The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota is laced with the essence of graphite, smoke, gravel, pencil shavings, blueberry jam and dark spices. Firm, incisive tannins give the wine its shape and feel. This is a classic Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with all of the signatures amped up by the natural intensity of the year.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard is much more savory and mineral-driven than the 2012, with a greater sense of Knights Valley character. Inky blue and black fruits, graphite, smoke, lavender and cloves are all very much alive in the glass. Underlying beams of acidity and salinity give the wine its pulsating energy and tension. This is a terrific showing from Anakota and Pierre Seillan.

Grilled herbs, blackberry jam, spices and graphite jump from the glass in a vivid, nuanced wine. The flavors are wonderfully clear and articulate, especially for such a big, resonant wine. Chocolate, mocha and spices are some of the notes that inform the rich, generous finish.

Good ruby-red. Cool aromas of crushed blackberry, cassis and minerals, plus a sexy candied note. Thick and powerful if a bit youthfully reduced, boasting strong, rather backward flavors of cassis, chocolate and iron. Finishes with huge, youthfully tough tannins that will require patience.

I have been to South America precisely once, and it was a memorable trip to Chile and Argentina. I left with the determination to return, to experience more of both countries, but particularly Chile, which has rich culture and traditions that are largely unknown in the U.S. Fairly light in the glass with pineapple and lemon, and a touch of oak. The palate is rich and unctuous with some initial fruit that is quickly subdued by a wave of butterscotch as well as considerable minerality. This is really a fantastic wine, but likely one that will not be embraced by the haters of Chardonnay. Rich, full, focused. Outstanding.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two A barrel sample, the 2017 Pinot Noir Aliette is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with a nose of spiced red fruits—red cherry, strawberry and cranberry—with nuances of floral perfume, underbrush and warm earth. Medium-bodied, it has lovely concentration of red and black fruits in the mouth accented by spice, with fine, grainy tannins and great juicy acidity, finishing long with oodles of sweet fruit. This is promising.

Dark raspberry jam, white flowers, sweet spices and rose petals jump from the glass in the 2011 La Muse. Wonderfully open and expressive today, the 2011 impresses for its silkiness and the sheer purity of its fruit. Floral and savory notes add complexity on the finish. I expect the 2011 will shut down a bit in bottle, but today it is impossible to miss the generosity and resonance of the fruit. I tasted the 2011 from tank, just before bottling.

Is fashioned from the rocky, mountain top Jackson Park vineyard in Bennett Valley along with a small amount of fruit from Alexander Valley as well as Knight's Valley. Its dense purple color is accompanied by wonderful notes of espresso, white chocolate, black currants, sweet kirsch, smoke, earth, fruitcake, mincemeat, and truffles. With formidable intensity, full body, sweet tannin, and tremendous delineation as well as structure, it will be at its peak between 2008-2020+

The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to be even more intense and powerful, with an opaque purple color, and gobs of lavishly oaked, smoky, cassis fruit intertwined with aromas of roasted herbs and high quality toasty oak. This powerful Cabernet reveals plenty of tannin, low acidity, and outsanding concentration and purity. This large-scaled, remarkably well-balanced wine should drink well young yet last for two decades.

From a site located on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2015 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is a complex, savory, medium-bodied and elegant effort that has lots of ripe currants, licorice and dried spice aromas and flavors. It shines for its elegance and finesse on the palate, but those Sta. Rita Hills tannin come through on the finish. Nevertheless, I'm sure this will be reasonably approachable on release.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard will certainly be an outstanding wine. Coming from granite soils on the warmer, southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands, it gives up lots of the textbook minerality I always find from this site as well as purple fruits, black raspberries, wild herbs and violet aromas and flavors. Firm, fresh and focused on the palate, it will need a year in the cellar to round into form.

From a terrific vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, the 2015 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is textbook wine from this site that offers tons of minerality and earth intermixed with notions of peppery herbs, currants, black cherries and mint. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it has fine tannin and notable balance. It should hit the ground running, yet evolve gracefully as well.

Deep ruby with a bright rim. Complex, expansive scents of candied red and dark berries and pungent flowers, with smoky Indian spice and mocha qualities adding complexity. Juicy, concentrated and penetrating, offering appealingly sweet black raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and a suggestion of succulent herbs. Smooth, fine-grained tannins add shape to the sappy, incisive finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity.

Like the 2013, the 2014 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is pretty and elegant, with a floral, perfumed bouquet, nicely integrated acidity and a rounded, supple texture. I think its balanced, and it finishes nicely as well. It should be close in quality to the 2013 and drink well for 7-8 years.

Opaque ruby. Exotically perfumed scents of raspberry liqueur, cherry-cola, licorice and sexy oak spices. Pliant, spice-tinged red and dark berry flavors gain energy with air, taking a turn to zestier red fruits. This impressively deep yet energetic Pinot finishes with excellent thrust, silky tannins and lingering spiciness.

Deep ruby. Intense smoke- and spice-accented cherry and dark berry aromas are complemented by hints of woodsmoke, sassafras and licorice. At once sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering densely packed black raspberry and floral pastille flavors and a touch of succulent herbs. Closes smooth and very long, with resonating spiciness and subtle, harmonious tannins.

Like the 2013, the 2014 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard comes from three different parcels in the vineyard. It's a superb looking barrel sample that exhibits lots of cassis, spring flowers and underbrush to go with a medium-bodied, layered and sexy profile on the palate. It certainly doesn't lack for fruit, yet the emphasis here is on freshness and purity. It should drink nicely on release and over the following 5-6 years.

Not yet bottled, the 2016 Zinfandel Limerick Lane Vineyard leads with its fruit, yet has good acidity and purity. Fresh plums, scorched earth, spice, and incense notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced effort that shows the quality of this great vintage for Sonoma.

Wine of the Week When I see a nearly five-year-old Sauvignon Blanc, I get worried. Really worried. Unless, of course, it says “Sancerre” on the bottle. With this bottle, I might have to expand that universe just a tad. This is delightful. Tropical and flinty on the nose with the slightest hint of that characteristic “cat pee.” The palate is still surprisingly fruity with great tartness and wet rock. Wow, this is good. Excellent... As I mentioned in the note above, I am usually not a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but this is not a usual Sauvignon. Even though the price of the 2014 Matanzas Creek Winery Sauvignon Blanc Bennett Valley is a bit higher than the average New World Sauvignon Blanc, there is little doubt in my mind that it is worth it, and worthy of Wine of the Week honors.

.reveals the Howell Mountain terroir in its earthy, violet, black currant/crème de cassis fruitiness. It possesses high tannin, and a linear, medium to full-bodied personality with plenty of firmness, grip, and structure. Lay this one away for the next 4-5 years, and enjoy it over the subsequent two decades!

A brilliant effort, although it is not yet in bottle, is the 2012 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate Seco Highlands, a 100% Pinot Noir from their estate vineyard in Monterey County. This is a tightly spaced vineyard planted with Dijon clones. This wine was aged in 100% French oak of which 85% was new. This beautiful wine possesses a complex nose of freshly cut mushrooms, black cherries, raspberries, forest floor and a floral character. A world-class Pinot Noir with medium to full body, loads of flavor and a textured, long finish, it can be enjoyed over the next 5-8 years. There are only 321 cases of this cuvee, so good luck finding any.

Absolutely brilliant is the 2012 Merlot Taylor Peak from Bennett Valley. Made from their Jackson Estate Vineyard, a relatively high elevation vineyard, this 100% Merlot was aged in 47% new French oak. The wine is serious stuff, with white cassis and black cherry liqueur intermixed with licorice, graphite and vanilla. It’s opaque purple, full-bodied, luscious and best drunk over the next 10-15 years.

Exhibits blueberry and blackberry fruit notes along with notions of crushed rocks, spicy oak, and tobacco leaf. Sweet and rich with soft tannin, terrific fruit intensity, an earthy/mineral component, and a long finish. It should evolve nicely for 15 or more years.

A potentially long-aged wine is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Hawkeye, from the hillside benchlands of the Alexander Valley. At nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in all French oak (54% new) for 21 months, this wine has a dense purple color and plenty of blackcurrants, licorice, vanilla and spice box. It is full-bodied, powerful, tannic, and should be cellared for a good 4-5 years and drunk over the following two decades.

Another brilliant effort...a blend of primarily Mt. Veeder fruit as well as a bit from Howell Mountain. Made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, it is an impressively built red exhibiting an inky/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of creosote, blue and black fruits, and mineral characteristics. It is extracted, rich, layered, and long with high tannin that suggests 4-5 years of cellaring is required. It should keep for two decades