Some highlights:
Ledson Winery
A bizarre dark brick gothic "castle" originally intended to be a house until the owners got the "Own a Winery" bug :0 Dark wood floors, very gothic inside. Surprisingly, the wines I had were not what I expected-they were quite dry and earthy and savory. High points were the 2004 Alexander Valley Reserve Syrah. A delicious earthy wine with a big blast of black pepper. I prefer this Syrah to a Syrah from 2003 made by cult winemaker Paul Hobbs I tried last week! Impressive. 2004 Alexander Valley Merlot, which was not a fruity sweet or bland wine at all but had some nice savory tobacco and black fruit. The Olivet Lane Zinfandel had very nice structure-lot's of interesting brambly fruit character with savory notes and good acidity. The 2004 Knight's Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was a big boy, but definitely not a fruit or jam bomb. Again, very grounded, earthy, cedary, savory with good structure. Surprisingly, the vanilla oak was almost absent here-despite the 30 months aging
Their wines are "big" in the very high alcoholic and ripe style, but there seems to be enough fruit and enough other things going on that they do not taste hot at all. Nor are they sweet. They are pricey though, but then you gotta pay for the dark brick, polished oak floors, fancy fountain, etc. etc. 
(The guy at Sonoma Wine Exchange suggested that every wine bottle price at Ledson includes a $5-$10 surcharge for the building!)
1998 Chateau Beau Sejur
2006 Leitz Rudesheimer Kabinett
Tasted at a newish wine bar/shop in downtown Santa Rosa. The Saint Emillion was singing this afternoon! Dark sour cherry fruit, leather, tobacco, earth. Very very earthy and savory. Otto might love this wine.
I also enjoyed the crystalline fruit, residual sugar, and hint of minerality in the Reisling. Delicious in a completely different way. I picked up a bottle of the 2005 this summer, so....
Audlessa Winery (Audlessa/Davis-Bynum/Hop Kiln are the three labels). Stopped at the tasting room in "downtown" Glen Ellen on my way back. Glen Ellen is cool-it's both posh and downright rustic verging on trashy, with an amazing canopy of beautiful mature oaks!
The 2005 Chardonnay-mostly Sonoma Valley and Sonoma "Carneros" fruit was the smooth, rich style but with a very nice purity of fruit. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The 2005 H-K Estate Pinot Noir-literally next door to Rochioli, really impressed me with its earthy notes and savory elements along with the beautiful blast of cherry fruit. Not over-alcoholic and quite balanced.
The Audlessa Cab and the Audlessa Summit (Bordeaux Blend) were more "odd" wines that I'm not sure how to rate. They were largely from Mayacamas Mountains fruit up quite a ways above Sonoma Valley. They were suffering from being rather raw and closed right now (the release date is not even until October). The negative-a pronounced astringency I've not seen anywhere else-particularly from 2004. It reminds me a bit of Trefethan cabs. It's French oak, and the flavor is not really "dill," but.
On the other hand, she gave me a second glass of The Summit which had been open for a few hours. It was much richer than the first glass. Still had the house style, but the air had definitely helped. The second glass of Cabernet was still pretty tight. It's not a case of tannins, either. This was a different profile that created a different reaction in my mouth.
So...what do I think about this astringency? It's not common at all, and I was somewhat "shocked" by the mouth feel and profile. BUT, you know, the acidity was actually quite intriguing and mouthwatering. Kinda lamost liked it! Weird! It's almost like a Chilean cab absent all the strange mint and eucalyptus notes I find in those wines!
I'm wondering if this is a wine that should simply be laid down for ten years before even drinking?
I even own one bottle of the 2001 I was that impressed by it. I don't think I've tasted the '98, though. The Leitz was a pretty decent drop.
You know how the Napleonic inheritance laws work.