As to the Pinot Noirs, the 2017 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands is a gem of a wine that’s unquestionably at the same level as the single vineyard releases. Mulberries, black raspberries, spring flowers, and forest floor notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, elegant Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir that leads with its fruit. It will keep for 7-8 years.

Completely destemmed, the 2017 Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard has a beautiful fruit-forward character as well as notes of bright cherries, raspberries, flowers, and vanilla bean. It’s another medium to full-bodied, seamless wine in the lineup that has outstanding balance as well as length. Drink it any time over the coming 7-8 years.

More savory and meaty, the 2017 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard offers some whole cluster influence in its aromas and flavors, but it’s beautifully pure and elegant on the palate, with fine, silky tannins. It opens up nicely with time in the glass and has plenty of fruit, good complexity, medium to full body, and a great finish, all making for one seriously good Pinot Noir. It’s approachable today but will be even better with a year in bottle.

Starting with the two Chardonnays, the 2017 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands is a winner and well worth seeking out. White peach, white flowers, a touch of lemon zest, and some brioche all flow to a medium-bodied, rounded, textured effort that has terrific purity and freshness yet packs plenty of fruit.

The 2017 Chardonnay Soberanes Vineyard is a small step up, with more depth of fruit and richness. Orange blossom, orchard fruits, white peach, and some toasty notes give way to a ripe, sexy, full-bodied effort that holds onto beautiful purity and elegance. Drink it over the coming 3-5 years.

The 2017 Syrah Garys’ Vineyard, which was only 25% destemmed, shows a slightly more fruit-forward vibe in its red and blue fruits, bouquet garni, and crushed flowers. More floral and less meaty and bloody than the Soberanes Vineyard, it’s medium to full-bodied, with terrific depth of fruit and a great finish.

There are three Syrahs, all outstanding. The 2017 Syrah Soberanes Vineyard offers a bloody, meaty style as well as tons of blue fruits, ground herbs, and peppery notes. Not destemmed and brought up in 45% new French oak, it’s a rich, full-bodied, powerful wine that just sings of Syrah. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

Not yet bottled, the 2017 Syrah Susan’s Hill comes from a ridgetop section in the Pisoni Vineyard that was planted to the Alban clone of Syrah roughly a decade ago. Fermented with 70% stems and aged all in a larger new foudre, it has a Cornas-like bouquet of black fruits, smoked herbs, charred meat, and graphite. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it’s one beast of a Syrah that’s going to need 2-3 years of bottle age but will keep for 10-15 years.