The 2014 Arcanum, made with 60% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, represents a carefully conceived and contemplated blend to match the difficult conditions of the vintage. Unlike the 2014 Valadorna that seemed to suffer more in this challenging vintage, this top-shelf wine really has its act together. Soft and rich layers of black fruit and spice give the wine lasting depth and intensity. Perhaps the finish is a tad shorter compared to other vintages, but the difference is really quite small. Ultimately, this is a full-bodied Tuscan red with the potential for ten years (or more) of happy bottle aging.

A layered and fresh 2012 showing more focus and structure than many 2012s due to the hot growing season. Medium to full body, firm and velvety tannins. A blend of cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Drink now.

Dense and powerful, this red layers ripe black currant, cherry, chocolate, prune and spice flavors over firm, assertive tannins. This is starting to hit its stride, but needs food to match the tannins. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2018.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of hazelnuts and rose bush. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh and spicy finish with currant bush and green walnuts.

This opaque and dark ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a burnt match stick and black currant bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium to full bodied, very nicely balanced and super smooth. The flavor profile is a delicious mild black currant and black olive blend with notes of gentle oak and graphite. I also detected hints of blueberry. The finish is dry and its refined tannins linger and last for a very extended period of time. This Cab would pair well with a New York strip steak.

Weekend Wine Picks Anakota sits in Knights Valley over an ancient volcanic zone, reddish-brown, gravel/silt loam soils intermingled with some volcanic rock, with an affinity for the main Bordeaux grapes. Since 2001, Anakota has made two single-vineyard, single-varietal, single-appellation estate cabs: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. The 2014 Helena Dakota is a 12.4-acre block of vines below Mount St. Helena’s two highest peaks at 750 feet elevation. Look for a rich dark red with savoury espresso, chocolate aromas and flavours laced with blackberries, cassis and some wet stone minerality.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard comes across as one of the most tannic, backward wines I tasted from any of the four vintages I was looking at during my extensive trip to Napa Valley in late August and early September. Very extracted with high tannins (almost excessive), this 2009 is built like an old style Bordeaux with lots of red and black fruits, graphite and noticeable oak. Forget it for a long, long time.

Some jam but lots of spices and currants on the nose. Very stylish. Full bodied, with a beautiful purity of fruit and super silky tannins. Good acidity, very focused, and pinpointed flavors. A nice combination of richness and finesse.

These high elevation Cabernet Sauvignons, culled out from a larger vineyard, are remarkable offerings with aging potential of 25+ years. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana's inky purple color is followed by a rich, sumptuous bouquet of espresso roast, melted chocolate, black currants, charcoal, and subtle background oak. Full-bodied and dense with silky tannins as well as slightly more velvety texture and opulence than its sibling, this beauty should drink well for 20-25+ years.

Gorgeous nose with blueberries, currants, minerals, and hints of flowers. Full bodied, with very well integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This is very polished, balanced, and pretty right now, but give this time.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota comes across as a rich wine. Its opaque purple color is followed by a stunning aromatic display of lead pencil shavings, espresso, roast, chocolate, blackberries, and cassis. The wine is deep and full-bodied with sweet tannins, decent acidity, a harmonious mouthfeel, and a seamless integration of acidity, oak, tannin, and alcohol. This beauty can be drunk now or cellared for two decades.

This is a really complex carignan that shows raspberries, dried herbs, cedar, quartz and iodine. Full-bodied, layered palate that’s very structured and well defined, the acidity weaving elegantly through a solid center palate and beautifully crafted tannin backbone. Drink now or hold.

Alcance is a member of Vigno (Vignadores del Carignan), a group of growers working together to rescue and promote the heritage of old, dry-farmed carignan vines in Maule. This wine comes from Cauquenes, where it grows in granitic soils. It’s an extracted, voluptuous take on the grape, with smoky notes of oak crowding into the midst of all the ripe red fruit, exotic spice and scents of fresh flowers. It is rustic and delicious, needing roasted lamb to match its tremendous power, or time in your cellar to tame it.

Part of Jackson Family Wines, based in Santa Rosa, California, Alcance is an estate in the Maule Valley and Jess Jackson's team was the first from outside Chile to explore the potential of that region post-Pinochet, in the early 1990's. JFW's lead winemaker, Randy Ullom, works with Andrés Sánchez of Gillmore Wines, producing this from 10-year-old vines on granitic soils. It's charming in its crunchy, refreshing red fruit that sails on with sweet spices, tightening up in a firm, more circumspect finish. Pour it with something meaty.

The 2015 Zena Crown Slope has a youthful nose that is still growing into itself, though it promises to be a thing of beauty. Detecting ripe cherry, raspberry, plum and multiple florals. The texture on this one is stunning; talk about velvety tannins, there’s no end to them or their silkiness. The acid is on-point as well. Simply stunning. The flavors will require a bit more time to match the texture, but they don’t disappoint at this stage with sweet plum sauce, dark cherries, chocolate mousse, graphite, cinnamon, nutmeg and just a hint of green onion spice. Not for the faint of heart, and worthy of ten years in the cellar. 94 points, value B.

Shows precision and expression, with refined black cherry and blueberry flavors accented by crushed stone and dark spice notes, building complexity toward polished tannins.

A dynamic combination of rich polish and great structure, with expressive black cherry, licorice and spiced orange flavors that finish with refined, mineral-tinged tannins.

Deep vivid ruby. Heady, smoke-accented red and blue fruit preserve, spicecake, vanilla and floral pastille scents show excellent clarity and pick up notes of exotic Indian spices and cola with air. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated, alluringly sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and cherry cola flavors that show appealing spiciness and a touch of smoky minerality. Weighty yet surprisingly graceful in style, finishing with powerful thrust and velvety, slowly building tannins that fold quickly into the plush fruit.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Demure, but pleasant aromas of cassis, earthy flora and wood shed. The most harmonious wine of the trio tasted here, with a bit more vibrancy. Nothing is out of place. A discreetly sappy black cherry fruit core is accented with a touch of cardamom spice. Oak is contributory without imposition. The wine has a mouth filling presence, a sleek texture, with integrated tannins, and a potent finish. There is an indefinable special quality to this wine that makes it stand out.

Light and zingy, dripping with gorgeous raspberry, strawberry and floral flavors, weaving in strong mineral notes as the finish gains momentum. A hint of pepper informs the aftertaste. Drink now through 2023.

Charge at this! What an absolute ripper. Superb value too. Sourced from vines planted in 2009 and 1946, the fruit was hand-picked over two separate dates - one week apart. Wild yeast fermented with time on lees for five months. Certified organic and biodynamic. Pale, dry and ridiculously delicious. I could drink a gallon of this stuff. It's almost as though there's something here for everyone - delicious fruit, pretty aromatics and a bone dry finish. Whiffs of musk and rose water along with squashed strawberry get you in the mood. In the mouth, winemaker says rose hip but I say hibiscus. Either or. Generous and juicy to taste, the fruit is soft seeing white peach and strawberry before a red apple crunch swoops on the finish. Moreish and absolutely delicious - hello sunshine! Drink now.

Pale copper-crimson, gorgeously aromatic, spotlessly clean and a delight to drink. Echoes of redcurrant and spice, dried herbs and cherries. Dry and racy, but not anaemic or underdone. Everything here, price included, is in alignment.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings A beautifully fresh nose with expressive pomegranate, wild red fruit and amaro-like, herbal accents. The palate has a very plush, smooth-honed and keenly detailed tannin profile with such long, effortlessly powerful resolve. Brilliant grenache here. Certified organic. Drink now. Screw cap.

Grenache from an egg, a ceramic one at that. I've seen Peter Fraser's egg collection in the winery - quite a sight. This is a great expression of the variety. The fruit was hand-picked and mechanically sorted. 100% of the fruit was then destemmed, crushed and tipped into 675L ceramic eggs. The fermentation occurred in the eggs and the wine remained on skins for 191 days post-fermentation. Exclusively matured in ceramic eggs. No pressings were used. Not fined. Certified organic/biodynamic. A lip-smacking wine. Perfectly manicured edges, generous feels are the hallmark of this beaut drink. In some ways it's purity doesn't it make it feel like Grenache, that's until a soft caress of varietal spice crawls up and cautiously builds momentum through the mouth. Textural feels from time on skins is evident and adds personality. The finish comes across a bit slippery, almost forgetting itself on the way out. But there's enough hang time from the generous fruit to push that concern to the side. Another glass or two certainly isn't out of the question.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World A decadent grenache with dried blueberries, tar, brambleberries and Chinese spices. The palate is also generous but well supported by grainy, tight tannins and a fine line of acidity. A crunchy, chewy finish.