The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota (445 cases) is absolutely magnificent. Opaque black/purple in color, it comes across like a Château Montrose from a great vintage – a very earthy St.-Estèphe-inspired wine with the essence of loamy soil and crushed rocks interwoven with blackberry and cassis fruit. Some oak makes an appearance, but it is pushed to the background by the extravagance and enormous body and extract of this wine of phenomenal intensity. This is a classic Pierre Seillan style of wine meant for 25-40 years of cellaring.

From Block 31, the highest section of the vineyard at 210m planted '46, 50% whole berries, 50% destemmed, wild yeast open-fermented, matured for 10 months in used French oak. For many devotees of McLaren Vale grenache, Yangarra Estate High Sands is the king. It's not for idle dalliance as is young grenache that is focused on freshness and purity of red fruit flavours, this has power and depth, the oak simply softening an edge or two here and there, most assuredly not about imparting oak flavour. Red and black fruits both contribute without cutting across the power of the other.

Top 100 American Wines of 2018 - #31

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed Love the aromas of black cherries and blackberries, violets and roses. Stunning. Full-bodied, layered and dense with focus and precision. Full tannins, yet compressed and polished. A great cabernet franc-based red. Give this four to five years of bottle age before drinking but already beautiful to taste.

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed Fascinating aromas of blackberries and orange peel with dried flowers. Full-bodied and very structured. Superb density and length. Just starting to open up now. Fantastic merlot.

The 2007's appear to be the greatest wines Vérité has yet produced under the leadership of Jess Jackson and his winemaking guru, Bordelais Pierre Seillan. These extraordinary wines, built for the long term (much like top Bordeaux), are fashioned from some of the finest fruit sources Jess Jackson cuvées from the beginning, and have followed their aging process (which is glacially slow). A St.-Emilion look-alike, the 2007 Le Desir (44% Cabernet Franc, 44% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec) is close to perfection. Sweet, intoxicating aromas of licorice, tobacco leaf, incense, black currants, black cherries, and bay leaves are followed by a wine with extraordinary concentration, a hint of toasty oak, full body, admirable purity, and a multilayered personality. It begs for 5-8 years for cellaring, and should keep for 30+ years. Production of these wines is small, but not ridiculously so. There are just under 1,900 cases of Le Desir.

A superb Cabernet Franc character, with multi-layered aromatic complexity packed with black fruits and noble spices. The palate gives the sensation of caressing cashmere, so plush is the fruit and so finely woven is the tannic framework. A supremely elegant, ethereal expression. 44% Cabernet Franc, 44% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. 18 months in new oak.

The myth perpetrated by Old World wine proponents is that California wines don't age. Those critics need to taste Verité, because these wines are aging far slower than I imagined. The 2005 La Muse, a blend of 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Malbec, tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol and spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. Incredibly youthful, this wine has an opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of espresso roast, white chocolate, blackberry and cassis, with mocha and a touch of oak. The wine is full-bodied, with magnificent structure, texture and density. I could drink it now. That said, most consumers should give this wine another 3-4 years, and drink it over the following 30+ years.

A blend of 87% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec (3% from the Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 49% from Chalk Hill and 48% from Knight's Valley), exhibits a Bordeaux-like personality. Thick, viscous and rich with great elegance, tremendous purity and intensity as well as a full-bodied sweetness, it offers notes of caramel, mocha, coffee roast, black cherries and black currants. This supple, velvety-textured, opulent 2005 is accessible now and capable of lasting another 20-25 years.

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed This is a soulful merlot with aromas and flavors of meat, currants and berries. Full-bodied, round and juicy with chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Lemon-rind undertones, too. Drink now.

The first truly profound Le Desir, this blend of 49% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits the deepest, most concentrated and multidimensional personality of the first five vintages of this cuvee. A dense plum/purple color is accompanied by notes of graphite, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco, licorice and fruitcake. Full-bodied, layered and opulent, the 2004 can be drunk now or cellared for two more decades.

This 88% Merlot / 8% Cabernet Franc / 4% Cabernet Sauvignon blend is equal parts Alexander Mountain, Knight's Valley and Bennett Valley fruit with a tiny bit from Dry Creek. The wine grew incrementally as it sat in the glass. A dense purple color was followed by aromas of loamy soil, charcoal, asphalt, Verona chocolate, freshly brewed espresso and abundant blackberry and cassis fruit. This deep, rich beauty is still young and primary, but is loaded with potential. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.

Composed of 84% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec (51% from Knight's Valley, 38% from Bennett Valley and 11% from Chalk Hill), the 2003 boasts copious chocolate espresso notes, fabulous fruit intensity, an unctuous texture, wonderful freshness and a long finish. With higher alcohol (14.2%) than most of its siblings, it comes across as somewhat of an adolescent even though it has reached full maturity. Like the 2002, it can be consumed with great pleasure now or aged for another 20-25 years.

The 2017s From Sonoma Starting to hit primetime, the 2002 La Muse has a ripe, sexy, opulent style. Notes of ripe black cherries, currants, tobacco, rosemary, and spicy garrigue all flow to a full-bodied, layered Merlot that has rounded tannins, no hard edges, and a big finish. It’s smack in the middle of its prime drink window and should easily stay at this stage for another 10-15 years or more.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 La Joie is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black in color, it gives up the most gorgeous scents of lilacs, baking spices, incense and star anise with a core of warm cassis, Black Forest cake, redcurrant jelly and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, it has a firm frame of very ripe, grainy tannins and bold, multilayered black fruit, finishing very long and very spicy.

Why it's an exciting time for Sonoma Cabernet Never any question that this is a wine built with impact and seduction in mind. It’s so cleverly constructed that you almost don’t notice how it contracts as the tannins take hold, drawing out the whole experience. Clear elegance with tiny kicks of minerality that pulse and lift upwards through...

Massive essence of Cabernet Sauvignon, a triumph. Shows huge waves of blackberries, black currants and cassis, dark chocolate, earthy minerals and considerable oak, which is tasteful and unobtrusive, With its dryness and perfect balance, it will easily negotiate the years. Should be fine well past the year 2020.

A spectacular blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, over two-thirds of the fruit from the Alexander Valley Mountain Estate and the balance from Knight's Valley and Bennett Valley, the 2002 La Joie exhibits a sweet, opulent bouquet of charcoal, burning embers, forest floor, blackberries and kirsch. Deep, full-bodied, supple-textured, flamboyant and extroverted with undeniable purity as well as finesse, it should drink well for another 20-25 years. Interestingly, the pH is a normal 3.61 and the alcohol is only 14.1%.

Deep ruby/purple color is followed by gorgeous aromas of black truffles, scorched earth, tobacco leaves, blackberry and cassis liqueur, and notions of minerals as well as acacia flowers. This stunning red can be drunk in 2-3 years or cellared for two decades.

The 2014 Le Désir (53% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec) has an inky purple color and a sweet kiss of chocolate, black truffle, forest floor, black raspberry and black currants. Opulent, but again structured and super-dense and pure, this is another massively concentrated wine meant for the long haul (and for our grandchildren). Give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 35-40 years. Remarkably, Pierre Seillan told me that 2014, while a drought year, was not actually that hot in the micro-terroirs he was working, but in terms of quality, it turned out to be the most surprisingly positive vintage he’s ever witnessed.

This wine makes you sit back in your chair and take another thought. Its aromas and flavors are simply majestic in the sense of the finest Pomerols, and the texture is the finest cut velvet. In fact, the texture speaks about how thick can still be graceful. This is a simply amazing bottle, and it needs to be hunted down before it disappears.

The 2017s From Sonoma I was blown away by the 2017 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard, one of the finest Chardonnays in this report. Coming from the oldest estate vines on the Alexander Valley site, planted in 1982, and aged 11 months in 50% new French oak, it leads with an incredible bouquet of pineapple, white flowers, crushed rocks, and spice. With medium to full body, high yet integrated acidity, a thrilling texture, and a great, great finish, this is pure class and a remarkable effort from this estate. It’s drinking brilliantly today yet I suspect has the class to evolve for over a decade.

What looks to be the greatest wine of the entire batch is the 2014 Gravel Bench. This is like a liqueur of rocks. It spent 11 months in 100% new French oak. The wine is incredibly rich, with great length, fabulous acidity, and an unbelievable minerality. It reminds one of a Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury in a top vintage. Sadly, only 301 cases were made, but this is set for a long life of 10+ years.

A tremendous achievement in Merlot. The vineyard, around 1,600 feet up on Mt. Veeder, is now owned by the Jackson family, and the winemaker is Chris Carpenter, who oversees Cardinale. In fact, this Merlot bears an uncanny resemblance to Cardinale in the dramatically ripe, sweet fruit and superb, tannin-based structure. It's 100% Merlot, with hefty yet balanced alcohol, and the wine easily handles the 85% new French oak in which it was aged for 22 months.