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.

It's not the first time that Cambria's Katherine's has performed at the top of our chardonnay tasting - the past two vintages have both scored 90 or above. This may be a big, buttery wine, with lots of corn-silk richness, but it is also remarkably fresh, continuing to express a lively, honeyed ocean-coast minerality the day after it's first opened. The firm, compact structure is all seashells, layered in white. That contrasts the earthier elements of mushrooms, ferns and dried honeycomb. In balance, it stays cool for all its size and alcohol, a zesty, substantial white for pork or turkey long-brined then roasted.

Here's a strong argument for more syrah in the Santa Maria Valley, especially at the Tepusquet vineyard where Cambria grows 19 acres of the variety. This isn't the most complex wine in the world, but it feels so good in the mouth, perfectly balanced, statuesque. Dark plum skin plays a role in the color and in the savor of the aroma. And there's a mouthwatering, gentle acidity, like that of a rich, ripe pear. The flavors are persistent and dynamic, soft and concentrated, moving out in all directions. Get a case.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Clone 23 is a dark, mysterious beauty. Graphite, smoke, lavender and spices are some of the notes that gradually open up. Virile and imposing, the 2013 finishes with explosive energy and tons of nuance. Drink this superb, distinctive Pinot Noir over the next 5-7 years.

Deep and hearty mulberry aromas meet with condensed rose petals, cinnamon, clove and hot gingerbread on the earthy, spicy nose of this clonal bottling by longtime winemaker Denise Shurtleff. The sip is thick and full of chaparral herbs at first, then opens toward rounded red cherry, cranberry and cinnamon before diving into fennel and peppercorn. It's amazing for one clone to be so complex.

Classic Cambria Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley, this is translucent in color, silky in texture and bone dry, yet unbelievably concentrated. Full bodied and warm in alcohol, it has massive flavors of cherry compote, cranberry, persimmon, sweet, smoky oak and crushed spice. It should age gracefully over the next six years.

Rich, juicy and deep with black cherry, caramel and soft oak; lush and dense with finesse, elegance and complexity; long and lovely.

Warm, full aromas of wood smoke, with hints of coffee and black plums. Rich and complex. Smoky, meaty flavors vie with sweet fruity ones in a nicely framed, mouth-filling treat of a wine. Well balanced and lingering.