The terrific 1999 Cardinale (a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot) possesses a murky purple color as well as a sweet nose of vanilla, Asian spices, licorace, and blackberry/currant fruit. Full-bodied, dense, and chewy with moderately high tannin, this large-scaled, pure red will handsomely repay cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2007 - 2020+.

This wine a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon with 16% Merlot. Aromas of red cherry tomato, red cherry preserves and blackberry pie. The polished and soft texture makes this wine shine. Black tea, anise and blackberry pie flavors show their appeal. This has less weight and intensity than the other vintages but will continue cellar well over the next decade.

Wonderfully proportioned, smooth & ripe, with rich black cherry, currant, wild berry & spice, offering depth & complexity, turning elegant & sophisticated. Cabernet Sauvigon & Merlot. Best from 2001 through 2009. 3900 cases made.

Bright deep ruby. Aromatic nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, graphite, licorice, bitter chocolate and minerals. Big, sweet and generous; superb ripe acidity gives the dark berry flavors clarity and verve. Not a blockbuster but possesses the structure for longer-term aging. Very fine tannins spread out to coat the entire mouth. Very long and bright on the aftertaste. Classy cabernet sauvignon-based wine.

Wonderful harmony and finesse, with layers of ripe, rich currant, black cherry, toasty oak, spice, coffee and cedar notes. Turn supple, elegant and spicy on the finish, where the flavors linger.

[One of ] America's Premier Meritage Producers. "Medium body and acid. Lots of fruit and oak. Medium tannin. Black fruits, mint, vanilla, chocolate. Assertively minty, filled with ebullient fruit and dominated by sweet, spicy oak. Fine balance and rich, piquant fruit creates an elegant impression.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines This shows lots of dark fruit, sage, blueberries, ink and blackberries. Medium to full body with ultra-fine tannins and intensity and beauty. Linear and polished. Needs two to four years to soften.

A ripe, juicy, seemingly forward style, with mouthfilling plum and blackberry compote notes before the back end delivers gutsy black licorice, chocolate and roasted apple wood flavors that will need some time in the cellar to integrate fully. Has the energy to pull everything together.

Made by Chris Carpenter for Jackson Family Wines. This is a blend from mostly hillside and mountain vineyards. Really concentrated, intense and quite focused. There’s some very ripe blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, but it has nice structure and focus, with some grip and good acidity. Has a slightly citrussy finish with a primary, fruit-driven character. Should develop very nicely over the next decade, and possibly longer. Lovely.

A winner in a difficult year; luscious deep cassis, black cherry and plum with vanilla-inflected oak and spice; drinkable now but showing fine aging potential.

Polished and sophisticated; layers of well-ripened black cherry, blackcurrant, mocha and spice. Finishes with palate-cleansing acidity; seamless, sturdy tannins, good for cellaring.

...it showcases an immaculate core of blackberries and black currants. Elegant and classy, it should age well throughout the decade.

Bright full ruby. Sexy oak complements aromas of crushed cassis, black cherry, violet, licorice and bitter chocolate. Pliant and dense but with a captivating light touch to the dark fruit and violet flavors. Classic firmly structured Napa cabernet, finishing impressively long and lively, with fine-grained tannins. Winemaker Chris Carpenter is able to select from Jess Jackson's Artisans & Estates' best cabernet vineyards around Napa Valley.

Ripe and fresh with tangy plum fruit and smooth vanilla in the nose; bright and lively, clean, complex and balanced.

Silky and rich; dense and complex with lovely style and finesse; spicy and intense. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot.

Ruby-red. Sexy, varietally accurate aromas of currant, cedar, tobacco and violet. Rich and ripe but dry, with lovely purity of black cherry, chocolate and dusty earth flavors. The wine's lively acids and fine tannins frame the fruit and carry the finish, which features lovely aromatic character and brooding dark berry fruitiness. Classy, pure wine, built for a couple decades of life in the bottle. (I was unable to taste the 2004, as the wine had recently been racked.)

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond Arrowood's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Crown is fabulous. Rich and explosive, the Knights Crown is almost shockingly sensual for a wine from Knights Valley. Racy and silky, the Knights Crown is more texturally finessed than most Knights Valley Cabernets, it is a wine of sheer sensuality and appeal.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Revelation is laced with expressive dark cherry, plum, tobacco, incense, lavender and licorice notes. Sumptuous in feel, with soft contours and exotic aromatics, the Revelation is another super-impressive red from Captûre. The higher percentage of new oak here vis-à-vis- the Harmonie adds volume but at the expense of some aromatic freshness.

A rich nose of papaya, mangoes, butterscotch, banoffee pie, dried cloves and vanilla. Full body, loads of tropical fruit, a driven serving of acidity and a long finish.

The single wine from this Chardonnay exclusive producer shows elegant structure and lively style with toasty oak and intruiging hints of spice; complex and graceful

Our favorite of the experimental clones. The smoked bacon and underbrush aromas turn to a big mouthful of juicy black cherries and licorice, accented with a dusting of earth. It's a big, lush Pinot that finishes with chocolate-covered cherries.

Medium-deep ruby color; earth tones, black cherry and floral, violet note; deep and rich on palate, with black cherry blackberry and a hint of chocolate; great structure, long finish. The rich and ripe flavors along with classic structure make this Pinot outstanding.

When first poured, this is as bright as the sun reflecting off the beach. So bright, it's hard to catch the bottom notes, the fruit slowly revealed below all the dusty red spice that hovers like a cloud-thread of perfume. A chocolate note of tannin emerges as the dust begins to settle, along with a deeper tone of black olives and dense red fruit. But the tension continues, a contrast of grounded strength with elusive perfume, feverish as a young wine and well worth following as it ages.

A complicated wine with two separate personalities. First, it shows some of the greener aspects of Santa Maria Pinot, edging forward with scents of fennel, anise, roasted carrots, yams. . .as if an unformed mash of holiday flavors. Then there's the raspberry side, the brightness of color developing into a bright fruit flavor as it gives up the initial blackness. The fruit yields from an espresso-like tannin, intense & impacted, growing ever more powerful in the glass. Give this several years in the cellar to resolve & it should prove fascinating (1200 cases).