The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Latro from Knights Valley is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in two-thirds new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This has a touch of roasted Provençal herbs in it, with some white chocolate and terrific blackcurrant intensity intermixed with a hint of graphite. Full-bodied, opulent and flamboyant, this is a beauty to drink over the next 15 or so years.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair (there’s a small amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) comes from Napa Valley and was brought up just under 60% new French oak. It’s a beautiful, classic – elegant even – Cabernet that has loads of crème de cassis, lead pencil, graphite, and tobacco nuances. It’s very much in the style of the 2014 vintage with its medium to full body, no hard edges, beautiful balance, and sweet tannins. As Napa Valley Cabernet goes, it’s also a stunning value. This beauty is capable of drinking well for at least 10-15 years.

A terrific value in Napa Cabernet, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair (91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot) sports a deep ruby/purple color as well as terrific notes of crème de cassis, spicy oak, white chocolate and flowers. It offers loads of fruit, a full-bodied, pure, elegant texture, sweet tannin and just a charming, balanced, classic style that begs to be drunk.

Subdued floral aromatics open this delightfully complex, dry wine, lilting in lemon, green apple and stone. Beautifully balanced, it begs for inclusion at the table, ready to complement or contrast, lingering in orange blossom on the refined finish. Editors’ Choice.

This producer continues to up its game with this variety, becoming more impressive with every vintage. With the majority stainless-steel fermented, it offers tart, tangy grapefruit pith, lemon and lime around a grip of sublime texture and length.

A mineral-driven white, this is waxy and lemony on the palate. Light bodied, crisp and vibrant, it doesn’t hold back on complexity, weaving a lengthy story of perfumed near-perfection.

A very successful vintage for Freemark Abbey's wines overall, and this young, intensely concentrated Merlot is a star of the year. Quite tannic now, with delineated blackberry, cherry, cassis, cola and spice flavors, its best years are ahead. Cellar this impressive wine for 4-6 years.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Aromas of blackcurrants and pine needles with cedar and sandalwood. Full-bodied, round and very chewy with lots of fruit and a hint of new oak. This will be a beautiful wine. Needs three to five years of bottle age to come together.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Wonderful aromas of blackcurrants and fresh herbs, such as basil and tarragon. Medium to full body and round, silky tannins. Lovely finish of blackcurrants and sage. Shows structure.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages A blend of 75.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.9% Merlot, 7.3% Petit Verdot, 6.1% Cabernet Franc and 1.6% Malbec, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is deep garnet-purple colored and reveals open-knit, expressive cassis and baked plums scents with hints of pencil shavings, menthol, dark chocolate and damp soil plus a waft of unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied, concentrated and giving mouth-filling black fruits and savory layers, it finishes with a provocative grainy texture.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is scented of crushed black currants and blackberries with touches of licorice, cigar box and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, it has lovely fine-grained tannins and a refreshing backbone supporting the vibrant, youthful fruit, finishing long with a minty lift.

A little history and some worthy new finds The 2014 Cab is stunning, 94 points around $40. A very dark ruby-colored wine, it opens to a mixed bouquet of black cherry, chocolate, cocoa, cedar, and cinnamon, the latter driven by 28 months on French or American oak. On the palate, succulent fruit notes, assertive but balanced acidity and tannin say cellar me a few years. I believe $40 is a very fair price for a wine with wonderful potential. A clean, pure finish with hints of violet closed the deal for me. Please don't drink it now. This needs a few years in the cellar, 2019 start.

From a 22-acre site in the middle of the appellation, this is an impressive wine, softened by the addition of 6% Merlot. It boasts crushed rock, black currant and licorice flavors, with an attractive sanguine note. Pencil shavings, black pepper and cigar accents are present throughout.

Smooth and juicy with generous plum and berry fruit; lush texture and rich, intense flavors with style and depth; long and balanced.

Dazzling golden colour. Spicy, waxy, nutty flavour with silky glossy texture cut by lemon zest acidity, honeycomb and cling peach, finishes bright and zingy.

Preserved lemon, spice, fennel and honey. Bright and crunchy, with flesh and savoury flavours, cool acidity and chalky texture, long finish. Super release.

A wine with pureness and finesse, showing wonderful length and brightness. Dark berries, cherries and dried citrus. It's long and lively. Orange peel and other citrus notes at the end. Lots of minerality.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford was scheduled to be bottled in January 2024, so I tasted a barrel sample during my visit. A blend of fruit from Sycamore, Bosché and Red Barn Ranch, it offers up copious cherries with an undercurrent of mocha on the nose. It's medium to full-bodied, richly tannic and concentrated but still somewhat approachable, with a long, softly dusty finish.

Coming 50% Bosche and the rest from the Sycamore and Red Barn vineyards, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc that spent 21 months in 63% new French oak. This inky-hued 2021 has a killer nose of black and blue fruits to go with textbook tobacco, lead pencil, darker chocolate, and baking spice-like aromas and flavors. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, with fine tannins, it's a smoking bottle of wine at the price.

The darkest and inkiest of the lineup, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain offers a forward calling card of graphite, black plum, and wild herbs. Fleshy and full-bodied, it has ample structure, with a fresh spine of acidity and is toasty with sweet oak spice of cedar and vanilla. It’s going to need time but should prove to be a powerful, age-worthy wine with 10 or more years ahead of it.

The 2019 Winemaster's Blend, tasted as a barrel sample, has a deep ruby-purple color and cassis aromas with savory accents of tobacco leaves, aniseed, hoisin, graphite and cast iron, plus wafts of violets. Full-bodied and powerful, the palate's ripe, lush fruits are balanced by grainy tannins and bursts of fresh acidity that elevate the long finish. 400 cases will be made after maturing for 20 months in 40% new French oak.

The 2019 Stature Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, has an opaque ruby-purple color and scents of black cherry jam, blueberries, milk chocolate, pie spices and mint leaves. The full-bodied palate is elegant and floral, with finely grained tannins, juicy acidity and a long, spicy finish. 125 cases will be made after 26 months in 85% new French oak.

I tasted the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Poet's Peak as a finished barrel sample. Opaque ruby-purple in color, it is bursting with pure aromas of blueberries, black cherry jam, cedar and violets with wafts of fragrant sage and lavender. Full-bodied, the palate offers powdery tannins, bright acidity and a long, perfumed finish. It will be bottled after 20 months in 45% new French oak; 550 cases will be made.

I tasted the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain as a barrel sample. It will mature in 60% new French oak for 20 months and is due to be bottled in August 2022. Opaque ruby-purple in color, it has aromas of cassis, tobacco leaves and violets, with a youthful frame of cedar and sweet spice. The full-bodied palate is grainy, fresh and fragrant at this stage, finishing with gregarious floral perfume.