Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard has bright, perfumed berry fruits accented by notes of lavender and earth, with more nuances after some time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, silky and mega juicy, with lingering spicy accents defining the uplifted, juicy finish. 542 cases produced.

The 2017 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and youthfully coiled nose. With time, it offers notes of lavender, licorice, cranberries, pomegranate and blackberries with an earthy core and nuances of black tea leaves and citrus peel. Medium-bodied, silky and intense, it has fragrant fruits with a fine-grained texture and juicy freshness to lift the long, layered finish. This will benefit from another year in bottle. 849 cases produced.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with an elegant, perfumed nose of wild blackberries, new leather, pipe tobacco and undergrowth plus notes of cardamom and garrigue. Light to medium-bodied and silky in the mouth, it offers great black and blue fruits framed with spice and earthy accents, held together with firm, plush tannins and juicy acidity and finishing long and packed with wonderful layers. 500 cases produced.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Zena's Crown Vineyard, blended with some stems, has the most backward bouquet of Penner-Ash's 2014s. This offers introverted, earthy bouquet with plenty of undergrowth and damp moss-like aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin, a crisp line of acidity, harmonious in the mouth with fine mineralité coming through on the tensile finish. I like this more enigmatic release from Penner-Ash that will see the light of day later in 2016, though it will deserve 2-3 years in the cellar.

The 2012 Pinot Noir Zena's Crown Vineyard comes from a block of 777 clone from the Jackson Family estate, with a small percentage of whole-cluster fruit and it sees 38% new French oak for ten months. It has a clean and fresh bouquet with raspberry and blackberry scents, although it is perhaps just a little conservative and does not really want to "let go." The palate is medium-bodied with a dash of black pepper on the entry, quite reserved in style, though not foursquare. There is a slight bitter note right on the finish that just detracts from the overall purity, but otherwise this is fine.