Coming from more volcanic, south-facing soils, the 2018 Pinot Noir Apocrypha was 15% destemmed and will see 16 months in 20% new barrels. It's a slightly darker-hued and darker fruited effort offering lots of blue fruits, iron, violets, and mineral aromatics. While it was basically not destemmed, there are no obvious stems on either the nose or palate, and it's beautifully balanced, has bright acidity, medium to full-bodied richness, and a great finish. It's another rock star of a Pinot Noir from Todd Alexander.

Editors' Choice This is the fourth vintage for this Pinot Noir project from Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander. It's a single-vineyard cuvée (vineyard unidentified) with incredible aromatic intensity emphasizing lush blackberry and marionberry fruit. There's a compelling sweetness to both aromas and flavors, the powerful fruit accented with a dusting of savory herbs. This wine keeps adding length and complexity as it breathes open, and may continue to improve over the next half decade or longer.

Bright, dark red. More brooding, darker scents of blueberry, menthol and dried herbs; less expressive than the Memorialis in the early going. A more powerful, intense, dark-fruit style of Pinot but less giving today than the Memorialis, conveying a stronger acid spine that still needs to harmonize with the wine's fruit. But already quite seamless in the middle palate. Blueberry, blackberry, pepper and licorice flavors carry well on the firmly tannic finish, which avoids dryness. This savory wine is carrying a reasonable 13.4% alcohol (the Memorialis is listed at 13.3%) and totally avoids any impression of heaviness. I preferred the Memorialis at the outset for its enticing perfume but this wine showed more texture and sweetness, not to mention pliancy, with extended aeration. (both this wine and the Memorialis were vinified with about 80% whole clusters; aged for 16 months in 20% new French oak)