When a winemaker names a wine after his daughter, it tells you everything you need to know about how he feels about it. Joe Donelan is one of California’s most thoughtful and passionate producers — a man who came to wine not through inheritance or commerce but through a genuine and consuming love of the great wines of the world, and who has spent decades pursuing that love in the vineyards of Sonoma County with a dedication and precision that has earned him a devoted following among those who know California wine at its finest. Donelan’s great passion is the Rhône varieties — Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre — and in the cool, fog-influenced vineyards of Sonoma, where the Pacific’s moderating influence preserves the natural acidity and freshness that these varieties need to achieve true greatness, he produces wines that stand comparison with the finest expressions of the southern Rhône itself. Cuvée Moriah is the jewel of the range: a classic southern Rhône-inspired blend, Grenache-led with Mourvèdre and Syrah, that is ripe, irresistible, and incredibly aromatic while retaining an idyllic freshness that supports a very dense and complex mid-palate. The Grenache brings bright strawberry fruit and warmth; the Mourvèdre — its more exotic and brooding cousin — adds ripe pomegranate and grilled game, a savoury depth and complexity that is entirely its own; and a select few barrels of Syrah add richness and depth to the finish that ties the whole wine together with a completeness and elegance that is deeply satisfying. The 2016 — now a decade in bottle — is drinking at the peak of its powers: the fruit deepened and complexed by age, the tannins refined and seamless, the whole wine in a state of harmony and completeness that only time can produce. An ideal food wine and a scene-stealer in its own right. At £79.99, it is California’s answer to the great wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape — and a wine that Joe Donelan’s daughter can be very proud of.