Vérité is French for truth, and the truth is that this has has always been an Old World wine made in the New World. Each year is a distinct mix of numerous small vineyard blocks orchestrated by the maestro and vigneron Pierre Seillan, who refers to his methodology as droit du sol, or the right of the soil. In 2013, La Joie is a 71/16/8/5 mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The attack is leaner than you might expect for California, more Bordelais left bank with a firm, spicy, earthy, forest floor undercurrent. The tannins are dense but refined; the fruit pretty but intense, mixing black berries and black cherries, licorice, and cocoa powder with more earth and mushroom notes before finishing long, firm and dry. There is amazing complexity and elegance here, and the potential to keep at least 25 years.

Top Ten: California Vérité is French for truth, and the truth is this is this has always been an old world wine made in the new world. Each year is a distinct mix of numerous small vineyard blocks. The maestro is vigneron Pierre Seillan, who refers to his methodology as droit du sol or the right of the soil. In 2013 La Joie is a 71/16/8/5 mix of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot that spends 15 months in 100 percent new French oak. The attack is leaner than you might expect for California, more Bordelais left bank with a firm, spicy, earthy, forest floor undercurrent. The tannins are dense but refined; the fruit pretty but intense, mixing black berries and black cherries, licorice, cocoa powder with more earth and mushroom notes before finishing long, firm and dry. Amazing complexity and elegance here and certainly the potential to keep at least twenty-five years. Best now with lamb shanks or a T-Bone steak but this baby should be cellared for a decade.

This comes from a vintage that brings together all the elements that showcase the potential of Sonoma terroirs. The wine is made from a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec, and aged in new oak for 16 months. This is the most aromatically minty of all the wines tasted, endowing it with grace notes of freshness and elegance that mingle with ripe black fruits, spices and a note of salinity. Dense but superbly polished tannins provide structure, and will carry the heft of this wine for another 10 to 15 years en route to its apogee.

The 2014 Le Désir is the most inward of these 2014s from Vérité. Dark raspberry jam, wild flowers, spice, pencil shavings, mocha, lavender and licorice infuse this deep, powerful, structured Cabernet Franc-based blend. The interplay of dense, sumptuous fruit and aromatic freshness makes for an absolutely compelling wine.

The 2017s From Sonoma Lastly, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard comes from volcanic and schist soils on the Alexander estate and vines planted in 1991. It spent 20 months in 66% new French oak and offers a slightly more rounded and sexy style compared to the Rockfall Vineyard. It boasts stunning notes of black fruits, smoke tobacco, cigar, spice box, and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and powerful on the palate, it’s another tour de force from this estate that’s going to keep for 20-25 years.

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.