Well-framed and slightly brooding, with cherry and blueberry flavors laced with black tea and dusky spice. Drink now through 2028.

Freemark Abbey's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is dark, supple and inviting. Black cherry, plum, mocha and licorice give this open-knit Cabernet tons of up-front appeal. Silky tannins wrap around the juicy, inviting finish. The 2018 is attractive, but it is also a bit soft. I would prefer to drink it over the near and medium term.

Another small production cuvée (2,000 cases), the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford comes from a handful of sites in Rutherford and offers more medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of red and black currants, tobacco, sandalwood, and cedar. It has some firmer, chewy tannins, so give bottles 2-3 years in the cellar. It will drink well for a decade.

There are roughly 25,000 cases of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which is sourced from all over the valley. Certainly a beautiful wine worth seeking out (and it should be easy to find), it has ample ripe cherry and cassis fruits as well as spicy oak and tobacco nuances. This impeccably made, medium-bodied, elegant Cabernet will shine for a decade.

This slightly opaque and deep purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Arrowood opens with a spiced plum and black cherry bouquet with hints of clove. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied with medium acidity. The flavor profile is a black currant and plum blend with notes of oak and minerality. I also detected hints of craisin and cinnamon spice. The finish is dry and its flavors and gentle fine tannins drift away nicely. This Cab would pair well with beef tenderloin and a red wine shiitake sauce on a baguette.

This medium purple colored Syrah from Copain opens with a moist pipe tobacco and black cherry bouquet with hints of leather, craisin and cinnamon. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with medium acidity. It is also balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a pronounced oak influenced pomegranate and stony minerality blend with notes of craisin. I also detected hints of red raspberry and cinnamon mixed in. The finish is dry and its dusty tannins and fruit flavors sail away nicely and last for a considerable amount of time. This red fruit-based Syrah would pair well with Shaking Beef from the Slanted Door (San Francisco) or with bratwurst sliders on pretzel buns.

This grows at high-elevation estate vineyards, predominantly from the mountains above Alexander Valley (91 percent) with a contribution from Knights Valley. That tight, mountain-grown structure is apparent in the iron-filling austerity of the tannins and the restraint they place on the wine's dark floral fruit. You could play off the capsicum spice in those youthful tannins and decant this for a slow-braised pork shoulder. Or you could cellar it for five years or more.

Mouthwatering, offering a vibrant mix of lime sherbet, ripe melon, candied ginger and lemongrass flavors on a smooth and juicy frame. Drink now.

Well-focused and juicy, with loamy hints to the red plum and berry flavors, featuring a cedar note. Leafy accents emerge on the rich, minerally finish. Drink now through 2023.

Big, featuring concentrated and well-knit flavors of baked apple, dried apricot and melon. Lemon meringue notes show midpalate, with fine-textured minerality and toasty accents lingering into the finish. Drink now through 2024.

This wine has a creamy midpalate of robust apple and pear that includes nuanced oak and balanced weight. White-flower and jasmine aromas permeate throughout, making for a pretty experience of grace and elegant texture, which finishes in crisp melon.

Steely and crisp in melon, apple and nectarine, this white is integrated in oak with a hint of rich brioche and vanilla. Long and lengthy, it has well-integrated acidity that keeps it fresh in the glass despite its hearty concentration.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Fulton Ranch has a lot of character. It is one of the more structured Chardonnays in this range. Today, there is not a whole lot of Russian River juiciness; instead the 2018 comes across as quite closed and severe.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vales Edge emerges from a site in Alexander Valley at 450 feet above sea level. Dried flowers, spice, menthol and licorice give the 2016 lovely aromatic presence to match its mid-weight personality.

This dark red colored Pinot Noir from Cambria opens with an attractive blueberry, strawberry and whipped cream bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a strawberry and mild blackberry blend with notes of minerality, cola and oak. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins and acidity stick around for a while after the wine is gone. This Pinot would pair well with a pork tenderloin dish.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Brilliant magenta. Expressive aromas of ripe red berries, incense and potpourri are brightened by a building spicy nuance. Silky, seamless and lively on the palate, offering sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors complemented by suave rose pastille and mocha notes. Finishes very long and sappy, with repeating floral character and smooth, well-integrated tannins.

Deep bright-rimmed red. Lively, sharply focused red berry aromas show very good clarity and pick up hints of candied rose, white pepper and smoky minerals with air. Taut and sharply delineated, offering intense raspberry, bitter cherry and spicecake flavors that open up very slowly with air. In a bright, spice-driven style, finishing with firm cut and just a trace of silky tannins.

This dark red colored Pinot Noir from Cambria opens with a new leather and black raspberry bouquet with hints of flinty stone and cherry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, soft and round. The flavor profile is a tangy black raspberry with notes of cedar, minerality, clove and cinnamon. I also detected hints of craisin and red plum mixed in as well. The finish is dry and its acidity and flavors are nicely prolonged. This Pinot definitely shows better with aeration. Decant it and swirl your glass before pairing it with salmon with a sweet and sour plum and rosemary sauce.

A new offering from the producer, this blends together Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it offers sleek flavors of strawberry puree and brioche that benefit from crisp acidity and stony texture. Balanced and fresh, it finishes in lemon peel and flowers.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley) is bright, focused and super-expressive. Lemon confit, mint, crushed rocks and white pepper add striking aromatic top notes to this finely sculpted, chiseled Chardonnay from Nielson. This is a fabulous example of Santa Maria Chardonnay at a price that won't break the bank.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Ex Post Facto is an attractive wine from Greg Brewer's new Syrah project. Fermentation with whole clusters brings out a whole range of bright floral and mineral notes to play off a core of dark red Syrah fruit. The 2017 is not super complex, but it is absolutely delicious, and, just as importantly, will drink well right out of the gate. My impression is that Brewer is still developing the idea of the wine he wants to make here. The first two vintages have certainly been impressive, but I think the best is yet to come.

This has the shape of carmenère, once called merlot Chileno, light in the middle followed by a wave of fruit saturating the end. The floral notes of cassis and the herbal details give it length and tension, a wine to pour with roast lamb.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The pale to medium ruby-purple colored 2017 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills has a broody nose of loamy earth, crushed blackberries and black cherries with notes of boysenberry, cranberry, potpourri and an earthy undercurrent. The light to medium-bodied palate offers concentrated, nuanced fruits with a sturdy frame of grainy tannins and juicy freshness, finishing spicy.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2018 Chardonnay Grand Reserve offers pure aromas of baked apples, poached pears, toast, a hint of gunflint and white peaches with floral perfume. The palate is medium-bodied, silky and intense with toasty fruits, juicy acidity and a long, savory-laced finish. This is expertly made, delicious and a great value!

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Stainless steel fermented and aged in 25% new French oak for 12 months, the 2016 Syrah Tepusquet Vineyard has a medium ruby-purple color and gives up aromas of dried lavender and desiccated violets with touches of cocoa, cast iron pan, crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, plus hints of menthol, charcuterie and earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers fresh, peppery fruits with a firm frame of grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and elegant.