Standing out from its more muscular and more obviously ripened cellarmates and seemingly a bit light by comparison, this year’s Keefer Ranch bottling deftly exhibits the pure and precise fruit that its site so often yields. Subtle and yet steady with plenty of depth behind its grace, it is a genteel wine of quiet authority. Those who are put off by big, lavish, very ripe Pinots will find lots to like here, but this very well-crafted effort has more than enough range and fruity richness to please the rest of us as well.

One of the producer’s consistently top-notch vineyard designates, this vintage maintains the mystique, coaxing out earthy sandalwood, smoke, char and truffle around richer overtones of butterscotch, clove and baked plum. Balanced and succulent, this is a fun, complex wine. — V.B.

Here too there is a whiff of herbal tea present on the slightly riper array of red currant, black cherry and subtly spiced nose. There is very fine verve to the round, supple and attractively textured medium weight flavors that are quite rich yet manage to retain good precision while offering fine length and depth on the powerful and focused finale. Once again there is a hint of warmth but it’s not enough to materially detract from the overall sense of harmony. 2020+