The nice thing about loving wine is that monogamy is not required. Your beloved

Meursault just doesn’t care if you step out on it once in a while with a more decadent bottle of California Chardonnay, nor will your Vosne-Romanee mind if you bring home a delicious California Pinot once in a while! Still, if you’re going to cheat on your Burgundies with California wines, might as well make it worth it, right? Here are two wines that might even confuse you into wondering whose bed you’re actually in! Marine Layer is an ultra-small, ultra-exclusive producer of cool-climate grapes focused on some of the best vineyards along and around the Sonoma Coast. The wines are remarkably well made, sleek, stylish and show great promise for aging too. We were most impressed with the Chardonnay, a wine with iconic vineyard sources like Charles Heintz, Gaps Crown and Durrell Ranch in its DNA, as well as a nice slug of Marine Layer’s own biodynamically-farmed estate vineyard in the Sebastopol Hills in there as well. Definitely a cooler style Chardonnay, its nicely defined texture is framed by rings of lemongrass, sea spray saltiness and a chiffonade of fresh mint or pea tendril. Fresh, minerally and filled with lifted aromatics, its weight only becomes apparent on the palate where a bit of astutely applied wood and its nicely concentrated Golden Delicious apple and Asian pear fruit come to the fore. It’s a lovely crossover Chard that lovers of the grape on either side of the Old/New World fence can agree to agree on. All three of us on the PRIMA Vini team who tasted it agreed it would find a home in our own cellars as well as yours. The price ain’t bad here, either. The Pinot Noir is cut from much the same cloth as the Chardonnay- seemingly lean and wiry (in every good way) at first, but actually drinking much richer. Coming from sites like Whistler and Walala up near coastal Annapolis, Gaps Crown, Jentoft and Dutton-Gravenstein, the passing resemblance to the sources of DuMOL’s Wester Reach Pinot is hereby noted, although Marine Layer’s ‘lyra’ is crunchier now with an overall brighter profile. We can’t help but think, though, that this will only gain weight on the palate as it ages, and when it does, I think it will remind us more of Steve Kistler’s Occidental than DuMOL. Either way, this is as impressive a new entrant into the Sonoma Coast Pinot sweepstakes as we’ve seen in a while. Both red and white belong in your cellar- and it’s ok to put them right there next to your Burgundies too.

James Suckling on the Chardonnay: Lemon twist, green apple, and faint white flowers followed by delightful flinty and saline minerality. Fresh cream, too. Medium-bodied, mouthwatering bright acidity. Wonderful vibrancy and brightness to it. Aged in 500L puncheon. 93 points

Vinous on the Chardonnay: The 2021 Chardonnay Aries is gorgeous. Bright and floral, with terrific depth, the Aries is seriously impressive. Lemon confit, white flowers, mint, chalk and white pepper lend notable aromatic brilliance. Vineyard sites are Charles Heinz, Gaps Crown, Durrell and the Estate, which is pretty impressive at this level. 91 points

James Suckling on the Pinot Noir: Red cherries and wild strawberries followed by orange peel, kola nuts and baking spices. Medium-bodied, bright acidity with fascinating velvety and juicy tannins. Precisely framed and polished. Crunchy and vibrant. 30% whole-cluster. Aged in 25% new French oak barriques. Drink or hold.  94 points

Jeb Dunnuck on the Pinot Noir: Floral perfume is expressive in the 2021 Pinot Noir Lyra, with cinnamon sticks, roses, and red cherry notes. Medium-bodied, it is ripe with red plum, wild herbs, and a bit of toasted oak spice on the finish. It is savory and dry, with fine tannins and a bit of crunchy texture from the partial use of whole clusters. It’s drinking well now and will drink well over the next 6-8 years. 92 points

Vinous on the Pinot Noir: The 2021 Pinot Noir Lyra is a very pretty, exotic wine. Crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon, mint and blood orange lend notable complexity to this racy, flavorful appellation-level Pinot. Vineyard sites are Gaps Crown, Whistler, Dutton, Gravenstein and Jentoft. 91 points