2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality This has a very impressive feel with a fresh array of citrus and some gently spicy pastry aromas, too. The palate has a long, fresh and composed feel with such fine, fresh peaches and pears. Drink or hold.

Napa Valley's 2017s There are just over 500 cases of the 2017 Chardonnay W.S. Keyes, which comes from a single block of the Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Seeing no malolactic fermentation and aged in 10% new French, it has Chablis-like citrus, lemon curd, and green apple notes as well as medium-bodied richness, bright yet integrated acidity, a light graceful texture, and a great finish. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

Elegant nose with aromas of creamy red berry fruit combining nicely with mocha and sweet spices. Silky texture with a long, pleasant finish.

A suave and toasty style, with lusciously spiced flavors of apple pastry, pear tart and brioche, supported by crunchy acidity. The minerally finish features buttery accents that are balanced and fresh-tasting. Drink now through 2025.

Complex and deeply flavored, with loamy notes to the dark cherry, plum tart and wild berry flavors, which are broad-textured and robustly spiced. The dense, powerfully structured finish lingers, revealings smoky touches and sanguine richness. Drink now through 2025.

Weighing in at 14.5% alcohol, the ‘Santa Rita Hills’ Chardonnay by the talented Greg Brewer was sourced from the 3D, Machado, Acin and Hapgood vineyards. Texturally beautiful, the wine yields great brightness and acidity, as well as weight. Baked apple and vanilla creme brûlée flavors mingle with the earthy and citrus rind undertones on this complex palate. While outstanding now, the 2017 Brewer-Clifton ‘Santa Rita Hills’ Chardonnay will provide drinking enjoyment for another decade, picking up tertiary tones as it ages. Drink 2020-2030.

The 2018 ‘Katherine’s’ Chardonnay shows nice salted Marcona almond and pink grapefruit tones that build together aromatically. The palate is exceedingly bright and lithe, showing off a silky texture and yielding medium-bodied lemon cream and saline drenched Challah bread flavors. The long finish is exceedingly good. This has just terrific length and elegance. Fantastic now, this will continue to build for another seven to ten years. Drink 2020-2027.

The 2010 Bordeauxs are proving their merit and age worthiness in bottle. Lassegue's dense and tightly packed St. Emilion Grand cru displays its ambition on its sleeve, still featuring significant oak influence, albeit very high quality wood, alongside roasted vegetal character and especially masses of black fruit, and now the development of tertiary, earthy, mushroom-truffle notes that add interest and intrigue. It's anything but a subtle, elegant wine, rather a full-on bruiser, thick and dense, but impressive in that context, a soldier, not aristocrat. Forget for another 2-4 years, or hold into the mid-thirties. Tasted January 2020.

Vibrant ruby color with a ripe cherry nose; velvety and rich with dense flavors of cherry and raspberry. Lush yet mellow and balanced.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2017 Chardonnay - W.S. Keyes is rich and deeply phenolic, with all of the natural structure that is so typical of Howell Mountain. Bright and fresh on the palate, with terrific energy, the 2017 is wonderfully nuanced and full of character. Savory herbs, chamomile, mint, pineapple and exotic floral notes add to the wine's character, while blocked malolactic fermentation keeps the flavors bright.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore is dark and beautifully resonant from start to finish. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather, mocha, dark spice and licorice infuse the 2016 with notable character as well as volume. Ample and expansive on the palate, with tremendous depth, the 2016 has so much to offer.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford) is powerful, dense and savory, not to mention incredibly expressive. Sweet tobacco, grilled herbs, leather, licorice, chocolate and dried flowers develop in this characterful Cabernet; there is plenty of Rutherford dirt personality as well. This is very nicely done.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2018 Chardonnay is a very pretty, nuanced wine that deftly balances textural richness and vibrancy. Lemon peel, orchard fruit, mint and bright floral notes are finely sculpted in this classy, wonderfully polished Chardonnay from Freemark Abbey.

Siduri's Edmeades Vineyard Pinot Noir is from a site that’s probably more widely known for robust Zinfandel, and it's a wine that makes me wonder why that’s the case. This is a restrained beauty, with lively tart cherry, dry earth minerality and great finish push where the acidity rings and gets your palate going. An excellent foil for fish or fowl.

Structure meets polish, with expressive raspberry, savory tea and spice flavors that build richness and tension toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2027.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective The 2009 Le Desir is a blend of 74% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. Deep garnet in color, it possesses a maturing, flamboyant nose of plum preserves, mulberries and Black Forest cake with underlying cassis, pencil shavings, tilled soil and fallen leaves scents, plus wafts of leather and tobacco. Firm, medium to full-bodied and densely packed with taut, evolving fruit, it has loads of mineral sparks and a long, chewy finish. 1,500 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall opens slowly to reveal notions of baked plums, warm blackcurrants and blackberry preserves with touches of Chinese five spice, potpourri, cigar box and tree bark plus a waft of aniseed. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a beautiful velvety texture and plenty of freshness supporting the generous black fruit preserves, finishing long and perfumed. Still has loads of life! 505 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain offers up pronounced notes of baked cherries, blackberry preserves and warm cassis with touches of espresso, mincemeat pie and tree bark plus a waft of dried herbs. Full-bodied, the palate is laden with Indian spices, fragrant herbs and warm black fruits with a chewy frame and earthy kick to the finish. 195 cases were made.

Shows polish and presence, with expressive rose petal and raspberry aromas that pair with multilayered boysenberry and orange peel flavors, finishing with well-groomed tannins. Drink now through 2027.

Buoyant acidity backs a flavor profile that features savory richness to the dried raspberry and cherry notes. Sanguine details emerge on the powerfully spicy finish, offering accents of portobello mushroom. Drink now through 2025.

Aromas of cranberries and cherries, and there’s a lot of spicy herbal tones, rose petals, black tea, along with warm clay and earth. Medium/full-bodied with bright acidity, and moderate grip on the tannins, but no harsh edges — this has lovely balance. Crunchy cranberries, black cherries, wild raspberries, the fruit is laced with smoky earth, pepper, paprika and rose petals. Lovely, fresh, vibrant yet structured well; this should improve with three to four years of cellaring. From Blocks 15 and 13, aged in 43% new French oak.

Deep cherry and raspberry aromas, with a complex blend of rose petals, tobacco leaf, smoky, earthy tones, but also airy, lifted notes. Crisp acidity frames the wine nicely, medium/full-bodied, serious grip on tannins, but this is really well-balanced. Bright strawberries, raspberries and cherries, gorgeous, concentrated fruit, yet so lively. Notes of clove, cola, earth, wild herbs add complexity. I’d love to see what this does in five years. Made from their estate vineyard Block 9, aged 15 months in 45% new French oak.

From a small block on the property’s eastern edge near a riverbed, this wine is sultry and attractive when first poured, with an inviting suite of scents—of smoke and allspice, clove and olive. It stays savory and spicy, with generous flavors of plum and black cherry, and a fine, supple texture. Match its dark generosity to a meaty boar chop.

A sleek syrah from Wells Guthrie, this comes from a vineyard only 25 miles from the Pacific, planted at 1,600 feet in altitude in the early 2000s. It feels rich and grand, with floral notes and meaty depths of flavor. It’s immediately appealing for the purity of its flavors and the subtlety of their earthy root notes. Rather than expanding on those elements with air, it grows quiet for now, a retreat that suggests it’s best to either drink the wine right now, or cellar it for five years or more.

The darkest wine in a flight of dark syrahs, this smells of blood, iron filings and menthol, its black fig and black plum flavors caught in the gravitational pull of its tannins. For all of its opacity, it feels balanced, even charming, ready for a tomahawk steak.