Fresh and juicy with generous spice and blackberry; tangy and balanced with spice and vibrant flavors; long and snappy.

Bright and juicy berry flavors race through this clean, friendly zin. The fruit is sweetly ripe, corralled by crisp, mineral lines of tannin.

Fresh aromas, vivid citrus flavors, elegance and poise make this an attractive wine. It has a balance that is easy to enjoy and keeps calling for more sips, with pleasant notes of citrus and green fruit throughout.

Medium-bodied and fleshy for a sauvignon blanc, this excellent white oozes ripe peach, orange marmalade and melon flavours on a smooth texture, with a hint of smoke on the long finish.

The star of this line-up is the delicious, exotic, fruit-forward 2009 The Fume, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc from the North Coast (primarily Lake County and Alexander Valley). It offers abundant notes of honeysuckle, orange marmalade, fig and melons in a crisp, fresh, medium-bodied, exotic, exuberant style. It needs to be consumed over the next year.

This wine is well-balanced from nose to palate with caramel apple and ripe pears. The palate is rich with food-friendly acidity, and the fruit is vibrant thanks to fermentation mainly in stainless steel.

Smooth, soft and rounded with notes of vanilla and peach; juicy and lush with toasty oak and soft spices; long and generous.

2002 CHARDONNAY - SONOMA COUNTY Dry and acidy-tart, this is a wine of great structure and balance. The flavors veer toward lime custard, mangos, apricot, vanilla and slate, with a gentle overly of toasty oak. It's quite a sophisticated Chardonnay, and a great value.

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed The nose is very rich here, offering a wealth of plum paste, vanilla extract, chocolate and coffee beans. The palate's very intense with dense fruit, ripe tannins and a fruit-forward finish. Drink in 2020.

Rich, very ripe and outgoing both on the nose and in the mouth and a wine that will not be accused of being underplayed in any way, Mt. Brave’s is a big, beamy Merlot that succeeds in spite of its flirtations with excess. It is mouthfilling stuff with plenty of extracted, black cherry fruit keeping it on track, and, if we would not count on finesse ever becoming one of its strengths, it has the presence, the potency and the tannic structure to support a good half-decade of age. One star.

Good full red. Sexy high tones to the aromas of currant, chocolate, graphite and coffee. A tad aggressive with alcohol initially, but proving increasingly precise in the glass, with ripe red fruit, mocha and dusty spice flavors already displaying considerable personality. Very pliant, classically dry merlot with a firmly tannic, persistent finish.

Blended with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is a full-bodied concentrated red that's thick in tannin and youthful structure. Black fruit, sage, clove and cinnamon figure into the rich, lushly crafted palate that's integrated in toasted oak.

Top California Cabernet 2015 wines: Full vintage report A brambly, Zinfandel-like fruit intensity that comes from relatively new plantings (1999 to 2008). New French oak lends toast and spice notes, plus dark chocolate and liquorice. Intense and very young.

Highly Recommended California Cabernets of 2014 Charred oak and floral aromas lead to a palate with tarry flavours and a balanced bittersweet component. The forward fruit should help the noticeable tannins to soften.

Loads of blueberries and spices on the nose. Medium body, firm and chewy tannins and a fresh finish. Drink now.

Brawny and compact, with dense blackberry, clove and licorice flavors that build toward firm but resolved tannins. Hands off for now.

The 2014 Malbec is another bold, punchy wine from Mt. Brave. Rich and voluptuous, the 2014 offers notable intensity in its dark red fruit. Soft tannins add to the wine's plush, radiant feel. Even with all of its fruit intensity, the 2014 will drink well with minimal cellaring.

The brilliant 2011 Malbec comes close to what this grape can achieve in Argentina. Delicious floral, blueberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with notes of licorice, camphor and forest floor jump from the glass of this deep, medium-bodied, elegant yet authoritatively flavored red. One hundred percent Malbec aged in 70% new French oak, this beauty can be enjoyed over the next decade.

The 2009 Malbec is an attractive, juicy wine...there is plenty of Mt. Veeder character in this focused, cool, mineral-laced red.

Youthful ruby color. Ripe cherry and plum aromas are complicated by iron, cigar box and vanillin oak spice. Fleshy cherry compote and bitter chocolate flavors coat the palate and are energized by zesty minerality. Finishes sweet, broad and long, with suave mocha and dark berry jam qualities.

Vivid red. Spicy raspberry and floral aromas are complicated by notes of Asian spices and cola. Silky red berry compote flavors gain weight with air and pack a solid punch, with tangy acidity adding lift and focus. Fine-grained tannins add shape to the long, spicy, floral finish, which leaves red fruit and spicecake notes behind.

Intense red currant and dried raspberry flavors are sinewy and pure-tasting in this taut version. Cedary midpalate, with slate notes on the finish.

The 2013 Merlot (Sonoma County) is a dark, fleshy wine with striking dark fruit and lovely underpinning of chocolate, sage, tobacco and earthy notes. Deceptively medium in body, the 2013 packs plenty of punch.

This crowd-pleasing Merlot from Matanzas Creek was very well received by the Tasting Panel. We found it to be medium-bodied, balanced, and smooth. We really liked its tasty blueberry and mineral flavors with notes of plum and a touch of toasty oak. The wine closes with dry, dusty, mild tannins that show very nice length for a Merlot. The Panel scored this wine 90 points and suggested pairing it with a grilled lamb chop. Very good+.

Elegantly structured and softly complex, with aromas of red currant and cedar, and dusty cherry, herb and mineral flavors that linger.