The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is a classic Howell Mountain wine built on beams of firm mountain tannins. Purplish fruit, floral notes, mocha, licorice and espresso open up over time. The 2012 is explosive and burly, but it is also at times a bit alcoholic. Still, this is a vivid, expressive wine that speaks to the unique personality of Howell Mountain as seen in the 2012 vintage. I imagine the 2012 will enjoy a long and broad drinking window starting pretty much upon release.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Chardonnay opens with a quiet intensity of fresh apples, ripe pears and waxed lemon scents with nuances of baking bread, nutmeg and chopped nuts. Medium-bodied, the palate features great freshness cutting through the intense citrus and apple layers, finishing on a mineral note.

Tasting as if it had just been bottled, the 2001 Stature comes from some remarkable vineyard sites, including the Beckstoffer To-Kalon, Stagecoach and Atlas Peak vineyards. Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, it exhibits beautiful lead pencil shavings, pen ink, blackberry, blueberry, cedar and camphor notes. This full-bodied, moderately tannic 2001 has a long life ahead of it. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2030.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Stature, which is a blend of 54% fruit from Alexander Valley and 46% fruit from Knights Valley, is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot aged primarily in French oak. The new oak percentage jumps to 71%, which is the highest of any of these Cabernets. Deep ruby/purple with notes of tobacco leaf, underbrush, blackcurrants, sweet new oak and spice box, this is a full-bodied, ripe, impressively endowed wine that will drink well upon release and continue to evolve for up to 15 or more years.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases Aged ten months in 41% new French oak, the 2016 Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands Chardonnay leaps from the glass with vivacious lemon tart, ripe grapefruit and fresh pineapple scents with hints of struck match, lime cordial, honeysuckle and crème brûlée. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is super intense with vibrant tropical fruit and loads of savory layers plus a pleasantly oily texture and wonderfully long finish.

The Hickinbotham wines tend to combine powerful flavours with (comparatively) modest alcohol levels; i.e. they’re not overdone. There’s a best-selling novel to be written, set in the Australian Wine Industry, titled Power Without Heat. Tannin. Always the tannin. You wouldn’t say there’s a great deal of it here but what there is is ultra fine and steady-as-a-keel. We have blackcurrant and jubey blackberry, redcurrant and malt, a touch of molasses too maybe, but the general feeling is of freshness. It’s more of a 21st than it is a 40th, in human year celebrations, if that makes sense; it has power and strut but it feels eager.

2015 Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard The Revivalist Merlot The vines were planted in 1976 and 1989. The grapes were left on skins for three weeks. It was basket pressed before going into French oak (Bordeaux coopered) for 15 months. It’s a substantial red wine by any measure. Bold berried fruit, bold coffeed oak, bold tannin. It feels integrated, supple and creamy – elegant even – but there’s no missing the weight of flavour, and texture. This isn’t your average Australian merlot. It’s good now but there’s a lot in the tank for the future.

The 2013 Pinot Noir MacLean Block comes from a vineyard east of the town of Occidental and saw 36% new French oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is from Dijon clone 667 and 777 from a relatively high-elevation site that needs plenty of time to ripen fully. About 30% whole-clusters were used in this wine, which is dense ruby/purple with loads of spice, damp earth, forest floor and mushrooms as well as raspberry and black cherry fruit. It should drink well for up to a decade.

The lemon and orange blossom-scented 2007 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard (an incredibly cold windswept site) offers up copious notes of caramelized citrus, marmalade, crushed rock, and subtle wood, along with high acidity, and impressive layers of concentration. This vineyard is normally harvested in November because it is such a cold, windy zone. All three of these Chardonnays are best drunk in their first 3-4 years of life, although my instincts suggest they will last longer. One of the best wineries in Sonoma, Hartford Family Winery, under the guidance of winemaker Jeff Mangahas, continues to fine tune an impressive portfolio of wines, all from cool climate sites. The three Chardonnays among the current releases are all outstanding.

A dark, meaty wine, the 2014 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard offers lovely depth and pliancy throughout. Inky blue/purplish fruit, spices, menthol and licorice fill out the wine's broad frame nicely. The Highwire is one of the more massively constituted wines in the range, and will appeal most to readers who like big Zinfandels.

Blue and black stone fruits, pepper, savory herbs and dark spices are some of the notes that inform the 2013 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard. At once quite ripe and also tannic, the Highwire is a bit explosive in style, but all the elements come together very nicely. The huge, resonant finish makes a statement, that is for sure.

The 2010 Zinfandel Dina's Vineyard is a striking wine endowed with tons of finesse, richness and power. All of the elements are beautifully balanced here. A sensual, expressive bouquet leads to dense, layered fruit, all supported by huge tannins. Crushed rocks, licorice, leather and menthol develop in the glass. The Dina's needs time to soften, but it is explosive and full of personality. These head-trained vines are nearly 100 years old. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two The 2016 Dropstone Chardonnay opens with very pure notes of lemon zest, red delicious apples and tangerine peel with honey toast, flowers and hay plus crushed rock accents. The light to medium-bodied palate is fresh and lively with a touch of creaminess to the texture, offering wonderfully concentrated ripe fruits and creamy/toasty accents, juicy acidity and a long finish.

Deep ruby-red. Musky, complex nose combines redcurrant, flowers, cocoa powder, sweet tobacco and spices. Then wonderfully intense and voluptuous, saturating the entire palate with dark fruit, spice and saline mineral flavors. Lovely definition here. Most impressive today on the brisk, very long, firmly built finish, where the ripe tannins are in perfect balance with the wine's fruit. This wine was neither fined nor filtered for the bottling.

(91% cabernet sauvignon and 9% merlot): Bright ruby-red. Restrained but complex aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, espresso, Cuban tobacco and sexy oak. Penetrating black- and blueberry fruit flavors are given precision and lift by a strong floral element. Lovely juicy, firmly structured wine that really requires at least five years in bottle to express itself. Not fat but boasts terrific definition and energy, not to mention superb persistence. In the style of the 2007 Cardinale but with even more grip. A distinctly adult style. Winemaker Chris Carpenter describes 2008 as a lighter year, and thus the selection for this wine was 95% from mountain fruit and the other 5% from To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville.

Bright, deep ruby. Vibrant, complex aromas and flavors of cassis, licorice pastille, spices and flowers. Penetrating, dense and juicy, with a slowly building sweetness that carries through to the very long, tannic, gripping finish. Still youthfully imploded but with the structure for an extended evolution in bottle. Classic 2007 in style.

Medium ruby. Aromatic nose combines wild blackberry, Cuban tobacco, chocolate cake, smoke and minerals. Concentrated, lush and impressively sweet, with snappy raspberry and mineral flavors dominating. This is kept fresh by harmonious acidity but is also lush, seamless and expansive. Finishes with broad tannins and impressive sweetness and persistence. This St. Emilion-style blend is still very young and may prove to be the best of the 2001 trio made under the Verite label.

Ruby-red. Brooding, perfumed aromas of dark fruits, violet and chocolate. Sweet and intensely flavored, with lively acids framing the currant, black raspberry, mineral and dark chocolate flavors. Very densely packed wine, with the sheer material to support its big, ripe tannins. Give this plenty of aeration if you plan to open a bottle anytime soon. Or, better yet, lay it down for six to eight years.

Dark ruby-red. Black cherry, mocha and licorice on the nose. Ripe, broad and dry; suave and sophisticated. Flavors of red berries lifted by floral and mineral components. Densely packed, backward wine, finishing with substantial dusty tannins.

Bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, bitter cherry, licorice and leather. Youthfully tight yet already quite penetrating; today the wine's licorice and fresh herb notes dominate its underlying dark fruit flavors. More backward than the 2011 La Muse, even austere today

Bright yellow. Pineapple, medicinal herbs and crushed rock on the nose. Very dense and tactile but less immediately fruity than the Upper Barn. Pineapple and grapefruit flavors are accompanied by strong saline and rocky elements. In a very dry style but broad, rich and long. The hardest of these chardonnays to taste today but a wine with considerable potential.

Pale, bright yellow. Initially closed nose opened to reveal steely, Puligny-like white peach, nutmeg, mint and crushed stone aromas. Dense but airy and dry; tactile and silky-smooth but with a lovely light touch. Today this very subtle young wine is showing more minerality than primary fruit. Finishes broad and weightless. Give this a couple years in the cellar. This stunning set of chardonnays made by winemaker Graham Weerts, who is from South Africa, was one of the revelations of my tastings of California wine this spring.

Bright ruby-red. High-toned, sexy aromas of black cherry, blueberry, licorice, graphite and sweet oak. Plush, sweet and pliant, with a wonderfully polished texture to the intense flavors of brambly dark berry, coffee and licorice. Finishes lush and very long, with building, fine-grained tannins and considerable elegance. This will be even better for five or six years in the cellar.

Medium ruby. Reticent but very pure aromas of blueberry, cassis, licorice and menthol. Shockingly rich and sweet but very young, showing superb concentration to its cassis flavor complemented by sexy oak tones. This really vibrates on the very long finish, where the wine's powerful mountain tannins are buried in fruit. Less showy today than the Howell Mountain cabernet but with outstanding long-term potential.

Good medium ruby. An essence of cabernet on the nose, with blackberry, licorice and floral aromas complicated by an exotic suggestion of fruity tropical chocolate. Then large-scaled, fat and sweet in the mouth, with highly concentrated black raspberry and chocolate flavors. The powerful mountain tannins coat the front teeth. Like a cabernet syrup today, in need of at least seven or eight years of aging and likely to be long-lived.