The Jackson Estate wines are usually a couple of steps above K-J Vintner's Reserve. Full ripeness and a moderate vein of sweet-seeming oak make this full-bodied wine taste sunny and appealing. Black-cherry and baking-spice aromas lead to juicy generous fruit flavors.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases Aged 12 months in 31% new French oak, the 2016 Jackson Estate Appellation Series Pinot Noir Anderson Valley has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and displays an earthy nose of tilled soil, fallen leaves and truffes with a core of red and black cherries and mulberries with a touch of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, it completely coats the palate with vibrant red and black fruit, framed by fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long.

The 2016 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate Anderson Valley comes from three vineyards (Boont Ridge, Falk, and Philo) in the Anderson Valley and spent 12 months in 30% new French oak. It offers beautiful red currants, dried earth, dried spices, and loamy earth as well as medium-bodied richness and depth. With bright acidity, a clean, balanced profile, no hard edges, and outstanding length, it should drink nicely for 4-6 years.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases Aged 11 months in 42% new French oak, the 2016 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate Outland Ridge is medium ruby-purple colored and struts out of the glass with flamboyant Morello cherries, cranberry sauce and wild blueberries scents with hints of violets, oolong tea, spearmint and mossy bark. Medium-bodied, it has a solid structure of fine-grained tannins and great freshness, finishing long with a minty lift.

Lightly smoky and spicy oak nuances top off this deeply fruity and concentrated wine, which has firm tannins and good acidity to support its richness. Almost-sweet plum and black cherry notes form its core, while vanilla and baking spice notes complete the picture.

Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate Anderson Valley has earthy/savory notions of underbrush, fungi and mossy bark over a core of warm cherries, red currants and Bing cherries. Medium to full-bodied with a chewy backbone framing the vibrant fruit, it finishes with earthy layers.

This is a fruity wine that overflows with cherry, plum and raspberry aromas and beautifully ripe pure flavors along with some rhubarb and herbal accents that add complexity and interest. It's full bodied, and has a silky-smooth texture.

This full-bodied wine is complex and detailed from the spicy perfume to the finish, and rich and satisfying in the middle. Aromas like black tea and rhubarb lead to ripe and deep cherry and slightly tangy raspberry flavors that are lifted by moderate tannins and linger on the finish.

This rich, mouth-filling wine starts with almost-sweet floral, plummy, oaky aromas, building toward ripe cherry, strawberry and black plum flavors and a smooth texture. Everything, from its deep color to its lingering finish, suggests a bold personality.

This is a big, muscular wine with great structure and lots of enticing spicy oak and fruit flavors. It's full bodied, firmly tannic and very appetizing.

Classic Monterey Pinot, dry, crisp, silky and ripe. The fine 2007 vintage has made it explosive in cherries, currants, sassafras and cola, with refined, new oak notes of smoke and spice. Drink this rich wine now through 2013.

Cherry jam, barnyard, spicy, soy, celery, vanilla, cardamom, prune plum aromas. Ripe, round, rich, supple palate with good acidity balance. Smoky, spicy, savoury, celery salt, carrot, orange, cherry jam, plum and vanilla flavours with some tea leaf notes. A bit warm but there is delicious fruit and textures for current drinking. The biggest change here is the finesse and elegance this wine is developing as the vines age. The nose is ripe with bits of celery salt and soya and red fruit aromas mixed with dried herbs. The mid-palate is silky smooth and soft with delicious earthy, strawberry, spicy fruit flavours. It's still aged 10 months in 100 percent French oak but the new oak in the '07 edition is down to 43 percent that seems to be helping this pinot show better richness and complexity.

The latest Seco Highlands pinot is another jump up in finesse and elegance. There is also more black cherry fruit this year, and a little less of the spicy, carrot top and rhubarb flavours. Fine mid-palate weight, with smoky black fruit in the finish. Refined textures. It is aged 10 months in 100 percent French oak and 50 percent of that is new. Impressive.

Shows the polish and finesse of a wine costing far more. Made from selected Monterey vineyards and with considerable new French oak, the wine is flashy and complex, with cherry, cola, pomegranate and spice flavors and a rich earthiness that suggests sautéed mushrooms or truffles. Really notable for its balance and depth.

A real star in this portfolio is the 2007 Grand Reserve Syrah. Exuberant, flamboyant, flowery blackberry and cassis notes, along with some meat juices and bouquet garnish, jump from the glass of this densely purple-colored wine. Full-bodied, opulent, and seductive, it should be drunk in its first 7-8 years of life.

Inky dark and tannic, with a full-bodied mouthfeel. Shows very ripe flavors of red and black cherries, currants, anise, dark chocolate and smoky cedar. Quite rich, if a bit ponderous now, but should develop lightness and purity over the next 6-8 years as the tannins drop out.

Huge and intense in every respect. Dark and extracted, high in toasty oak, dense in tannins, tingly in acidity, and most of all, enormous in fruit. Waves of plum and blackberry cascade across the palate, ending in a burst of spice and mocha. Drink now through 2010.

Lush berry fruit and lovely smoky oak; dense and smooth, rich and long.

Sonoma County here, and I think I was told the grapes come mainly from the Alexander Valley and Knights Valley. Winemaster Randy Ullom says a long cold soak pre-fermentation is a key to the texture of this wine - gentle extraction of tannin using water as the medium, rather than alcohol. Plum, chocolate, gentle spice, light floral notes and vanilla oak. Medium bodied, tobacco savoury flavours in the mix, ripe tannin - a bit of grip here - but nice flow through the mouth with olive and tobacco on the finish. A delight for Merlot fanciers, no doubt.

Polished and well-structured, exhibiting the supple texture you expect in a top Merlot. Features a complex core, with aromas of blackberry and dried herb opening to flavors of black cherry, spice and lead pencil.

This Merlot starts off tough and tannic, with rich flavors of blackberries, currants and toasty oak, girded with minerals and spices and finishing totally dry. It feels elegant and balanced, showing a fine sense of control. Drink over the next 5-6 years.

It's all there with this rich Merlot. Fabulously lush in currants, mocha and cedar, it also displays great balance and charm. The tannins are superfine. Drink this beauty now through 2010.

The vineyard gets the benefit of cool breezes via the Petaluma Gap. The structure is very polished, with firm tannins and brisk acids framing blackberry, cherry, blueberry, cola and spice flavors. Notable for its richness and finesse, and a great success for a California Merlot.

When the pinot geeks trashed merlot in the movie Sideways, it wasn't the Taylor Peaks of the world they had in mind. This 100 percent Bennett Valley red is as good as Sonoma Mountain merlot gets. The powerful, mouth-filling red spends 13 months in 46 percent new French oak. The result is a sophisticated mix of cool blueberry fruit flavours flecked with licorice, tobacco and exotic bits of orange peel. Impressive Right Bank Bordeaux-styling, with plenty of fine-grained tannins to take it the distance. Cellar through 2015.