The mountain appellation speaks loudly in this wine, contributing juicy blackberry, tar and leather, all within a forested context of wild truffle and crunchy leaves. Concentrated and robust in body and ripeness, it unwinds slowly in the glass, imparting jolts of black pepper as it goes. —V.B.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Malbec Mt. Veeder (100% Malbec) is very deep purple-black in color and reveals stunning black and red cherries, black plums and violets with wafts of unsmoked cigars and mossy bark. Full, concentrated and seductive in the mouth, it has a solid line of fine-grained tannins and loads of bold, perfumed fruit, finishing long.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines This is an awesome Napa malbec that you need to try, offering blackberries, blueberries and minerals. Hot stones and cement. Full body, chewy tannins and a fresh, salty finish. Shows tension and focus.

Inky purple-black colored, the 2015 Malbec Mt. Veeder gives up a very unusual (in a good way!) savory/meaty nose over a core of black currants and blackberries with touches of Indian spices, chargrill and sautéed herbs. Full-bodied, very firm and very fresh in the mouth, the rock solid, muscular black fruit is tautly framed, finishing long and savory. Give it another 2-3 years in bottle and drink it over the next 25+.

Dark ruby color; luscious, juicy and rich with sweet oak, ripe blackberry and cassis; another stunner made by winemaking master Chris Carpenter.

You don’t see much straight Malbec from the Napa Valley. Rose petal, and musk, red plum and fruit, spice and coffee, earth. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and ripe chocolate and ironstone tannin, mouth-perfume, grip and serious length on the finish. Rich but fresh. Powerful. Emphatic.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Journey Red is powerful, resonant and also light on its feet, with a good bit of aromatic complexity and nuance. Crushed flowers, sweet dark berries, mint, pomegranate and blood orange all run through this super-expressive flagship wine from Matanzas Creek. In the past, Journey has been much more overt, but the 2016 points to a greater emphasis on finesse.

From the minute I pulled the bottle from its carton, I wanted to dislike it. A hundred bucks for a heavy bottle. Not a good start. But that’s why you taste. Labeled simple, “Red Wine,” it’s a Merlot-heavy blend that conveys a lot over everything — dark fruit, earthy notes — and wonderful harmony. An intense wine, but not heavy or over-the-top. Indeed, it’s a balanced powerhouse. Savory notes predominate in the finish, which ends with a seductive hint of bitterness. Leg of lamb studded with garlic would be a great match.

Three things mark this Cab-based blend— intense tannins, fantasically concentrated fruit and a lively acidity that keeps the palate refreshed. It has a molten core of blackberries and cassis that is spectacular, yet nowhere near ready to drink. Needs serious time. Consider drinking from 2018, although it could be going strong for many additional years.

The 2015 Chardonnay Journey captures all the natural richness and viscosity that is so characteristic of the Jackson family's Alexander Mountain estate. Tropical fruit, orange blossom, honey, vanillin and pineapple all flesh out in a Chardonnay that offers a striking interplay of richness and finesse. This is a decidedly unctuous, textured Chardonnay with real personality.

14.5% alc., pH 3.68, TA 0.52, 352 cases, $66. Primary clone is 115. Harvested multiple times over a 10-day period from October 8 to October 18 allowing the wine to display the full range of characteristics of clone 115. 5-day cold soak, proprietary yeast fermentation, punch downs daily, and aged 15 months in French oak barrels, 33% new. · Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. The markedly nuanced nose is a chameleon over time, taking on new aromas as it becomes more giving. Scents of dark berries, earthy flora, black cherry and spice are echoed on the palate. The fruit literally explodes on the mid palate, and holds on through a lengthy finish. Modest in weight, but highly flavorful, with tailored tannins, juicy acidity and a deft touch of oak. This wine tends to build in appeal over time in the glass. When tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, the wine was still terrific, indicating certain longevity. Jolie, will you marry me? Score: 95

The most opulent, sexy, and immediately charming of this admirable quartet of Lokoya Cabernets is the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain. It exhibits a saturated purple color in addition to an explosive nose of licorice, cedar, roasted herbs, and black plums and currants. Full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture, low acidity, and heady alcohol, this offering possesses considerable tannin, but it is beautifully submerged by the wine's depth of extract and high glycerin. Impressive, with a flamboyant personality.

The most opulent, sexy, & immediately charming of this admirable quartet of 1997 Lokoya Cabernets is the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain (1100 cases). It exhibits a saturated purple color in addition to an explosive nose of licorice, cedar, roasted herbs, & black plums and currants. Full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture, low acidity, & heady alcohol, this offering possesses considerable tannin, but it is beautifully submerged by the wine's depth of extract & high glycerin. Impressive, with a flamboyant personality, this '97 should drink well for 18-20 years.

Complex, with concentrated earthy currant, anise, mineral, sage, plum, cedar, and spice, turning polished.

Smooth, ripe and rich, with juicy cherry, currant, plum, anise, herb, mineral and spice flavors. Finishes with supple tannins and pretty oak shadings.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Spring Mountain) is pliant, supple and unabashedly sexy. Silky tannins and soft contours add to the wine's considerable appeal. Succulent dark red cherry, plum, mint and sweet spice are nicely pushed into the foreground. Lifted floral notes add finesse, brightness and sensuality to this undeniably appealing Cabernet Sauvignon from Lokoya.

This packs a wallop of blueberry, açaí and blackberry compote flavors at the core, backed by juicy energy that seemingly won't quit, as waves of anise, bramble and sweet tobacco course through on the finish. Solidly built, with energy and vibrancy to match the density and muscle.

Lokoya's 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is gorgeous. Here, the richness of the year is wonderfully balanced by the wine's structural frame. Dark blue and black fruit, menthol, leather, graphite, cassis and lavender meld together beautifully in the glass. An effortless wine, the 2012 captures the personality of the year in spades. Hints of vanilla, white flowers, lavender and a hint of French oak add the final layers of complexity. This is the most polished of the four Lokoya Cabernets.

Napa Valley: 2007 Retrospective - Napa's Turning-Point Vintage Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is intensely scented of tapenade, chargrill, Indian spices and mossy bark with a core of crème de cassis, preserved plums and blueberry compote plus a touch of crushed rocks. Rich, full-bodied and decadently fruited, with bags of earth, black berry preserves and smoky layers, the palate is framed by rugged, ripe, rounded tannins, and it finishes with fantastic freshness and energy.

The most limited production offering, the opaque purple-hued 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain displays classic, Bordeaux-like characteristics of cedarwood, tobacco leaf, creme de cassis, licorice, and spice box along with a note of minerality all presented in an elegant, powerful, full-bodied style with sweet tannins. Representing elegance and terroir allied with considerable power and purity, this offering is made from a vineyard planted in the mid-1970s. While approachable, it will be even better in 5-6 years, and should still be going strong at age 25-30.

Extraordinary wines produced by Jackson Family from three mountain vineyards. Big, intense but beautifully balanced.

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain, which comes from the Wallis vineyard, shows terrific fruit intensity, oodles of creme de cassis, incense, a touch of white chocolate and coffee bean, cinnamon and clove-like spices, sensational blackberry and black currant fruit with some licorice and subtle background smoky oak. This beauty has wonderfully integrated sweet tannin and its opulence and lushness suggest drinking over the next 10-15 years.

Possesses a more floral / crème de cassis personality with licorice, chocolate, and earth characteristics. This powerful, concentrated 2002 is a classic mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with singular style. The tannins are firm, but sweet.

There are 393 cases of the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. Scents of bay leaves, lavender, blackberries and crushed rocks are in this steely, firm Cabernet. It boasts huge body along with hard, noticeable tannin, and a broodingly backward, muscular personality. The tannin is elevated, but so is the wine's extraordinary richness and intensity. It is a classic mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that requires 7-10 years of cellaring. It should keep for 2-3 decades.

The 2015 Legacy Red is laced with sweet red berry, mint, pomegranate and spice notes. What stands out most is the wine’s freshness, especially in 2015, a year in which so many wines are blowsy. Picking early and focusing on the higher elevation portions of the vineyard were a huge help. The 2015 is gorgeous and refined from start to finish. This is an impressive showing.