher than its age. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Sweet fruit, cool intense minty chocolate, and a plum spice element on the nose. Pudding skins, chocolate, and caramel.
Recommendation: Drink
April 2024 – When it was released, Robert Parker said “This remarkable Syrah should be a modern-day legend in California.” Superb acid and tannin balance in the mouth. This wine is in no way tired but riding on its plateau. Indulge in this wine soon.
Tasting Notes
Big and opulent. Melted licorice, graphite, blackberry, black currant, earthiness, and barbecue smoke.
Recommendation: Drink
April 2024 – A legendary wine in the Donelan portfolio, described by Robert Parker as “a candidate for perfection.” If you’ve managed to hang on to a bottle, drink it now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Licorice, game, menthol, cardamom, red cherries, black truffle nuances, mocha, and sous bois.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Fresh and firm with a wonderful, energetic perfume. Hold another year if you can stand it. Drink by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Cherry cola, spice, dried herbs, fresh leather, damp earth, and cedar.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Juicy and aromatic. Hold this wine for another year or two, then drink by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Raspberry preserve, damp forest floor, fresh leather, spice, and lavender on the nose. Earthy mushroom, red plum, and sage on a very ripe palate.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Super succulent. Drink now with generous swirling in the glass. Enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Mineral, graphite, game, tobacco, cherry, and medicinal herbs.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – This is a much more savory and structured rendition of Tripp’s Block. Very nice. Drink now through 2032.
Tasting Notes
Ripe and supple tannin beneath layers of wild strawberry, sassafras, exotic flower, and foresty aromas.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Fresh with great length. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Lavender, mulberries, cherries, dried earth, forest floor, mint, and savory spices.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Silky and mouth-watering. Drink now through 2034.
Tasting Notes
Red cherry, plum, cranberry, and exotic spice, as well as hints of pinewood and forest floor.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Deeply layered and balanced. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Raspberries, forest floor, spice, and a hint of rose garden.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Elegant. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Ground herbs, black cherry, black raspberry, forest floor, sage, and mint.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – A very pretty first vintage. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Punchy bouquet of dried jasmine, white flower, orange blossom, Mexican mole chocolate, followed by cherry liqueur in the mouth. Fat, rich, round in the mouth with tannin to balance it out.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Aromas jump out of the glass. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Tobacco, iron, and smoked meat on the nose with underlying cherry, quince paste, and hints of brown sugar.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Wild and gamey with a fresh palate. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Fire-roasted lamb leg with secondary waves of Mexican mole chocolate, lavender, and bouquet garni.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – This is a very savory vintage of Richards. Round and voluminous. Drink now through 2035.
Tasting Notes
On the nose, cherry liqueur and sweet sagebrush. Firm in the mouth with layers of dark baker’s chocolate, orange zest, and fresh ground cinnamon sticks.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Stellar and elegant. Drink now through 2032.
Tasting Notes
High-toned white flower on the nose with milk chocolate, rum raisin, and cherry cordial on the palate. Sweet, savory, with fine-grained tannin.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Stellar and elegant. Drink now through 2031.
Tasting Notes
Pretty rose petal and blueberry on the nose with sugar plum, blackberry, and bay laurel on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Smooth and elegant at this stage. Drink now through 2029.
Tasting Notes
Sweet-savory interplay. Cured meats, prosciutto, and beef au jus on the nose. Raspberry chocolate ganache and chewy tannin on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Sexy and generous. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Minty ripe herbs, fresh black cherries, wet stone, a hint of peppercorn, polished cedar, violets, and mocha.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Rich and racy. Hold this bottle another 1-2 years and drink by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Red cherry and raspberry, blood orange, white flowers, chalk, mint, and spice.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Very expressive in its youth. Save this bottle for another year or so. Enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Blackberry and cherry, rosemary, tea leaf, cedar, gravel, mint, and tobacco.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Tasting very fresh and well-rounded. Drink now with a brief decant. Enjoy through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Potent and super-expressive. Cherry candy, juicy raspberry, orange blossom, cinnamon, and leather.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Tons of character in this wine. Drink now with generous swirling in the glass. Enjoy through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Dried cherry, crushed flowers, mint, forest floor, Asian spices, and mulled red fruits.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Floral with great integration. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Plum, blood orange, spice, and sage. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, and elegant.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Deep and expressive. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Rich blackberry, strawberry, spice box, redwood, and a wonderful finish.
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Such an alluring and balanced wine. Drink now through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Dark red cherry, ripe plum, forest floor, rose petal, blood orange, spice,
Recommendation: Drink
January 2024 – Delicious and plush. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Ripe black plum and berries, sweet spice, kirsch, sage oil, lavender, and freshly turned earth.
Recommendation: Hold
January 2024 – Super fresh and layered. Hold this wine for another year or two. Enjoy through 2040.
Tasting Notes
Medicinal herbs, inky plum, leather, and oak spice. Tobacco, boysenberry, and velvety texture on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
January 2024 – Vibrant and polished. Hold or drink now with a brief decant. Enjoy through 2040.
Tasting Notes
Black raspberries, mulberries, licorice, roasted herbs, pepper, tapenade, and chocolate.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Vibrant and polished. Hold or drink now with plenty of swirling in the glass. Enjoy through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Unctuous blueberry jam, lavender, menthol, white flowers, and smoked meats.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Delicious and full-bodied. Hold or drink now with plenty of swirling in the glass. Enjoy through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Toffee, huckleberry, licorice, gravel, tobacco, candied violets, bittersweet chocolate, with an explosive finish.
Recommendation: Hold
May 2024 – This wine is awesome but very young. Right now it will need a couple of days to relax and open up. Hold it for 2 more years and drink through 2040.
Tasting Notes
Black cherry, gravel, spice, leather, cardamom, mocha, blackberry preserves, molasses, and lavender.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
January 2024 – Still quite young and needs several hours in a decanter, but is very expressive. Save this bottle another year or two if you can. Enjoy through 2040.
Tasting Notes
Incense, tobacco, cured meats, blackberry liqueur, candied lavender, ripe plum, and tea leaf.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
January 2024 – Bold, youthful, and elegant. Needs a 1-3 hour decant right now. Enjoy through 2036.
Tasting Notes
Ground pepper, red and black berries, menthol, licorice, cedar, and gamey meat flavors.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
January 2024 – Concentrated yet balanced. Needs 1-2 hours of air if drinking now. Enjoy through 2033.
Tasting Notes
Lavender, dark chocolate, pudding skins, and grilled lamb with rosemary. Black olive, red plum, and meaty notes.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – Opulent, fresh, and masculine. Drink now with a 1-2 hour decant. Enjoy through 2031.
Tasting Notes
Layers of asphalt, smoked rock, and charred lamb leg with rosemary, thyme, and distilled boysenberry.
Recommendation: Hold
March 2024 – This wine is still a baby and is a bit closed down and shy. Hold it for another 2-3 years. Drink by 2037.
Tasting Notes
Notes of creosote, sweet crude oil, hard cherry candy, and warm chocolate syrup on the nose. White pepper and poblano pepper appear on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Young but muscular, perky, and savory. Decant for 1-3 hours before dinner. Enjoy through 2035.
Tasting Notes
Iron filings, fruit preserves, molten chocolate cake, mint, and dusty loam earth. The mid-palate has big tannin with plum, pipe tobacco, and soy sauce notes.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Heady and brooding. Decant 1-2 hours if drinking now. Enjoy through 2030.
Tasting Notes
Blood orange, thyme, and sage give it a lovely herbal quality. Black cherry paste, plum sauce, and bouquet garni bring richness to the nose.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Fat and succulent on the palate with fine-grained tannin. Decant for 1-3 hours before dinner. Enjoy through 2032.
Tasting Notes
Raspberry, tobacco, pine, fresh leather, red plum, blood orange. Silky and layered finish.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
March 2024 – Rich with a long life ahead of it. Drink now with plenty of air. Enjoy by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Bold dried herbs, cherry, intense red fruit. Earthy soil and redwood forest. A fresh and complex old-school Cabernet.
Recommendation: Drink
March 2024 – After 6 years in the bottle this Cab is hitting its stride. Drink now with a heavy decant. Enjoy by 2035.
Tasting Notes
White grape flesh, honeydew husk, young honeycomb, yellow fruit.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Marvelous. Drink now through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Vibrant fruit. Pear and pineapple upside-down cake in the mouth with a little bit of flinty dustiness.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Perfumed, jumps right out of the glass. Drink this through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Exotic yellow fruit, juicy terpene, and Tahitian vanilla.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – So much aromatic pop and energy. Drink now through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Honeysuckle, beeswax, perfumed white flower, juicy white currant, almond skin, nougat, honeyed golden raisin, and acidity.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Very effusive and expressive for a wine that’s 13 years old. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
The perfume is exotic and smells like a plumeria necklace from Hawaii. Star anise, honey, fresh, lively, and still youthful.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Wow. This is a big boy! Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Terpene-muscat scents leap out of the glass with a beautiful green cornucopia of pear, citrus, green grape, and honeydew. Medicinal spicy exotic tones. Clove oil.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – The terpenes are reminiscent of what you find in a high-end Riesling. Drink now or by 2028.
Tasting Notes
Golden apple, white nectarine, and flinty noble reduction. Very balanced and pure.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – What a wine, still quite youthful. Drink now or enjoy by 2028.
Tasting Notes
Exotic fruit and sexy vanilla bean on the nose. Jasmine blossom and wet slate.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – Silky with great linear presence and acidity. Drink now or enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Silky and complex. Apricot, honey, parmesan cheese ring, and strong floral overtones.
Recommendation: Drink
June 2024 – It’s quiet at first but grows with air. Round on the palate. Drink now with generous swirling in the glass. Enjoy by 2029.
Tasting Notes
Lovely jasmine, honeysuckle, and star anise on the nose. Under-ripe stone fruit and minerality on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Very fresh and polished. Decant for up to an hour. Drink by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Reduction, flintiness, burnt match, and pie crust on the nose. Lemon rind and lanolin like a great Chenin.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Plays very Old World. Austere right now but will unfold with time. Decant for 1-2 hours or hold a few years. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
Golden raisin, parmesan rind, wet potter’s clay, soil, honeysuckle, white currant, and a bit of nutmeg spice.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Smells great upon opening but is a little tight. Decant for 1-2 hours or cellar it. It will age very well. Drink by 2032.
Tasting Notes
Pure cinnamon stick, allspice, honeysuckle, white flower. Yellow fruit, hazelnut, almond skin, wet stone.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Intense aromatics with great texture. Really great. Decant for an hour or hold a few years. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
White peaches, jasmine, spice, honey.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Fresh nose for its age with weight in the mouth. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Orange blossom, white flowers, candied lemon, honeycomb.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Showing some phenolic edge in the mouth but still feels younger than it is. Drink now through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Expressive on the nose and creamy in the mouth. Buttery peach, celery, jasmine, honey, and apricot.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – It’s Alive! Lovely expressive nose. Very terpene-driven and Reisling-esque. This is a winner. Drink now or by 2027.
Tasting Notes
Honey Graham cracker and crisp stone fruit on the nose. Drive and verve in the mouth.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Great acidity and juicy length on the palate. Drink now through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Flinty noble reduction with a cornucopia of juicy peach and tangerine in the mouth.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Shy bearing but opens with air in the glass, which tells me this wine has a bit of life ahead. Drink now or by 2027.
Tasting Notes
Apricot, mint, and tangerine. Energetic lavender and jasmine.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Drink now or by 2028.
Tasting Notes
Energetic and fresh. Honey, minerality, tart orchard fruit, and floral perfume.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Drink now with good swirling in the glass. Enjoy by 2028.
Tasting Notes
Seductive and supple honey, peach, orange, and fresh flowers. Full-bodied and silky but not heavy.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Super expressive. Drink in its youth with generous swirling in the glass. Or, cellar a few more years. Drink by 2028.
Tasting Notes
Nectarine, white peach, citrus oil, apricot, crushed rocks, and mint. Medium-bodied with a long finish.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Gorgeous and tropical. Decant for 1 hour. Drink by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Flint, struck matchstick, and reduction on the nose with green pineapple. Fresh and perky acidity.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Lovely mature nose. Enjoy it now.
Tasting Notes
Ripe orchard fruit and mulled spices. Pastry, toastiness, and crème.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Showing nice for a wine that is almost 15 years old. Drink now.
Tasting Notes
Golden fruit imparted from lees. Jasmine, freshly bailed hay, and dried apricot.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Just starting to show its age a bit on the palate. Drink now.
Tasting Notes
Red apple skin, almond, and pear on the nose. Elevated perky acidity and a dollop of sweet cream on the palate.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Drinking beautifully. Enjoy by 2027.
Tasting Notes
Burgundian. Sexy noble reduction. Great balance between fruit and spice. Chamomile, slate, honeysuckle, white peach.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – What a beautiful wine. Enjoy it now or in the next couple of years.
Tasting Notes
Medium bodied. Orange peel, spice, honeycomb, ripe pear and apricot.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – More vibrant in the mouth than on the nose. Drink now.
Tasting Notes
Citrus blossom, spice, stone fruit, white mint, and bright acidity are all balanced.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Just peaking its head out to say “hello”. Decant for an hour or drink by 2028.
Tasting Notes
White currants, hazelnut, white flower, brioche bread, apricot flesh. Rich.
Recommendation: Drink
February 2024 – Very shy to open up. Needs 1-2 hours in decanter. Enjoy by 2027.
Tasting Notes
Fresh melon, lemon tart, honeysuckle, and pastry. Chalky minerality. Racy
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Decant 30 minutes to an hour. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
Boysenberry, cassis, clove, red cherry, chalk, white pepper, mint.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – Silky and mouth-coating. Decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now or hold a few more years. Drink by 2040.
Tasting Notes
Peach, candied lime, fresh herbs, fresh acidity with a creamy mid-palate.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
February 2024 – This wine is already drinking great. Decant for up to 1 hour. Drink by 2034.
Tasting Notes
White flower, diesel, and wet peat moss. Marmalade, almond skin, and lanolin.
Recommendation: Drink
May 2024 – Tasting fresh even after a decade. Among the older vintages of Genevieve, this one takes the cake. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Honeycomb, Graham cracker, almond, yellow fruit, and matchstick reduction. Lime zest, sea salt, and freshly baked brioche.
Recommendation: Drink
May 2024 – Tons of personality and exactly where it should be right now. Drink now through 2026.
Tasting Notes
Freshly baked bread, red apple, orange marmalade, green pineapple, kumquat.
Recommendation: Drink
May 2024 – Shy at first. Impeccable weight balance. Let it breathe in the glass. Drink now through 2027.
Tasting Notes
Flinty matchstick reduction and a floral perfume of white flower, honeysuckle, jasmine, and lime zest.
Recommendation: Drink
May 2024 – Complex and electric. Drink now through 2028.
Tasting Notes
Petrichor, orange blossom, and honeydew. Nectarine and pineapple.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
May 2024 – Vivacious with very balanced acidity. Drink now with a brief decant. Enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Wet slate, green mango, juicy nectarine, honeycomb, and freshly baked and buttered brioche.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
May 2024 – Wonderful but young. It’s shy and tight upon opening. Let it breathe for 1-2 hours in a decanter. Enjoy by 2035.
Tasting Notes
Citronella, white flower, and candle wax. Candied red apple and juicy white currant.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
May 2024 – Great texture and energy. Drink now with an hour decant. Enjoy by 2030.
Tasting Notes
Parmesan cheese rind, wet river stone, and buttered croissant. White grape, mint, marmalade. Very Burgundian.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
May 2024 – Impeccably balanced and fresh. Drink now with a 30-45 minute decant. Enjoy by 2032.
Limited Edition Chardonnay
Tasting Notes
Red apple skin, peach, pear, toasted walnut, and vibrant acidity.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Decant for up to an hour if drinking now. Enjoy by 2034.
Tasting Notes
Fresh melon, pie crust, apricot, tangerine oil, mint and chamomile.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Decant 30 minutes to an hour if drinking now.
Tasting Notes
Lively peach pit, flinty minerality, juicy quince paste. Mouth-coating chalky acidity.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Decant 30 minutes to an hour if drinking now.
Tasting Notes
Nutmeg, white grapefruit, and lemon bar. Slate and saltstone.
Recommendation: Drink/Hold
June 2024 – Taut and lively, but balanced. Decant for 1-2 hours if drinking now or hold for 2 more years.
