The 2006 Proprietary Red Lucia Abreu Vineyard (a blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Cabernet Franc) offers a fragrant bouquet of flowers, mocha, berry fruit, earth, and minerals. The wine is medium-bodied with good acidity, sharp tannins, and a hint of licorice. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age, and consume it over the following 10-15 years. It is hard to find better Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs than those created by Mark Aubert under his Aubert label. Aubert’s resume is outstanding, having previously worked under Helen Turley. He also served as chief winemaker at Peter Michael as well as at Colgin, making Bordeaux blends and Syrah. In addition to producing his own wines, he is currently the winemaker at Bryant Family Vineyards. Aubert’s extraordinary Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are fashioned from cool climate sites on the Sonoma Coast. In 2006, he only produced two Chardonnays because of botrytis in the vineyards. Employing a ruthless selection process, he had the courage to totally declassify vineyards with which he was not happy. There are two Aubert Pinot Noirs produced, one from the Reuling Vineyard that represents a 50-50 blend of the so-called Calera Clone and a clone from the most famous vineyard in Vosne-Romanee (legal issues prevent anyone from naming this grand cru vineyard). The other Pinot Noir comes from the UV Vineyard, named after the brilliant viticulture manager, Ulises Valdez. In spite of Aubert’s brilliance with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, he has not yet hit a home run with his Bordeaux blends from David Abreu’s vineyard on Howell Mountain.Tel. (707) 942-5611; Fax (707) 942-1573. Note: Prices are 2 to 3 times higher in the secondary market than the winery’s retail.

The 2005 Proprietary Red Lucia Abreu Vineyard seems to have closed down since I tasted it last year even though it is still not in bottle. A blend of 47% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the wine has a dense ruby/purple color, wonderful purity, but jagged tannins and some austerity kept my score from going any higher. It exhibits more texture than last year, but I suspect I caught it on a bad day, and I will reevaluate it in 12 months. Mark Aubert is on the move, leaving Colgin Winery in favor of working for the Bryant Family Vineyard, while at the same time producing some of the world’s greatest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. He seems to have a plate filled with both potential and stress. The bad news is that one of his suppliers decided his Chardonnays were just too profound for the Quarry Vineyard, and will no longer sell him fruit from that source, and in 2006, there was so little Reuling available, that cuvee was not made either. In short, there are two fewer Chardonnays for the 2006 vintage! Nevertheless, those who got on the mailing list and secured some of his 2005 Chardonnays have some of the finest Chardonnays ever made in California at their beck and call. Of course, these are made from old Wente clones of Chardonnay, given full malolactic, aged on their lees, and bottled with no clarification.(Not yet released)Tel. (707) 942-5611; Fax (707) 942-1573