The 2013 Zinfandel Papera Ranch is slightly richer and more classic than the Russian River, from a vineyard planted in 1934. The wine is 97% Zinfandel and the rest mixed old-vine black varietals planted probably by the first or second generation of Italian immigrants. The wine has a deep ruby/plum color, a big sweet kiss of steak tartare, beef blood, blackcurrants, sweet cherries, baking spices, herbs and new saddle leather. It’s rich, ripe, full-bodied and opulent. This is a beauty to drink over the next 6-8 years.

From a rocky vein of soils in the vineyard, the deep inky colored 2015 Syrah Ramal Road offers a rocking bouquet of black fruits, black olive, smoked meat, and bacon fat. It offers medium to full body, beautiful purity, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish. Aged in 25% new French oak, drink it anytime over the coming 7-8 years.

Very savory and dense on the nose, this bottling by Adam Lee shows smoky roast beef and smoked-pork-shank aromas as well as concentrated black currant and dried purple flowers. The palate is fresh, lively, tense and dense all at once, and needs a bit more time for the black-plum flavors to unfurl and acidity to mellow.

Bold black raspberry and bacon fat aromas open to layered, polished blueberry and peppered black licorice flavors that lead to refined tannins.

Vivid purple. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, olive paste and peppery spices, with a sexy floral overtone building in the glass. Stains the palate with sweet blackberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that unfurl slowly and gain energy with aeration. Youthful tannins shape the finish, which hangs on with impressive, dark fruit-driven tenacity. I really like this wine's interplay of depth and vivacity.

The wine is a deep, dark ruby to purple color. The very enticing nose has blackberries, licorice, smoked meat, black pepper, baking spices, blueberry, dried herbs, minerals and dark chocolate. This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity. Spicy fruit with a nice meaty presence grabs hold of your palate with pepper and some earthiness coming in later. This has a nice lingering finish which again highlights the meaty elements with chocolate and fruit in the background providing nice sweetness. This is very nice with impressive balance. This wine has 14.2% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

Has personality and polish with expressive black raspberry, garrigue and smoky pepper beef flavors that glide toward refined tannins. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Grenache.

2016 ZINFANDEL, CARLISLE VINEYARD The nose is a deep chocolate and mint with plenty of rich dark fruits and spice. The palate is a sweet, polished plum and cherry with firm blackberry in the core. Excellent depth and concentration with youthful acidity.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Zinfandel Limerick Lane Vineyard is dark, powerful and virile, as wines from this site tend to be. Bright acids and firm tannins are attractive complements to the wine's intense personality. Black cherry, lavender, menthol and gravel notes all run through this potent, deep Zinfandel.

Comprised solely of old-school Swan and Calera clones, this bottling offers red cherry-cinnamon-mocha foam on the well-integrated, multilayered nose, along with some heartier plum and vanilla. It tightens on the sip to reveal strawberry fruit but also oregano, raw beef and lots of florality.

Napa Valley’s Extraordinary 2016 Cabernets - Part 1 The 2016 Merlot is a powerful, authoritative wine that conveys plenty of Mt. Veeder intensity, especially in its structure. Savory, deep and also quite tannic, the 2016 will benefit from a few years in bottle to fully come together. There is no shortage of depth or character here, that much is obvious.

Rich purple color. Gorgeous aromatics of crunchy red and black currants and cherries, along with warm mulling spices and complex elements of cedar, graphite, minerals and loamy soil. Full-bodied with suave but structured tannins and fresh acidity — lovely balance. Black cherries, plums, currants, lovely depth of fruit but it’s crunchy and fresh, too. Complex flavors of earth, tobacco, sage, graphite and clove, some savory mushroom notes underneath. Gorgeous depth and complexity, I would love to cellar this for a decade. All Merlot, aged 22 months in 95% new French oak, from vines planted at 1,7000 feet in elevation.

Bright purple color. Gorgeous aromatic blend of red and black currants and crunchy plums, mixed with violets, espresso, potting soil, tobacco, some pencil lead. Vibrant acidity, structured tannins, a velvety feel that is both deep and fresh at the same time. Tart black cherries, blackberry and juicy cherries come in waves, and the fruit is backed up by graphite, cocoa powder, espresso, rich earth, charcoal and pencil shavings notes. Complex, rich but also vibrant – although this has years of development in the cellar. Beautiful mountain vineyard Merlot. All Merlot aged 19 months in French oak.

A brilliant Merlot, showing the intense complexity of its mountain terroir. There’s a briary wildness to the blackberry and cassis liqueur flavors that’s molten in concentration. Sweet, toasty oak provides additional richness. Very fine, but needs time. Give it 5–6 years to mellow.

Mt. Brave's 2015 Cabernet Franc is a huge, massively tannic wine that is going to need a number of years to shed some of its formidable mountain tannin. There is so much power and pure density here. The Franc is really best described as a mountain wine, while varietal character lies more in the background. The inky dark fruit and spice flavors are nicely delineated throughout.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Franc Mt. Veeder gives a pretty nose of kirsch, cranberry preserves and mulberries with touches of potpourri, baking spices and rose hip tea. Medium to full-bodied, very fresh, finely textured and elegant in the mouth, the fruit is oh-so-beautifully perfumed, finishing long and spicy.

Floral, with loads of black raspberry and blueberry fruit, the 2014 Cabernet Franc is 85.5% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 64% new French oak. The flowery characteristics are pure Cabernet Franc, and that follows through to the beautiful texture of the wine, which is deep and intense, but never seems all that heavy (which is why Cabernet Franc is so different from Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon). There is terrific uplift and vibrancy in this wine, which can be drunk now or cellared for another 15 or more years.

Napa Valley’s Extraordinary 2016 Cabernets - Part 1 The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Mount Veeder) is incredibly primary at this stage. Crème de cassis, plum, spice, bittersweet chocolate, menthol, licorice and leather all run through this plush yet structured, inviting Cabernet Sauvignon.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Aromas of blackberries, blueberries and blackcurrants follow through to a full body and chewy tannins. So much character and intensity. Muscular and gorgeous. Needs two to three years to soften.

This pitch-black colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Brave won our Big Blind Tasting. It opens with an oak and blackberry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, rich and balanced. The flavor profile is an extracted blackberry and oak blend with notes of integrated minerality. We also detected hints of black tea and black olives. The finish is very dry and its monster dusty tannins stick around for quite a while. This Cab could sit in your cellar for a while. It will also reward you for your patience. In the short term, you could decant it and pair it with Roy’s rib roast.

Small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec are blended into this impressive wine, which is reduced slightly on the nose. The flavors of cassis and red cherry turn juicy and tart on the midpalate before exposing complex lengths of tobacco and clove. This wine will be best enjoyed in time, so shoot for 2020 through 2024.

Sourced from the Mt. Brave Vineyard, perched at roughly 1500 feet, this inky colored wine is crafted by superstar winemaker Chris Carpenter, who has been making this wine since 2007. The Cabernet opens with a rich bouquet of crème de cassis, boysenberry cordial, milk chocolate shavings and coffee grounds. Ripe and decadent, dark fruit flavors connect with mocha and spices. The Mount Veeder terroir shines through in this outstanding Cabernet. Try to give this gorgeous wine another few years in the bottle to fully evolve.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Malbec and Cabernet Franc, aged in 80% new French oak. Floral notes intermixed with blueberry and black raspberry fruit as well as blackcurrants jump from the glass of this wine, which has full body and terrific texture, purity and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

Absolutely stunning, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is a beauty. Notes of charcoal, blueberry liqueur, black currants, licorice, incense and violets jump from the glass of this 93.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc blend that was aged in 91% new French oak. This full-bodied 2011 is a tremendous success for the vintage, again reflecting that mountain sites often did very well, and taste like a completely different vintage than the valley floor 2011s. This savory, fleshy wine has low acidity and ripe tannin, so it can be drunk now or cellared for a decade or more.

There is a purity of fruit here with blackberry, blueberry and licorice character. Full body with firm tannins and fresh, lively finish. Exceptional for 2011. Big surprise. Try in 2017.