2019 High Road James Berry Vineyard

Cris Cherry continues to refine his style at Villas Creek. The recently released 2019s are his most impressive wines yet, which is saying something as his 2018s were uniformly outstanding. Cherry uses a variety of vessels to raise his wines, and the oak impact is discreet, even when plenty has been used and even when tasting through recent bottlings. Large format barrels are favored here when it comes to oak and concrete tanks are widely used, especially for fermentations. One thing that has impressed me in recent years, with 2019 as a prime example, is the lack of what I would call a house style. These elegant 2019s vary quite a bit, depending on variety, which I find impressive as many other wineries, including some of the best, do express a winemaker’s signature, but not in this case.