The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain is sensational stuff and comes from a warmer region in the northern part of the valley. It boasts a deep purple color as well as full-bodied, deep, rich aromas and flavors of black fruits, truffle, scorched earth, charcoal, pen ink, and chocolate. With a ripe, hedonistic style, terrific purity of fruit, and notable freshness, it’s a sensational Cabernet Sauvignon from Chris Carpenter that will drink well for 2-3 decades.

I’ve not yet visited the Napa Valley, in large part because I can’t seem to drag myself away from Italy. Rich, dark chocolate, earthy, vanilla and baking spices, blue and black fruit, slumbering perfume of violets. Full-bodied, mixed berries and crème de cassis, sticky tannin is laid on thick, laying a base of grip and traction, intense flavour, sumptuous and powerful, distinct ‘mineral’ feel, with a superb long finish, ripe dense tannin not letting you forget where it’s from, or going to. Awesome wine, but almost painfully young at present.

Weekend Wine Picks Lokoya Mount Veeder has been made from a selection of blocks within Veeder Peak Estate vineyard for almost 20 years. The Cabernet sits on a series of sun-bathed, western ridges of the Mayacamas Mountain range. Blue/black fruits with an intense floral (violets) aroma previews a classic mountain red with rich, dense long tannin. The structure reflects its 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon makeup fermented with native yeast, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Smoke, cassis lined with exotic, incense spice, this is a magical wine only beginning its life. We love the dry, firm mineral undercurrent and red-fruit styling that signals its serious nature. Buy and hold for 15 years before you start to drink it. Impressive winemaking.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain has a similar dense bluish/purple color to the rim. It comes across as slightly more elegant, with floral notes dominating the wine’s aromatics. Violets and rose petals followed by blueberry and blackberry fruit as well as some crushed rock in a medium to full-bodied, beautifully pure, suave style characterize this wine, which was made form Spring Mountain vineyards such as Yverdon and Wurtele. Drink it over the next 25 years.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain comes from sites just south of Diamond Mountain, yet it offers a very different style in its black and blue fruits, bay leaf, spring flowers, damp earth, tobacco and mineral bouquet. With incredible purity and intensity, full-bodied richness and power, integrated acidity, and silky tannin, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring but will evolve for 2-3 decades as well.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is flat-out sensational and literally jumps out of the glass. Blackcurrants, crème de cassis, bay leaf, scorched earth, graphite and kiss of spring flower nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated, yet ethereal 2014 that glides across the palate. It's one of the more structured, tannic wines from Chris and really need 3-4 years or cellaring to shine, but it's going to evolve beautifully.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain, which comes from two sources, the Yverdon and Spring Mountain vineyards, is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and also inky bluish/purple in color. The Spring Mountain hallmarks of white flowers, blueberries, black raspberries and blackberry are all present in the extraordinary aromatics of this wine. It is full-bodied, pure and rich, with the oak beautifully concealed and married with the wine’s stunningly rich fruit. This is another tour de force from Chris Carpenter. Look for it to drink well for the next 30-35 years.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain exhibits blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, ink and floral notes, and softer, lusher tannins than the Diamond Mountain cuvée. Voluptuously textured, full-bodied and opulent, this complex 2012 should continue to drink beautifully for 15+ years.

Flirting with perfection, which is almost unheard of in this vintage, is the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder. Along with Betty O-Shaughnessey, Lokoya appears to have produced one of the finest Cabernet Sauvignons made from this underrated and diverse terroir. Seamlessly constructed, this opaque purple-colored 2011 offers up aromas of pen ink, acacia flowers, forest floor, blueberries, blackberries and cassis intermixed with hints of espresso, chocolate and subtle earthy notes. Wonderfully ripe and voluptuously textured, this beautiful, full-bodied wine should continue to drink well for another 15-20 years.

Nearly perfect is the more blue-fruited, opaque purple-colored 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Veeder Peak Vineyard. Just under 500 cases were made of this beauty, which is the earliest to mature of these three wines. Notes of blueberry liqueur, black raspberries, creosote, camphor and acacia flowers emerge from this full-bodied, opulent, mouthfilling, complex wine. This formidable 2003 should drink well for another 15 years.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Composed of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 W.S. Keyes Merlot offers up glorious scents of plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and blackberry pie with hints of wild sage, espresso, star anise and menthol. Full, rich and firmly textured with wonderfully velvety tannins and bold, layered flavors, it finishes very long and earthy.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines The violet and lavender aromas are so beautiful. Berries, black olives and spice. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a gorgeous finish. Wonderful. 77 per cent merlot and 23 per cent cabernet sauvignon. The Masseto of Napa.

Such a fantastic nose of delicious currants, this wine is elegant and refined. The palate does not disappoint and displays harmonious notes of liquorice and baking spices on top of the luscious black fruit. A wine to go wild for. Exceptional.

Deep, dark red/purple colour. The bouquet is fresh and bright and at this stage shows the spice of the shiraz component, but the more you sniff, the more the cabernet blackberry and blueberry shines through. The fruit is perfectly ripe and the wine is superbly balanced; where it differs from the Trueman cabernet and the Brooks Road shiraz is its structure. It has a firmer backbone, which will ensure it ages well and long. Black, red and blue berry aromas and flavours, cedar and spice, the shiraz spice receding the longer the wine is aerated. A wonderful glass of red wine.

57/43% from blocks planted ?71 (67%) and ?01 (33%), separately fermented and blended shortly prior to bottling, 151 dozen made. The silky Rolls Royce power and intensity tells of painstaking fruit and barrel selection, the end result a flawless wine of rare quality and complexity in a mirror-calm sea of black fruits.

The 2017s From Sonoma One of the standouts in this stacked lineup is the 2016 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard. This beauty comes from a single block of a mountain site located north of the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. Aged 17 months in 37% new French oak, this is a ripe, sexy, and powerful wine that’s loaded with notions of ripe strawberries, kirsch, shrimp stock, spice, and hints of ground coffee. With building tannins, full body, beautiful depth of fruit, and an incredible texture, this magical Pinot Noir will compete with any wine coming out of California today. Drink it over the coming decade.

The 2017s From Sonoma Leading off the Pinot Noirs, the 2016 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard comes from a ridgetop vineyard located west of the town of Occidental. Aged 17 months in 27% new French oak, it offers a savory, marine-influenced bouquet of wild strawberries, cranberries, rose petals, and Asian spices. With medium to full body, supple tannins, and a great, great finish as well as a singular character, this magical Pinot Noir from this team will benefit from a year in bottle and keep for over a decade.

From a ridge-top, western-facing site greatly influenced by the Pacific Ocean, this is exotic and distinct in character, with tones of white pepper, tart cherry, rhubarb and strawberry. Gorgeously layered, delicate and structured, it has length and richness to the tannin profile, as well as a notion of peat that adds to the dramatic complexity of the wine.

The 2017s From Sonoma Always one of my favorites, the 2016 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard is another classic beauty from this estate. Caramelized lemon and orchard fruits, beautiful minerality, notes of white flowers, spice, and some salty marine notes all dominate the nose. Medium to full-bodied, it offers beautiful tension and elegance, bright acidity, and a great finish. This rich, powerful, structured Chardonnay will be better with a year or two of bottle age and should evolve for over a decade.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard leaps from the glass with exuberant notes of green mangoes, yuzu, mandarin peel and pink grapefruit with touches of baker's yeast, pie crust, beeswax and oyster shell. It's medium-bodied with a very, very taut, intense and refreshing palate, sporting incredible tension and layers and finishing very long and very minerally.

The 2017s From Sonoma In the same league as the 2015 and flirting with perfection, the 2016 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard comes from a ridgetop vineyard located at 1,150 feet above sea-level, just west of the town of Occidental. It was fermented and aged 16 months in 30% new French oak. Salty sea breeze, lemon curd, white flowers, beautiful minerality, and hints of toasted bread all flow to a medium to full-bodied, rich, powerful Chardonnay that has awesome purity, building density and depth on the palate, and bright acidity that carries through the finish. It's straight-up awesome.

From blocks in the Durrell vineyard (the parcel is rolled river rocks soils), the 2015 Chardonnay Stone Côte Vineyard offers a medium gold color as well as a sensational bouquet of ripe, caramelized citrus, crushed rocks, tangerine, and marine/seashell-like aromas and flavors. Aged 16 months in 37% new French oak, it's deep, rich, and thrillingly textured, with bright, juicy acidity keeping it vibrant and focused. It's a stunning Chardonnay to drink over the coming decade.

The 2014 Zinfandel Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard also comes from nearly century-old Zinfandel vines, aged in 30% new French oak prior to being bottle unfined and unfiltered after eight months. This is as close to perfection as a Zinfandel can get, and interestingly enough, there is a little Petite Sirah in the blend, which may add to the blue fruit and floral character that this incredibly complex, multidimensional, magnificent Zinfandel offers. This is right up there among the greatest Zinfandels I ever tasted in Northern California, and literally must be consumed to be believed. Huge fruit, big, bold flavors, and an all-American style make for quite an expressive, exotic, super-concentrated and compelling Zinfandel. Drink it over the next 5-8 years.

2017 Oregon Chardonnay All-Americans

Warren Winiarski, the founder of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars once said to me, “Age gives a wine a sense of beauty and satisfaction that it could never have had when it was young. Because so much of life is incomplete, an old wine is remarkable and moving.” And so it was that I was swept away last night by a wine from my cellar—the 1999 Freemark Abbey “Sycamore Vineyard” Cabernet. In texture, great cabernets move closer to pinot noir as they age—a texture that can be so hedonistic there’s nothing to do but surrender to it. Now, after 18 years of aging, this majestic Freemark Abbey is mind blowingly elegant…and yet still potent with flavor. California at its best.