An inviting hint of coconut water opens the bouquet of this wine, followed by lemon zest, lime and grapefruit. Oak makes an appearance on the palate, but with subtlety, finishing dry and refreshing with a lightness to the end.

There are 1,800 cases of this new cuvee from Kendall-Jackson winemaker, Laura Diaz-Munoz, who hails from Madrid, Spain. Created from 100% Sauvignon Blanc from several Napa vineyards (Pope Valley and St. Helena), it was aged sur-lie in neutral French oak (50%) and 50% in stainless steel. Crisp and elegant with lots of floral, melon, wet rock and caramelized citrus notes, this terrific dry, fresh, medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc is best drunk over the next several years.

Medium-dark ruby; fragrant, forward, ripe, strawberry, red currant, and dark cherry fruit aroma with spicy notes, and hints of clove, cedar, and black pepper; full body; deep, rich, concentrated, black cherry fruit flavors with a hint of milk chocolate; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Enjoyable to drink now, though should benefit from several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

Lots of black fruit and juicy acidity on the palate. Full-bodied and supple. Pair with grilled hamburgers.

A round and simple merlot with plum, chocolate and olive character. Full to medium body, velvety tannins. Grows on you. Drink and enjoy.

Lush and ripe with juicy plum, bright and rich; smooth, clean and classic; long and toasty with aging potential.

Grill up or pan sear a steak, put some brown butter sauce on it, and enjoy with this luscious Merlot. The wine, which is blended with other Bordeaux varieties, is rich in blackberries, cherries, currants and oak, while the low alcohol, only 13.5% by volume, reaffirms its Merlot delicacy.

Nicely structured with bright plum and soft herbs; juicy and fresh with tangy acidity and lively flavors; long, balanced and quite lovely.

Freemark Abbey's 2010 Merlot is a wonderfully juicy, exuberant wine that bursts from the glass with flavor. Intense, round and supple, the 2010 is loaded with character and personality. Hints of spices, violet and tar add complexity over time, but ultimately, this is a wine to enjoy for its open, radiant fruit. The blend is 81% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot from Stage Coach (Atlas Peak), Keyes (Howell Mountain), Red Barn Ranch and Bosche (both in Rutherford).

This is a lovely, elegant Merlot for drinking now and over the next several years. It's dry and smooth, with dusty tannins framing cherry, red currant, herb, olive and cedar flavors.

This is a lovely, elegant Merlot for drinking now and over the next several years. It's dry and smooth, with dusty tannins framing cherry, red currant, herb, olive and cedar flavors.

Fleshy yet subtle, full-bodied yet balanced. Loaded with ripe black plums. Lots of layers of pleasure.

The NV History is a multi-vintage Bordeaux blend created to celebrate the estate's 125th Anniversary. It shows terrific depth in its black fruit, new leather, spices and licorice, all of which come together in a powerful, intense style. Layers of fruit wrap around the intense finish. The blend is 79.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.4% Cabernet Franc, 5.5% Malbec, 4.7% Petit Verdot and 2.6% Merlot. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2028.

Wonderfully deep ruby hue. Youthful scents of dust, cedar, black currant and dark cherry. Lots of berry and plum flavors, clean oak with food-friendly tannins through to the finish.

Medium to medium-dark ruby; attractive, dark cherry and blackberry fruit aroma with notes of dried herbs and baking spices; full body; rich, ripe, rounded, nicely balanced, dark cherry and berry fruit flavors; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Shows appealing, rich fruit, though still has some roughness in the mouthfeel that should mellow out with several more years of bottle aging. Very Highly Recommended.

Deep purple color. Rich purple color, with dark, concentrated blueberry, black cherry, along with anise, eucalyptus, dark chocolate, cocoa and earth. Full-bodied, significant tannins but it maintains a velvety feel, medium-low acidity. A dark, saucy style with blueberries, cassis, blackberries, along with notes of mint, eucalyptus, sweet cocoa, cedar. Rich and delicious but the balance lines up nicely here. Hedonistic now, but this could do some fun things over the next five years. Includes Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, aged 28 months in 67% new French oak.

This deep and seriously solid look at the variety is definitely not one that impresses as having been made with early drinking in mind, yet, while it is decidedly hard and intemperate in its tannins, it is nothing less than a classic Cabernet in every other respect. It teams persistent, very well-defined blackcurrant fruit with lovely oak in kind and degree, and, even though taken over by sere astringency at the finish, that fruit somehow survives. We highly recommend eight to ten years of cellaring here and do so with full confidence that patience will be rewarded.

This has the richness of Rutherford tannins, from vines grown in the benchlands at the base of the Mayacamas mountains. It also has energy in its red fruit, a zesty edge of bay laurel and herbal tension. There’s a lot of oak getting in the way for now, shellacking the fruit with its toast and tannic extract. Cellar this to let the fruit absorb some of those oak tannins.

Top Ten: California It’s nice to see this wine coming back into form and the 2013 is right on track. The Napa label may be commercial in size at 24,000+ cases, but it's reserve style in taste. Fresh, ripe, spicy black fruits greet the nose and tumble onto the palate flecked with tobacco, cocoa and cinnamon. The blend is 75 percent cabernet sauvignon with varying amounts of merlot, petit verdot, cabernet franc and malbec, all spending 26 months in wood. We love the complete body of work here and suggest this wine could easily be aged through 2023 and beyond. Steak anyone? Fine value.

This smells more like Bordeaux than Tuscany, and tastes like a blend between the two, incorporating cabernet franc's foresty tones with touches of cabernet sauvignon (13%) and sangiovese (5%). The vintage suited cabernet franc well, making something brisk and elegant out of conditions that devastated much of Tuscany's sangiovese.