Pretty much as good as any Cabernet out there, if not better, and at a fraction of the price you'll pay for the cults. If there was ever a wine made for the cellar, it's this one, the antidote for those who consider California Cabernet a simple fruit bomb. Completely dry, with exquisite tannins, its blackberry, currant, red licorice and oak-inspired flavors are massive and classic. Hard to exaggerate how good this fine wine is. Drink 2013-2020 and beyond.

This mountain Cab, blended with a little Petit Verdot and Syrah, is grown at 2,400 feet in the Mayacamas Mountains, which provide the east wall of Alexander Valley. The wine is know to be an ager, and the '04 should develop for many years. It's a tremendous wine, the equal of almost anything from Napa, which, after all, is just a geographic boundary away. Fabulously concentrated in cassis, currant, smoky cherry, licorice and chocolate flavors, its tannic structure is nearly perfect.

This mountain Cab, blended with a little Petit Verdot and Syrah, is grown at 2,400 feet in the Mayacamas Mountains, which provide the east wall of Alexander Valley. The wine is know to be an ager, and the '04 should develop for many years. It's a tremendous wine, the equal of almost anything from Napa, which, after all, is just a geographic boundary away. Fabulously concentrated in cassis, currant, smoky cherry, licorice and chocolate flavors, its tannic structure is nearly perfect.

This light yellow colored Chardonnay from Stonestreet is Excellent and one of the best Chardonnay's that I have covered in a while. It opens with a pleasant pineapple and oak bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium to full bodied, extremely well-balanced and smooth as silk. The flavor profile is a delicious oak and creme brulee blend with notes of mild butterscotch and ripe pear. I also detected hints of pineapple in the background. The finish is dry and its yummy flavors fade away nicely. If you know someone special that loves Chardonnay, share this wine with them and make their day!

The 2014 Chardonnay Red Point comes from volcanic soils at an elevation of 800 to 1,000 feet These white tufa soils have produced an incredibly dense, rich Chardonnay with a subtle influence of oak, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and a fabulous nose of poached pears, honeysuckle, wet stones, white currants and quince. This is a glorious Chardonnay for drinking over the next 5-8 years.

One of my favorites is the 2012 Chardonnay Upper Barn, which boasts remarkable intensity as well as lots of tropical fruit, a stony-like minerality, and a full-bodied, layered mouthfeel. This is a multi-dimensional, profound Chardonnay (as it often was when made by Helen Turley) from a vineyard planted with an Old Wente clone as well as the Hyde clone of Chardonnay. It should drink well for 5-6 years.

The nose is a supple blueberry and licorice-soaked black cherry with dense layering of chocolate and notes of cranberry, forest floor. The palate entry is a subtle red fruit with a core of beautifully formed velvety, spiced cherry and polished blue plum. Impeccable layering of cedar, plum, spice, cherry and cocoa all wrapped up in seamless acidity.

North Coast Part 1: Napa Valley’s Incredible 2016s My favorite in the lineup was the 2016 Cabernet Franc Mt. Veeder. This rock star effort has a Cheval Blanc-like level of complexity and purity. Possessing a huge perfume of black cherries, blackberries, violets, lavender, and savory herbs, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, incredible elegance, ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s not a blockbuster, yet it has world-class complexity, elegance, and purity. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years.

2017 California Pinot Noir All-Americans First Team Wines ….ridiculously alluring….flat-out delicious….celebratory black cherry delight.

This is a seductive and delicious California red, ripe and juicy, fruit-driven, with luscious currant, black cherry, wild berry and plummy Cabernet flavors that are sharply focused and long, complex and concentrated on the finish. A classic.

This is a knockout wine (if you're lucky enough to find it - only 326 cases were made). It is amazingly complex, with layers of ripe black cherry and deep blackberry fruit. The finish is long, completely balanced and lovely.

…sourced entirely from the prime benchland Beckstoffer Vineyards, is classic Napa in every way: Very ripe and well extracted, the wine is packed with flavors of crème de cassis, anise and coffee. French oak adds spice and rounds it out with a dash of cream. It's a stunning wine to taste on its own, and it has the structure to be food friendly

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Deep garnet-purple colored and made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain gives up tantalizing notes of licorice, chocolate box and spearmint over a core of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries and kirsch plus wafts of roses and fertile loam. Full-bodied, firm and oh-so-minerally in the mouth, it has a solid structure of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering earthy note.

Napa Valley’s Extraordinary 2016 Cabernets - Part 1 The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain), all from Keyes, is dark and explosive on the palate, with tremendous thrust and intensity in all directions. Crushed rocks, menthol, crème de cassis, dark chocolate, pencil shavings and cured meats race out of the glass. Dense and potent, the 2016 has a very bright future ahead of it. The Howell Mountain is a wine of gravitas and pure power.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Mt. Veeder) is the most distinguished and nuanced of these four Cabernets from Lokoya. Beams of tannin give the wine its shape and vibrancy. Deceptively medium in body, with terrific energy, the 2015 has quite a bit to offer, especially once the tannins start to soften. Bright red mountain fruit, savory herbs and expressive floral notes all develop as this striking wine continues to open up in the glass.

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain features an evocative red and black currant-scented nose with nuances of spice box, lavender, tilled soil and chargrill plus a hint of tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and fine grained, with lovely red and black fruit layers, finishing long and earthy.

Classic aromas of graphite, crushed rocks, boysenberries, black raspberries, blackberries, and subtle wood soar from the glass of the inky/purple-colored 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. Full-bodied and formidably endowed with awesome purity as well as a stunning, layered texture, this beauty has it all. Give it 5-6 years of bottle age and enjoy it over the next three decades. It is a prodigious Howell Mountain wine from Jess Jackson's Keyes Vineyard.

Napa Valley: 2007 Retrospective - Napa's Turning-Point Vintage Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain sings of blueberry preserves, Black Forest cake and chocolate box with touches of bay leaves, iron ore, wood smoke and fragrant earth plus a hint of lavender. The full-bodied palate is beautifully structured with ripe, taut, grainy tannins and bags of freshness supporting the muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain has an opaque purple color and fabulously intense notes of beef blood, crushed rocks, forest floor, crème de cassis, licorice, and a volcanic/charcoal/hot gravel character. This is terrific stuff. Full-bodied, with a majestic mouthfeel and finish, this is just a magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon from a vineyard on Diamond Mountain called Wallis. Only 667 cases were produced.

Another prodigious effort is the black/purple-colored 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which comes from the Keyes Vineyard owned by the Jackson family. It is another small production cuvee of only 382 cases, versus 400 of the Diamond Mountain and 571 of the Mount Veeder. This wine shows the classic mulberry, graphite-laced, floral and chalky notes of Howell Mountain, with tremendous intensity and skyscraper-like texture. It is full-bodied and powerful with sweet tannin and loads of minerality and floral notes. Again, the tannins are so sweet and succulent this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain (100% Cabernet Franc) gives up exuberant bramble fruits, baked raspberries, mulberries and wild blueberries with suggestions of pencil shavings, kirsch, rose hip tea and tobacco leaf. Full-bodied and with a very firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins, it has wonderful perfume and depth, finishing long and mineral laced.

Dark, viscous and monumental, this Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend detonates on the palate with black currants, chocolate and cedar, wrapped into the most perfect tannins. Outstanding, and should age for many years. Only 277 cases of this wine, which was grown on steep hillsides, were produced.

Ranked number 5 for the year 1989.

Stunning. The real breakthrough wine. It ranked No. 5 in The Wine Spectator's 1989 Top 100.

Included in Wine Spectator's Top 10 list, 1989.