More backward and tight, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain comes from a handful of vineyards around 1,900 feet in elevation. While they have been buying fruit from Spring Mountain since 2003, the first vintage for this cuvee was 2005. This deeply colored 2015 reveals loads of floral and violet nuances as well as brilliantly pure blue fruits, graphite, and crushed rock characteristics. With building minerality, full-bodied richness, and an elegant, seamless, silky style on the palate, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 2+ decades.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is gorgeous, but it is also going to require the most time of these wines to come together. Firm tannins provide the backbone for an exciting array of aromas and flavors. Intense savory and mineral notes meld into layers of blue/blackish fruit in a big, full-bodied Cabernet endowed with stunning depth and structure. All the best elements of the house style come together. With time in the glass the fruit opens up to balance some of the tannic heft, but this is without question a wine made for the cellar.

Another blockbuster, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder, which has the largest production, exhibits a deep blue/purple color along with notes of burning embers, charcoal, sweet black currant liqueur, licorice and scorched earth. It possesses fabulous fruit along with full-bodied power, a voluptuous texture and beautiful density as well as richness. It is not far off the quality of the brilliant 2007. One of the stars in Jess Jackson's Artisans and Estates portfolio, Lokoya focuses on high elevation mountain vineyards in four separate Napa appellations. Winemaker Chris Carpenter has been the force behind these wines for many years.

If I had to pick a favorite of the trio, it would be the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder (280 cases). A Chateau Margaux look-alike, it possesses superb intensity and tremendous perfume as well as elegance allied to power. The sweet nose of tobacco leaf intertwined with melted licorice, spring flowers, black cherries, creme de cassis, and blueberries is extraordinary. With great intensity, medium to full body, tremendous richness, softer tannin that its two siblings, and a finish that lasts nearly 60 seconds, it is a sensationally seductive, rich, multilayered Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 15-20 years.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec, 5% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is deep garnet-purple colored and features gregarious crème de cassis, black cherry preserves and baked plums with touches of Indian spices, cigar box and charcuterie. Full, firm and decadently fruited, it has a fantastic foundation and very long, layered and expressive finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple colored and opens with vibrant cranberries, pomegranate and Bing cherries scents with touches of underbrush, wild sage, red roses and mossy bark with a waft of tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate packs in the elegant red fruit and earthy layers, finishing on a long, lingering, provocative mineral note.

The 2017s From Sonoma I also loved the 2016 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard. Located in the Russian River and planted in 1975 to a heritage Martini Clone, this cool site struggles to ripen, giving this 2016 an exotic, complex, vibrant style along with its ample red and black fruits, candied violets, potpourri, and sandalwood. It’s one of the more vibrant, racier wines in the lineup, yet its acidity is nicely integrated, it’s flawlessly balanced, and it has a great, great finish. Give bottles a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Jennifer’s Vineyard displays intense notes of grapefruit, green guava, mango and pineapple with nuances of talc, oyster shells and fresh ginger. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and super intense with tightly wound layers of citrus and tropical fruits and bags of mineral notions on the epically long finish. This needs time but should emerge from the cellar gloriously in 2-3 years!

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages A blend of 88.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Petit Verdot, 4.2% Cabernet Franc and 3.2% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards comes skipping out of the glass with a spring it its step and singing notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries and red and black plums with touches of underbrush, fungi, wild sage, chocolate mint and cigar boxes. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, it has a rock-solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the generous, crunchy fruit, finishing long with a touch of minerality.

54/46% cabernet sauvignon/shiraz. This is a bit of an homage, inspired some years ago by a bottle of the iconic Bin 60A at the equally iconic Victory Hotel. Cabernet leads here, scented with fragrant leafy notes, tobacco, mulberry, currant and cedar, then blackberry, a mineral, iron-rich note, some buoyant red and black fruits, a certain exuberance, some levity. A tarry mineral quality, lightly expressed, ground anise, green cardamom, iodine. There are quiet vanillin notes from oak of the highest quality, some cracked pepper and spice. The fine detail, tannic finesse and elegance are admirable. It’s in such a beautifully classic vein, and it’s extraordinarily successful.

Still rather tight, this percolates with a steady, succulent feel through its dense core of boysenberry, blackberry and morello cherry paste flavors as they unwind slowly on the finish, where graphite, smoldering anise and black tea details emerge. Grippy and sapid, this is built for those with patience. Best from 2030 through 2050.—J.M.

Beautifully rendered, this manages to put forth steeped boysenberry, morello cherry and red currant fruit paste notes that sparkle with inner energy, while anise, bramble, black tea and wood spice details emerge steadily. Sapid, long and seriously grippy, but with freshness and drive, this is set up for a long, slow evolution. Best from 2030 through 2050.—J.M.

This offers up seductive aromatics of mulled anise, black tea and bay leaf, while a core of sappy mulberry, blackberry compote and boysenberry pâte de fruit rolls through with authority. Ample, iron-laced grip and racy acidity course underneath and give the dense core time to slowly unwind as a smoldering wood spice note chimes amid the fruit. There will be a long wait for this red’s peak, but it will be well worth it. Best from 2030 through 2050.—J.M.

The most complete wine yet released under the Giant Steps Bastard Hill name; which is saying something. Intensity, length, texture and X-factor are all so beautifully realised here. It tastes of grapefruit, nashi pear, almond butter, white peach and citrus, with a gentle run of brine carried throughout. Not only is this the most complete GS Bastard Hill; it’s also the most approachable on release. You could hook in right now and be blissfully happy. There’s a chalky/mineral/talc-like/chamomile aspect to the aftertaste which too is just such a delight to behold.

From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere planted in the late '90s. 100% destemmed, 22% new wood. More black fruits than red fruits, stewed rhubarb, a little earth and iodine, too. This follows through onto the darkly fruited, compact and firmly structured palate. The most closed of the four single-vineyard wines today but one that will reward at least a decade, or more, in your cellar.

Mainly destemmed. A medium-bright crimson. A touch richer and more opulent than the '24. Having said that, this is still a supremely perfumed wine, with aromas of alpine fruits, herbal bitters, orange peel, sandalwood and light rose petal. Medium bodied, with lovely mid-palate intensity and energy. The tannins are just so silky and long. Classic Upper Yarra pinot that will reward cellaring over the next eight to 10 years.

A blend of Gingin and Bernard clones planted in '97 in Gruyere. Fermented and matured in mainly puncheons and one new 1200L foudre. Expressive with aromas of stone fruits, candied ginger, grapefruit and roasted hazelnut. Just as good on the beautifully concentrated mid-palate, finishing with mouth-watering acidity on the very long, pithy finish. An excellent Sexton to drink now and over the next six to eight years.

Prominently herbaceous on the nose, this cool-climate Syrah shows bramble and black raspberry aromas as well as meatier, savory notes. The palate recalls Cornas-like flavors of thyme and listed pepper, as the fruity core of boysenberry is balanced by chalky tannins. Drink now-2044.

Layers of red currant and black strawberry interlace with aromatics of baking spices, vanilla cream, molasses, and sarsaparilla on the nose of this wine. On the palate, lively flavors of Bing cherry, ripe raspberry, cinnamon,and clove glide into silky tannins on the finish. Drink now or cellar until 2038.

From an old-vine Chardonnay site, this wine offers concentrated aromas of honeyed stone fruit, citrus, tropical fruit, white florals, alpine sage, and sedimentary rock on the nose. The flavors on the palate are baked Asian pear, Pink Lady apple, pomelo, citrus rind, vanilla cream, clove, and ample mineral on the finish. Drink now or cellar until 2035.

Opulent, this wine offers aromatics of dark black plum, dark cherry, sage brush, cinnamon, sandalwood, vanilla bean and dried floral on the nose. Flavors on the palate convey pomegranate-raspberry coulis, sorrel, allspice, molasses, bittersweet chocolate, and silky tannins to finish. Drink now or cellar until 2037.

Lifted aromas of dark raspberry are layered with clove, star anise, black strawberry, mineral, and dried potpourri on the nose of this wine. The mouthfeel is concentrated with dark plum, cinnamon, and candied orange zest, simmering into mouthwatering pomegranate, blood orange, spice, and supple acidity on the finish. Drink now or cellar until 2038.

Fresh, this wine offers aromatics of ocean air, citrus, stone fruit, alpine florals, sagebrush, yellow plum, honeysuckle, and sedimentary rock on the nose. The flavors on the palate are youthful yellow apple, white nectarine, white peach, allspice, cinnamon, coriander, and supple acidity on the finish. Drink now or cellar until 2035.

Great intensity here, showing the power of the vintage without drifting into the tropical spectrum, instead offering notes of salted nuts, preserved lemons, honeysuckle and crushed stones. The palate is textural with fine phenolic grip, balanced acidity and a strong core of fruit. 50% skin contact for 140 days and aged 100% in ceramic. Ready to drink but will bring plenty of pleasure with time in the bottle. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

What an excellent release. Aromas of fresh plums, dark cherries, blood oranges and citrus peel with spices, sea spray, pomegranate, summer flowers and potpourri. The plush, rounded palate has an underlying power and fruit intensity cut by refined yet firmly framed tannins and a bright line of acidity. Harmonious. Aged in ceramic eggs with no oak. From vines planted in 1946. Drink or hold. Screw cap.