The 2015 Syrah Brosseau is a brilliant, focused wine. Beams of chalky minerality lend brightness and persistence to the racy, dark red berry fruit. Smoke, dried herb, anise and dried flowers give this potent, focused Syrah a good bit of savoriness to play off the pungent fruit and bracing mineral notes. Above all else, the wine's drive and sublime, long finish are things of beauty. The Brosseau Syrah is one of the most distinctive wines in the Copain lineup.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Syrah Brosseau Vineyard (100% Syrah) comes charging out of the gate with vibrant black plums, black berries and wild blueberries scents plus touches of spice box, underbrush, violets and tapenade. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a taut, grainy texture and fantastic freshness lifting the peppery black fruit to a long finish.

The 2014 Syrah High Rock Ranch, from a site in the Yorkville Highlands, is another fabulous wine from Copain. Bright, focused and finely sculpted, the High Rock Ranch captures all the best elements of the Copain style. Floral, mineral and savory notes abound. The High Rock Ranch is fabulous.

The 2013 Syrah Hawks Butte is one of the most nuanced wines in this lineup of 2013s. Bright and floral, with a good deal of aromatic intensity from the whole clusters, the 2013 offers striking nuance and more energy than most of the other 2013s. Lavender, violet, menthol, licorice and a host of blue/purplish fruits accent this super-expressive Syrah.

The 2013 Syrah Brousseau is deep, dense and powerful, with a real sense of weight and gravitas. Inky blue and purplish fruit, smoke, graphite, licorice, cured meats and earthy notes give the Brosseau its distinctly baritone-inflected personality. This is a virile and masculine Syrah and is also one of the finest wines in this range.

Copain's Syrahs are Aging Wonderfully My wine of the night – just a stunner. Dark purple color and lots of rich but tangy black and blue fruit on the nose, along with a deep sense of violets and scorched earth. Fleshy and plump on the palate but structured tannins and refreshing acidity. Blackberry and blueberry fruit, laced with smoke, violets, anise, black pepper, and a pervasive sense of minerals and iron. Gorgeous stuff that has years to go.

Try this Wine: Amazing Spring Whites One of the few exceptions to this is their Les Voisins chardonnay, of which I had the 2015. It was drinking gorgeously. The nose is just wonderful and engaging with rich honeyed cantaloupe, honeysuckle, lemon zest, crushed gravel, lemon curd and daffodil. It’s slightly on the heavy side of medium bodied. The level of polish on the structure elevates this to elegant status, and the slight streak of acid that runs through it keeps it interesting from first to last sip. The flavors are multifaceted: honeysuckle, peach, fresh apricot, honey dew and sweet lemon curd. It finishes on a wonderful green apple note and a textual sensation and flavor that conjures licking a slate slab. A fantastic wine.

One of the most distinctive wines in the range, 2014 Chardonnay Dupratt Vineyard is a wine of phenolic intensity and power. Savory herbs, chamomile, mint and crushed rocks are pushed forward, while the fruit lies more in the background. The flavors are remarkably vivid. This is a gorgeous, nuanced Chardonnay from Copain.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Cenyth Red Wine Blend is blended of 50% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with expressive baking spices, fragrant earth and vibrant red and black currant scents with touches of underbrush, pencil shavings and tar with a waft of charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and wonderful freshness framing the densely packed red and black fruit layers, finishing long.

The 2010 Cenyth is composed of 54% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol is 13.4% and the fruit was sourced from the same vineyards. Very Bordeaux-like (no doubt due to the lower alcohol profile), it offers up notes of red and black currants, cedarwood, spice box, vanillin, licorice, underbrush and unsmoked cigar tobacco. The wine reveals fine-grained tannins and beautiful density and richness. Compared to the 2009, which is a Medoc-like blend, the 2010 is more of a right bank St.-Emilion-styled wine.

The talented winemaker, Dan Klick, has produced a 1999 Chardonnay that spent much of its life on its lees in 50% new French oak, primarily from Francois Freres and Damy. Grown in decomposed granite and loamy soils, this wine has an almost Coche-Dury-like liquid minerality, intermixed with sumptuous levels of orange marmalade, lemon oil, and citrus. Full-bodied, impressively delineated, yet powerfully concentrated as well as elegant, this looks to be a profound Chardonnay that should age well for 4-5 years.

A totally different animal altogether, the 2008 Chardonnay Arroyo Seco explodes with a perfume of orange blossoms, nectarine, marmalade, and quince, followed by a full-bodied, Chardonnay with both power and elegance. This is a sensational effort to drink over the next 3-5 years.

Rather than seeking out the terroir character of a particular site, Cardinal is a blend from a number of exceptinoal vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma. Winemaker Charles Thomas uses that flexibility to build a style of wine that's bold and full of personality. In '97, there's a deep well of super dense fruit that comes across as cool and rich, then explodes with flavor as it expands into the finish. That explosion is so tied to mineral and flint tannins that the wine remains seemingly tight.

It is also a top rank wine, and a star of the vintage. A saturated purple color is followed by licorice, cedar, fruit cake, and black currant aromas. Full-bodied, powerful, and concentrated, with low acidity but high tannin, this young, muscular classic should have fabulous aging potential.

A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, this wine is now more than 20 years old! Earthy aromatics dominate with leather, dusty earth and red cherry with red currant jelly. The texture is outrageously good as the wine shows red cherry, boysenberry jam, smoked meat and cherry tomato flavors that connect with nice tension. This fantastic showing is best enjoyed over the next decade.

It is magnificent, lush and dense with firm structure and lots of ripe plummy fruit. It provides a seamless marriage of fruit, oak and soft spices. It is drinking brilliantly now, displaying a seductive generosity, a rich robe and a seemingly endless finish. I would expect this lovely wine to only get better over time.

Top California Cabernet 2015 wines: Full vintage report It's the rare Napa Cab that drinks beautifully both on release and through a decade or more - this is one of them: decadently plush and juicy, with lifted floral aromas and smooth, seamless tannins. It sports great verve and polish, with oak, ripeness, acidity and alcohol all in balance.

Napa Cabernet Sauvignon worthy of your cellar 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot. Dark berry fruit complemented by vanilla and burnt caramel and clove. Fragrant with aromas of flower, liquorice and ripe raspberries resonating well with a note of dry herbs. Despite its youth, this wine feels approachable and I love its juicy vibrancy.

The impressive 2007 exhibits an opaque purple color as well as abundant aromas of sweet red and black currants, kirsch, spice box, licorice, and toasty new oak. Full-bodied, big, structured, and layered, it will benefit from 3-4 years of cellaring. Winemaker Christopher Carpenter has again turned out a wine that should evolve for 25 years. Impressive!

A dark, sumptuous wine, the 2014 Harmonie possesses striking depth and textural nuance in all of its dimensions. Succulent red cherry, plum, tobacco, licorice and mocha are given an extra kick of energy and aromatic lift from the Cabernet Franc in the blend.

Using the considerable talents of viticulturist, Rosa Kruger, to pinpoint the best Chardonnay sites in the Cape, this ambitious wine comes from five different sites. It’s less oaky than the 2013 (and better for it). Toasty, mineral and very focused, with an undertone of stone fruit, creamy lees and a bracing, mouth-watering finish. Drink: 2017-22

2014 Capensis Chardonnay, Western cape, South Africa, 94 points - This Chardonnay specialist shows once again how South Africa's Cape is ideal terroir for this variety. Refined and elegant; creamy and lightly toasted with soft vanilla tones. Gorgeous.

This is Jackson Family Estate‘s first foray into South Africa – and what a debut by winemaker Graham Weerts and vineyard manager Rosa Kruger who sourced the fruit from exceptional sites in Stellenbosch, Overberg and Robertson. The wine carries the 55% new French oak with ease to reveal a profoundly complex Chardonnay with heft, depth and well-judged acidity. Stone fruits, pear, herbs, lees and hay notes and long saline finish, make this a very complete and complex effort. A star in the making. Drink:2016-2026

Medium-deep ruby color; complex black cherry and blueberry aromas with notes of dried savory spices; dense and complex on palate with full black cherry and blueberry fruit, great structure, toasty oak and a balanced, very long finish. WOW! This is a terrific Pinot with a long life ahead of it. Cambria has shown it can really kick it up a notch with this series of single clone bottlings.

Big resiny, smoky, black cherry jam, mineral, compost and liquorice root nose with a hint of tobacco and compost. Ripe, round and elegant with soft, supple tannins. Very flavourful with black cherry, raspberry, smoky, mineral vanilla and liquorice root flavours. Long, balanced and intense.