Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesCabernet Sauvignon takes center stage in the 2016 Le Désir. Graphite, menthol, lavender, spice, pine, dried herbs and licorice give the 2016 striking aromatic depth to match its mid-weight personality. Elegant and nuanced, but with plenty of richness, the 2016 has a ton to offer.

Collectible California Cabernet Along with its sister brand Lokoya, Cardinale is the crown jewel of Jackson Family Estates. Long-time winemaker Chris Carpenter’s nickname is ‘Mountain Man’ – a reference to his experience making wines from Diamond Mountain, Spring Mountain, Mt Veeder and Howell Mountain. Cardinale is a delicious symphony from all of them. Very nuanced, with flavours that exude spiciness, savouriness, minerality and a noble bitterness. Extraordinarily long. Drink 2019-2045.

Tasting a Twelve-Year Vertical of the Napa Valley-Based Blend The Cardinale Rule Stunning and delicious, it shows great depth and finesse without taking itself too seriously. Yes, it was an exceptional year, but this wine goes beyond the great fruit into a rarefied realm: It’s rich, structured, and complex with memorable layers of flavor.

Tasting a Twelve-Year Vertical of the Napa Valley-Based Blend The Cardinale Rule Sour, tart red plum and currant. Astringency reflects refinement. Touch of cellar must; ripe but tame. Rocky and leathery with length.

The clarity, the purity, the elegance and the perfume that the Upper Yarra Valley Applejack Vineyard brings to the party is immediately recognisable. Equally insistent is the sheer power of the red fruits and spices hidden by the light colour of the cloak. 66 barrels/barriques.

From a classic Grenache vintage, and from old bush vines growing in ancient, silky, beach-sand-like soils in the Blewitt Springs subregion, this is one of Australia’s finest examples of Grenache. While destined for a long life in the cellar, it is an aromatic beauty now, blossoming after several days open in bottle. Pristine red-berry fruit, rose petal, clove, white spice and distinctive minerality comprise the aromas. The palate offers gorgeous texture, juicy, vibrant fruit and sculpted, talc tannins, with elegance, length and complexity.An iron fist in a velvet glove, this should agebeautifully through 2036.

Amazingly fresh and vibrant aromas of strawberry and currant meet with hints of hibiscus, carnation and tobacco on the nose of this brilliant bottling. The palate begins with a flash of acidity, priming the smashed peppercorn, black raspberry and dried ginger flavors, with tingling sansho pepper on the finish.

This wine is both crowd-pleasing and elegantly complex. Focused aromas of strawberry, ripe cherry, hibiscus and spearmint make a punchy start on nose. The palate is loaded with minty herbs, bright strawberry and sizzling acidity. Drink through 2039.

So rich, complex and intense with a wealth of very ripe, powerful fruit on offer. Blood-orange and pomegranate notes, together with stony aromas, providing a very complex feel. The palate is super powerful and juicy. So very long, so rich and so well defined, showing mouthwatering tannins and a very sleek, long and juicy drive of red-fruit flavor. This has immense power and carries rich, ripe red and blue fruit. Wow. So intense. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, the 2018 La Joie displays an opaque purple-black color, slowly unfurling to offer profound notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums and boysenberries, with hints of rare beef, pencil lead, black olives and lilacs, plus touches offer tile loam and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate has jaw-dropping elegance and poise, featuring a solid backbone of firm, very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness to support the intense mineral-laced black fruit layers, finishing long with loads of savory and floral sparks. Simply breathtaking!

The 2018 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard comes from a site not far from the Pacific Ocean, in the Sonoma Coast AVA, and it's one of the bigger, richer wines in the lineup in 2018. Deeper ruby-hued, with a stunning nose of ripe mulberries, Bing cherries, candied strawberries, spring flowers, and orange blossom, this is a spicy, medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated Pinot Noir. Despite being from a cooler vineyard, it brings plenty of richness and sexy fruit, with a certain exotic character. I've always loved this cuvée (although I've always thought the Chardonnay was slightly more successful), but this might be the finest vintage I've tasted to date. Count me impressed. It's going to have 10-15 years of prime drinking. It's one of the finest Pinot Noirs in this report.

Flowery incense, sappy herbs, and sweet earth all define the bouquet on the 2018 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block, and this beautiful, layered, medium to full-bodied Russian River Valley Pinot has loads of framboise and darker berry fruits, subtle spicy oak, flawless balance, and a great finish. It's another incredible wine from this estate readers will absolutely love.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block comes from a cooler section of the Russian River Valley (it comes from a small block in the Arrendell Vineyard) and it shows, with the wine offering a darker, more herbal, sappy style in its black cherry and mulberry fruits as well as candied violet, spice, and spring flower-like aromas and flavors. As with all these 2018s from Hartford Court, the palate is spot on, and it has incredible purity of fruit, flawless tannins, and a great, great finish.

Also from the Sonoma Coast, the 2018 Chardonnay Stone Cote Vineyard offers up an exotic, full-bodied, concentrated style as well as complex lemon and orchard fruits, notes of chamomile, toasted almonds, and baking spice notes, flawless balance, integrated acidity, and a chalky, mineral-laced finish. This magical, thrilling Chardonnay will cruise for 5-7 years (probably longer) in cold cellars, and it ranks with the top handful of wines in the vintage.

Cabernet Franc led blend.Dark ruby red in colour. Opens up with a beguiling display of black fruits, wet leather, spice, black olives and cigar box. Huge presence. Potent. Gives layers of pleasure. Wow.

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionToday covering almost 17 hectares, the estate's Cabernet Franc is subject to a broad as much as a severe selection, which has improved the wines. It was sourced from a single plot in 2008, while this 2016 comes from 10 different plots. The French clones (326 - 327) can be problematic according to winemaker Pierre Seillan: 'With too high yields, too much herbal character is achieved, while with a tight leaf canopy it wouldn't ripen properly'. Cabernet Franc is not new to producing outstanding wines in Tuscany, and Seillan is not new to managing this grape variety in pursuit of excellence. Crimson in colour, it has a super restrained Cab Franc character of cassis and eucalyptus, with an almost citrus flavour in depth and a sweet, toasty finish of milk chocolate, liquorice and cacao powder. This 2016 is sleek and concentrated, with ripe, refined tannins and refreshing acidity. A full and tense wine.

One of the most refined and tight Muses with blackberries, milk chocolate, pine needles and hints of dried herbs. Full-bodied, yet so in check with a great finish. It’s seamless and goes on and one. Intellectual, compared to past vintages. 90% merlot with some malbec and cabernet franc. Try after 2026, but attractive now.

A softer and rounder rendition of Spring Mountain with blackberry and blueberry, as well as oyster shell. Full-bodied with round, juicy tannins and gorgeous fruit and length. Great finish. Tight and focused. Superb. Try after 2026, but attractive now.

Blackberry and blueberry with some dried chili and hints of pine needles. Currants, too. Full-bodied and very focused with tight, fine-grained tannins that frame the fruit really well. Some violets. Great length and focus. Superb. Drink after 2026, but already so focused.

Napa Valley’s 2018sComing from two estate vineyards consisting of pure volcanic soils, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District sports deep purple/ruby color to go with a brilliant, full-bodied, seamless wine that’s going to flirt with perfection at maturity. Blackcurrants, chocolate, loamy earth, tobacco, and violet notes define the bouquet, and this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a voluptuous, layered mouthfeel, ample tannins, and a great finish. This is another magical, mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from this estate that needs a good 4-5 years of bottle age, if not more, and will cruise for decades in cold cellars.

Napa Valley’s 2018sA blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot, the 2018 Cabernet Franc is a beautifully elegant, seamless expression of the variety that I’d be happy to have in the cellar. Offering lots of red and blue fruits, camphor, flowers, and spice, it has a beautiful, seamless, medium to full-bodied style that keeps you coming back to the glass. This is one of those wines that grows on you with time in the glass, and while it’s not a blockbuster, it has flawless balance, ultra-fine tannins, and fabulous length. Count me impressed – this is the finest example of this cuvée to date.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesComposed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the 2018 Cardinale was aged in French oak barrels for 22 months, 81% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with gregarious notions of warm cassis, black cherries and wild blueberries, followed by emerging earth scents with a tobacco and garrigue undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, gracefully styled and refreshing, the vibrant black and blue-fruited palate offers a wonderfully fine-grained texture and bags of energy, finishing long with a skip in its step.

Napa Valley’s Thrilling 2018s & 2019s, Part 1 The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is such a great example of the appellation. It is at once powerful and yet light on its feet. Red berry fruit, iron, dried herbs and rose petals infuse the 2018 with myriad layers of nuance that reveal themselves with time in the glass. The 2018 needs time to fully come together, we are on Mt. Veeder after all, but it has so much potential. Red fruit, pomegranate, blood orange, gravel and dried herbs linger. The 2018 is impenetrable and massively tannic, and yet it comes across as so sophisticated.

This wine shouts Applejack from the rooftops: it's perfumed, elegant and relatively light-bodied, but with a fireworks display of red fruits and complex, savoury tannins. As with all Giant Steps pinots, it's not fined or filtered.

Hand-picked, chilled, whole-bunch pressed, wild fermentation on full solids, no stirring, no mlf, matured in French oak (10% new) for 8 months. The bouquet is slightly funky/reduced, but it's elegance and purity that are the essence of this wine, made by a master of the art.