A Spotlight on Santa Barbara Also from a cooler year, the 2008 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills comes from a mix of Mount Carmel, Sweeny, Sea Smoke and Clos Pepe vineyards as well a few others. It offers a more Chablis-like character and boasts lots of lemon curd, crushed rock and buttered citrus aromas and flavors. Fresh, elegant, silky and beautiful on the palate, with great acidity, it's drinking at point today, yet has plenty of life.

The 2013 Proprietary Red from Bootleg is a major sleeper of not only the vintage, but in its entire concept. There are just over 8,000 cases of this wine, which has been culled from KJ vineyards on Atlas Peak, Oakville, Mt. Veeder, Rutherford and Spring Mountain. The wine is a blend of 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Petite Sirah, 21% Zinfandel, 12% Merlot, and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot. That’s like throwing in the entire kitchen sink, but the result is a stunningly delicious, complex, big-time, sexy style of wine with a deep, opaque purple color, a beautiful nose of blackberries and blueberries, with some lavender Provençal herbs, licorice and a touch of espresso. The wine has a fabulous texture, a plush, full-bodied mouthfeel, and beautiful purity and depth. It’s something that could only be made in California, given the blend, but it is off-the-charts in terms of its hedonistic appeal. At the same time, it is complex enough to satisfy the intellectual senses as well. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. A big-time winner.

Another gorgeous wine is Dick Arrowood’s 2005 Syrah Saralee’s Vineyard. He has always done an exemplary job with Syrah, long before it became so popular in California. He co-ferments it with 3% Viognier, and the result is a dark ruby/purple-colored wine with plenty of chocolatey blackberry fruit notes, medium to full body, super freshness, purity, and a sumptuous texture. This is stunning stuff to drink over the next 5-6 years.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso Vineyard is a gorgeous, beautifully layered wine. Silky and incredibly polished for a mountain wine, the 2015 captures all of the pedigree of Monte Rosso. Bright red fruit, flowers, mint, chalk and white pepper all add nuance to this super-expressive, layered Cabernet Sauvignon from Arrowood. The interplay of aromatics, fruit and texture makes for a compelling wine.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond Arrowood's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Crown is fabulous. Rich and explosive, the Knights Crown is almost shockingly sensual for a wine from Knights Valley. Racy and silky, the Knights Crown is more texturally finessed than most Knights Valley Cabernets, it is a wine of sheer sensuality and appeal.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Smothers Remick Ridge Vineyard sports a deep garnet-purple color and nose of black plums, black cherries and black currants with touches of sautéed herbs, menthol and black pepper with a waft of aniseed. Medium-bodied, the tannins here are remarkably ripe and finely grained, with great freshness defining the black fruit and savory layers, finishing with an herbal lift.

One taste is all it takes to fall in love with this Cabernet. Made from Sonoma Valley and Knights Valley fruit, it’s wonderfully sweet and deep in blackberry and cherry-jam flavors, with near-perfect tannins and a judicious touch of oak. Great for drinking now and over the next six years.

A great success for this bottling. With extraordinarily high residual sugar, the wine is very sweet in wild honey, infused with the essence of oranges and apricots, folded into rich, buttery custard, and sprinkled with vanilla sugar and cinnamon. It's all balanced with a squirt of lime acid. If that sounds good, it is. Only 95 cases were produced, but finding this wine is worth a search.

Selected from the finest lots, the brilliant 2007 Chardonnay Reserve Speciale is a superb offering. It displays deep, rich honeysuckle notes intermixed with notions of nectarines, orange blossoms, butterscotch, vanilla, white peaches, baked apples, and pears. This complex Chardonnay should drink well for 4-5 years. This is another impressive group of wines from one of the most consistent winemakers and long-time veterans of the California wine scene, Dick Arrowood. He has always had the Midas touch with white varietals, yet he also continues to impress me with what he can do with red varietals.

It's hard not to be smitten with the 2013 Il Fauno di Arcanum. This blend of 55% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot is a rich and lasting Tuscan red that offers ample power and concentration. There are points of greenness here with crushed peppercorn and wild sage, backed by dark fruit aromas of plum and blackberry. Yet the Merlot component does much to smooth out and enrich the mouthfeel.

Very intense nose of blackberries, dark chocolate, sandalwood, vanilla, treacle and tar. Full-bodied with plenty of dark fruit, but lots of black-olive undertones and bright acidity keep this fresh, while firm tannins carve out an elegant, polished shape.

The 2012 Valadorna is 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Castelnuovo Berardenga comune. This is a dark and impenetrable wine with thick concentration and ripe fruit flavors. The two Cabernet grapes come out on top, and the wine delivers a heavy load of ripe fruit, garden herb and rosemary. This a ripe, bold and super opulent red wine from Tuscany that could pair with savory roasted lamb with mint sauce.

A wine with ultra-fine tannins and bright fruit such as blackberry and blueberry. Minerally too. Full to medium body, silky texture and a flavorful finish. So beautiful to drink now. A blend of 60% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon and the rest cabernet franc.

Lush berry nose; smooth and rich with juicy berry fruit and also showing notes of vanilla oak and spice; balanced and ripe, long and elegant.

A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and Petit Verdot, the 2008 Il Fauno di Arcanum opens with an inky dark color and perfectly ripe aromas of plump cherry and blackberry. Beyond the enticing fruit aromas is a long list of spice and tobacco-related characteristics. This is a thickly layered and opulent Tuscan blend that is enhanced by territory-driven aromas of grilled herb and rosemary oil. The best part for me, however, is the soft richness this wine delivers in the mouth. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2027.

The 2014 Arcanum, made with 60% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, represents a carefully conceived and contemplated blend to match the difficult conditions of the vintage. Unlike the 2014 Valadorna that seemed to suffer more in this challenging vintage, this top-shelf wine really has its act together. Soft and rich layers of black fruit and spice give the wine lasting depth and intensity. Perhaps the finish is a tad shorter compared to other vintages, but the difference is really quite small. Ultimately, this is a full-bodied Tuscan red with the potential for ten years (or more) of happy bottle aging.

A layered and fresh 2012 showing more focus and structure than many 2012s due to the hot growing season. Medium to full body, firm and velvety tannins. A blend of cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Drink now.

Dense and powerful, this red layers ripe black currant, cherry, chocolate, prune and spice flavors over firm, assertive tannins. This is starting to hit its stride, but needs food to match the tannins. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2018.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of hazelnuts and rose bush. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a fresh and spicy finish with currant bush and green walnuts.

This opaque and dark ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a burnt match stick and black currant bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium to full bodied, very nicely balanced and super smooth. The flavor profile is a delicious mild black currant and black olive blend with notes of gentle oak and graphite. I also detected hints of blueberry. The finish is dry and its refined tannins linger and last for a very extended period of time. This Cab would pair well with a New York strip steak.

Weekend Wine Picks Anakota sits in Knights Valley over an ancient volcanic zone, reddish-brown, gravel/silt loam soils intermingled with some volcanic rock, with an affinity for the main Bordeaux grapes. Since 2001, Anakota has made two single-vineyard, single-varietal, single-appellation estate cabs: Helena Dakota and Helena Montana. The 2014 Helena Dakota is a 12.4-acre block of vines below Mount St. Helena’s two highest peaks at 750 feet elevation. Look for a rich dark red with savoury espresso, chocolate aromas and flavours laced with blackberries, cassis and some wet stone minerality.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard comes across as one of the most tannic, backward wines I tasted from any of the four vintages I was looking at during my extensive trip to Napa Valley in late August and early September. Very extracted with high tannins (almost excessive), this 2009 is built like an old style Bordeaux with lots of red and black fruits, graphite and noticeable oak. Forget it for a long, long time.

Some jam but lots of spices and currants on the nose. Very stylish. Full bodied, with a beautiful purity of fruit and super silky tannins. Good acidity, very focused, and pinpointed flavors. A nice combination of richness and finesse.

These high elevation Cabernet Sauvignons, culled out from a larger vineyard, are remarkable offerings with aging potential of 25+ years. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana's inky purple color is followed by a rich, sumptuous bouquet of espresso roast, melted chocolate, black currants, charcoal, and subtle background oak. Full-bodied and dense with silky tannins as well as slightly more velvety texture and opulence than its sibling, this beauty should drink well for 20-25+ years.

Gorgeous nose with blueberries, currants, minerals, and hints of flowers. Full bodied, with very well integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This is very polished, balanced, and pretty right now, but give this time.