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 Napa’s best white wines in the form of the two made by Inglenook, the historic estate that has been painstakingly resurrected by the team working for owner Francis Ford Coppola. Their Sauvignon Blanc is positively stellar, certainly one of the best in the valley, and their more oak-inflected, Bordeaux-style white blend is also excellent. I highly recommend both, and (in the bizarro world of Napa pricing) they’re both quite affordable.

The folks from Tasca d’Almerita in Sicily sent through a couple of bottles last week, their Etna Bianco and Etna Rosso wines from the Tenuta Tascante brand. Both are fresh, stony, and aromatic as many such wines from the volcano are. They’re also nice values as they can both be found for under $30 apiece.

I’ve also got two more white wines from Gainey Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley to recommend this week: their Sauvignon Gris, which has a very nice tropical quality, as well as their Chardonnay, which had just a touch more wood than I would like. Their estate Syrah also has its modicum of wood, but offers nice black fruits and good acidity that many will find appealing.

I also got a couple of new releases from the irrepressible Randall Grahm and his magnum opus of a vineyard he planted from seed, called Popelouchum. One of them, which he simply calls “Popelouchum Blanc,” might well be the best white wine I’ve ever had from his hands. It’s a lovely blend of Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, and wonderfully delicious with a slightly flinty reductive character that is very appealing. The other wine, his “Exuberance” Pinot Noir, will appeal to those who enjoy more savory, herbal-inflected Pinot Noirs.

Finally, I’ve got a few wines from Virginia to recommend this week. The first is a Meritage (a proprietary term for wines made in the Bordeaux tradition that must contain at least two grape varieties and no more than 90% of them). The one I tasted this past week was mostly Merlot and Petit Verdot from 7 Lady Vineyards, and the tannins certainly wouldn’t let you forget about the Petit Verdot. But there was some nice freshness there, too, though the nasty, heavy bottle was a big turn-off, environmentally speaking.

The Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc offered a nice balance of berry and herbal tones with a strong note of oak and a touch of reduction, while the Valley Road Vineyards reserve Cabernet Franc was wonderfully fresh and balanced, making it perhaps one of the best Virginia wines I’ve had in a long while.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2024 Inglenook Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford, Napa, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon peel, lemon juice, green apple, and wet chalkboard. In the mouth, sour green apple, kiwi fruit, and lime juice flavors have a fantastic mouthwatering acidity and faint salinity. There’s a light chalky texture. Wonderfully fresh and delicious. 13% alcohol. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $40. click to buy.

2024 Inglenook “Blancaneaux” White Blend, Rutherford, Napa, California
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of vanilla, pears, and white peaches. In the mouth, wonderfully bright pear and white peach flavors have a stony breadth and crispness. There’s a faint saline quality here, along with a chalky texture lingering in the finish. Lovely freshness. 13.8% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $57. click to buy.

2025 Tascante “Buonora” White Blend, Etna, Sicily, Italy
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lime zest, white flowers, and sea air. In the mouth, saline flavors of lemon pith and lime pith mix with pomelo and a hint of jasmine, as bright acidity keeps things juicy and vibrant on the palate. There’s a light wet pavement quality in the finish. Certified B Corp. Certified Sustainable. 12% alcohol. Closed with a technical (resin) cork. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2025 Gainey Vineyard “Limited Selection” Sauvignon Gris, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California
Palest straw in the glass, this wine smells of passionfruit, star fruit, and green apples. In the mouth, green guava and passionfruit flavors are bright with excellent, even sharp acidity that puckers the cheeks and makes the mouth water. There’s a faint nutty quality that emerges in the finish. Whole-cluster pressed and fermented in neutral oak. Aged briefly in stainless steel before bottling. 388 cases made. 12.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $40.

2024 Gainey Vineyard “Limited Selection” Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California
Light gold in the glass with a hint of green, this wine smells of lemon curd, toasted nuts, and pastry cream. In the mouth, toasted oak flavors mix with lemon peel and lemon pith, and excellent acidity keeps the mouth watering. Roasted nuts and a faint salinity linger in the finish. Slightly more wood than I would like here, but this wine has good energy and dynamism. Whole-cluster pressed, settled overnight, and then barrel fermented. Aged for 10 months in 33% new French oak. 881 cases made. 14.1% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2023 Popelouchum “Blanc” White Blend, San Benito, Central Coast, California
Light bronze-gold in color, this wine smells of slightly resinous lemon peel, apple, and pink grapefruit. In the mouth, wonderfully zingy and bright flavors of grapefruit, white nectarine, and lemon pith are faintly saline and very mouthwatering thanks to excellent acidity. There’s a hint of reductive gunflint here that is quite charming. A blend of 60% Grenache Blanc and 40% Grenache Gris that is extremely delicious. This might be the best white wine I’ve ever had from Randall Grahm. 300 cases made. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 9. Cost: $45.

2023 Popelouchum “Exuberance” Pinot Noir, San Benito, Central Coast, California
Light ruby in the glass with garnet highlights, this wine smells of wet redwood bark, potting soil, and cranberries. In the mouth, cranberry and wet earth flavors mix with sawdust and dried herbs. Decent acidity and faint gauzy tannins accompany notes of chopped green herbs that linger in the finish. Very savory. 12.5% alcohol. 170 cases made. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $65.

2024 Tascante “Ghaia Nera” Red Blend, Etna, Sicily, Italy
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of red berries, wet pavement, and dried herbs. In the mouth, powdered stone tannins coat the mouth as flavors of sour cherry, strawberry, and cranberry mix with dried herbs and a hint of struck match. The tannins stiffen with time and remain very stony. Certified B Corp. Certified Sustainable. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $30. click to buy.

2024 Gainey Vineyard Syrah, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of blackberries, wet pavement, and dried herbs. In the mouth, fleecy tannins wrap around a core of blackberry, wet earth, and a hint of sweet oak. Excellent acidity keeps things fresh on the palate, while the sweet oak dominates the finish. 14.2% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $??

2023 7 Lady Vineyards Meritage, Virginia
Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry, molasses, licorice, and blackberries. In the mouth, deep and earthy flavors of black cherry and licorice are wrapped in a thick fleecy blanket of tannins and shot through with very good acidity. A minty quality of chopped herbs lingers in the finish. Brawny, but with a nice freshness. A blend of 44% Merlot, 37% Petit Verdot, and 19% Cabernet Franc. 13.9% alcohol. Comes in an egregiously heavy bottle weighing 1.75 kg when full, which means the bottle itself weighs a kilogram. Rather shameful from an environmental perspective. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $65.

2023 Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc, Virginia
Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of struck match, plum, and plum skin. In the mouth, plum and dried herb flavors are wrapped in a fleecy blanket of tannin. Notes of oak and espresso emerge in the finish along with a hint of struck match. Decent acidity, but perhaps just a little too much wood here. 13.7% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $34. click to buy.

2023 Valley Road Vineyards “Reserve” Cabernet Franc, Monticello, Virginia
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of plum, berries, and cherries. In the mouth, fresh and juicy flavors of plum and cherry are shot through with dried and freshly chopped herbs as fine tannins coat the mouth and stiffen slightly in the finish. Clean, bright, with a lovely balance. 13.7% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $42.