It is magnificent, lush and dense with firm structure and lots of ripe plummy fruit. It provides a seamless marriage of fruit, oak and soft spices. It is drinking brilliantly now, displaying a seductive generosity, a rich robe and a seemingly endless finish. I would expect this lovely wine to only get better over time.

Top California Cabernet 2015 wines: Full vintage report It's the rare Napa Cab that drinks beautifully both on release and through a decade or more - this is one of them: decadently plush and juicy, with lifted floral aromas and smooth, seamless tannins. It sports great verve and polish, with oak, ripeness, acidity and alcohol all in balance.

Napa Cabernet Sauvignon worthy of your cellar 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot. Dark berry fruit complemented by vanilla and burnt caramel and clove. Fragrant with aromas of flower, liquorice and ripe raspberries resonating well with a note of dry herbs. Despite its youth, this wine feels approachable and I love its juicy vibrancy.

The impressive 2007 exhibits an opaque purple color as well as abundant aromas of sweet red and black currants, kirsch, spice box, licorice, and toasty new oak. Full-bodied, big, structured, and layered, it will benefit from 3-4 years of cellaring. Winemaker Christopher Carpenter has again turned out a wine that should evolve for 25 years. Impressive!

A dark, sumptuous wine, the 2014 Harmonie possesses striking depth and textural nuance in all of its dimensions. Succulent red cherry, plum, tobacco, licorice and mocha are given an extra kick of energy and aromatic lift from the Cabernet Franc in the blend.

Using the considerable talents of viticulturist, Rosa Kruger, to pinpoint the best Chardonnay sites in the Cape, this ambitious wine comes from five different sites. It’s less oaky than the 2013 (and better for it). Toasty, mineral and very focused, with an undertone of stone fruit, creamy lees and a bracing, mouth-watering finish. Drink: 2017-22

2014 Capensis Chardonnay, Western cape, South Africa, 94 points - This Chardonnay specialist shows once again how South Africa's Cape is ideal terroir for this variety. Refined and elegant; creamy and lightly toasted with soft vanilla tones. Gorgeous.

This is Jackson Family Estate‘s first foray into South Africa – and what a debut by winemaker Graham Weerts and vineyard manager Rosa Kruger who sourced the fruit from exceptional sites in Stellenbosch, Overberg and Robertson. The wine carries the 55% new French oak with ease to reveal a profoundly complex Chardonnay with heft, depth and well-judged acidity. Stone fruits, pear, herbs, lees and hay notes and long saline finish, make this a very complete and complex effort. A star in the making. Drink:2016-2026

Medium-deep ruby color; complex black cherry and blueberry aromas with notes of dried savory spices; dense and complex on palate with full black cherry and blueberry fruit, great structure, toasty oak and a balanced, very long finish. WOW! This is a terrific Pinot with a long life ahead of it. Cambria has shown it can really kick it up a notch with this series of single clone bottlings.

Big resiny, smoky, black cherry jam, mineral, compost and liquorice root nose with a hint of tobacco and compost. Ripe, round and elegant with soft, supple tannins. Very flavourful with black cherry, raspberry, smoky, mineral vanilla and liquorice root flavours. Long, balanced and intense.

It's not the first time that Cambria's Katherine's has performed at the top of our chardonnay tasting - the past two vintages have both scored 90 or above. This may be a big, buttery wine, with lots of corn-silk richness, but it is also remarkably fresh, continuing to express a lively, honeyed ocean-coast minerality the day after it's first opened. The firm, compact structure is all seashells, layered in white. That contrasts the earthier elements of mushrooms, ferns and dried honeycomb. In balance, it stays cool for all its size and alcohol, a zesty, substantial white for pork or turkey long-brined then roasted.

Here's a strong argument for more syrah in the Santa Maria Valley, especially at the Tepusquet vineyard where Cambria grows 19 acres of the variety. This isn't the most complex wine in the world, but it feels so good in the mouth, perfectly balanced, statuesque. Dark plum skin plays a role in the color and in the savor of the aroma. And there's a mouthwatering, gentle acidity, like that of a rich, ripe pear. The flavors are persistent and dynamic, soft and concentrated, moving out in all directions. Get a case.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Clone 23 is a dark, mysterious beauty. Graphite, smoke, lavender and spices are some of the notes that gradually open up. Virile and imposing, the 2013 finishes with explosive energy and tons of nuance. Drink this superb, distinctive Pinot Noir over the next 5-7 years.

Deep and hearty mulberry aromas meet with condensed rose petals, cinnamon, clove and hot gingerbread on the earthy, spicy nose of this clonal bottling by longtime winemaker Denise Shurtleff. The sip is thick and full of chaparral herbs at first, then opens toward rounded red cherry, cranberry and cinnamon before diving into fennel and peppercorn. It's amazing for one clone to be so complex.

Classic Cambria Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley, this is translucent in color, silky in texture and bone dry, yet unbelievably concentrated. Full bodied and warm in alcohol, it has massive flavors of cherry compote, cranberry, persimmon, sweet, smoky oak and crushed spice. It should age gracefully over the next six years.

Rich, juicy and deep with black cherry, caramel and soft oak; lush and dense with finesse, elegance and complexity; long and lovely.

Warm, full aromas of wood smoke, with hints of coffee and black plums. Rich and complex. Smoky, meaty flavors vie with sweet fruity ones in a nicely framed, mouth-filling treat of a wine. Well balanced and lingering.

Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2015 Syrah Tepusquet Vineyard is the most impressive wine in the range today. Powerful, dense and explosive, the 2015 pulses with both energy. An exotic mélange of inky dark fruit, creme de cassis, lavender, black pepper and spice builds as this striking wine shows off its pedigree.

A vivid taste profile of Chardonnay in its finest California persona, French oak tempering the suggestions of apples, pears, melon, adding the intrigue of wood incense.

Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part One The 2016 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard is a total knockout. Dense, powerful and unctuous, with tremendous depth, the 2016 hits all the right notes. Even with all of its natural intensity, the 2016 possesses striking aromatic presence as well as freshness to play off the generous inky blue fruit. There is almost no perception of tannin in this impeccably balanced Pinot from winemaker Jonathan Nagy. The 2016 was done with fully destemmed fruit. Don’t miss it.

There's a prominent but relatively restrained sense of cherry juice on the nose of this bottling alongside gamy meat, sagebrush and composting rose-petal aromas. The palate is framed by strong energy, which delivers red fruit, sharp red spice and tinges of spearmint and tarragon.

From a cool climate site in the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2015 Pinot Noir Rita's Crown delivers beautiful minerality as well as elegance in its medium-bodied, seamless profile. Black raspberries, gunpowder, crushed rocks, and ample forest floor notes develop beautifully with time in the glass, and this beauty can be drunk today or cellared for a decade. This cuvée spent 16 months in 57% new French oak.

There’s a great deal of sagebrush on the nose of this bottling from a vine yard in the eastern Sta. Rita Hills, along with red cherry, pencil lead and sandalwood. Dark cherry and cranberry flavors power the palate, the fruit wrapped in hickory smoke. Thyme flavors carry into the tannic finish.

Lush fresh cherry nose; silky and ripe with bright cherry and tangy acidity; supple, balanced and juicy; long and lovely.

This best-of-barrels bottling is intended to impress with its weight and gravitas, and it succeeds despite exhibiting more restraint than in previous vintages. Plush red strawberry and plum fruit is spiced with star anise and clove on the nose. The palate combines a sanguine element with smoky oak notes. Vanilla bean and ginger snap flavors extend toward the finish, which proves rather refreshing.