This multivineyard blend is from Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley. You really don't want to open it yet because it's too young. But it has great future ahead, to judge from the rich, softly fine tannins and cherry, red currant, cola, olive tapenade and sweet fresh herb flavors. Balanced and refined, this Cab defines the Sonoma style. Best 2008-2015.

They kept this Cab back all this time, presumably at some cost to the company, but consumers are the beneficiaries. Everything has mellowed. The wine, with 1% Petit Verdot, is like hands of cassis, dark chocolate and oak massaging the palate. The grapes were sourced from top vineyards in the Dry Creek, Sonoma and Alexander Valleys. Drink now-2010.

An extraordinary Viognier, as rich as they come. The great Saralee’s Vineyard gave fantastically ripe grapes, and the winemaker has lavished the wine with opulent touches of oak and lees. It’s flamboyant in tropical fruits and honey, with mouthwatering acidity

As I have written before, for over 40 years Dick Arrowood has been a reference point for high quality, world-class Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese-styled sweet Rieslings from California. His 2008 Special Select Late Harvest Riesling Saralee's Vineyard, made in a Beerenauslese style, reveals wonderful apricot and peach marmalade notes intertwined with hints of maple syrup, lychee nuts, buttered apples, and shortbread. As always, this cuvee possesses terrific acidity as well as outstanding concentration. While it is almost impossible to resist at present, this 2008 will last an incredibly long time.

2005 ARROWOOD SELECT LATE HARVEST RIESLING SARALEE'S VYD. No one in America produces more decadently rich Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese-styled late harvest Reislings than Dick Arrowood, who began making these wines when he was the winemaker at Chateau St. Jean during the decade of the seventies. These brilliant sweet wines can age exceptionally well as evidenced by some bottles in my cellar from the late seventies. While their colors now resemble molasses, they remain fresh and lively. Arrowood has hit home runs with all three cuvees in 2005. Arrowood's Beerenauslese wine, the 2005 Select Late Harvest Riesling Saralee's Vineyard, was bottled with 12.1 grams of residual sugar. It is similar to the regular Late Harvest Riesling, just richer, more intense, and more unctuous.

The 2008 Chardonnay Reserve Speciale, which comes from five vineyards, was 100% barrel-fermented and put through 100% malolactic. Always one of California's top Chardonnays, it is a blend of 51% Russian River and 49% Carneros fruit. This light straw/gold-colored Chardonnay offers up notes of peach, honeysuckle, popcorn and brioche in a rich, concentrated, pure format with good underlying acidity as well as a generous mouthfeel. This 2008 should continue to drink well for 5-6 years.

The outstanding premier cru Meursault-like 2006 Chardonnay Reserve Speciale is fashioned from some of the top Russian River vineyard sites. It spent additional time in French oak, resulting in a creamier texture and is a bigger, nuttier-styled Chardonnay. Aromas of roasted hazelnuts, marmalade, creme brulee, honeysuckle, and tropical fruit emerge from this beautiful effort. Enjoy it over the next 3-4 years.

The 2015 Il Fauno di Arcanum is a robust and thickly layered blend of 59% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot. This wine offers terrific value, especially to those who prize soft richness and concentration in their blended Tuscan reds. This beautiful, medium to full-bodied wine would pair seamlessly with grilled or roasted meats. The warmth and sheer exuberance of the vintage will put a big smile on your face.

This very dark ruby colored Italian blend is very good. It opens with a black pepper, black cherry and new leather bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, slightly acidic and juicy. The flavor profile is a black olive and black cherry blend with notes of cedar, black pepper and blackberry with a hint of sage The finish is dry and its flavors and mild tannins drift away nicely. This Italian treat would pair nicely with veal parmigiana. Very Good+

A polished, flavorful red, boasting floral, black currant, raspberry and spice flavors. Firm yet harmonious, with the fine aftertaste lingering with fruit, iron, tobacco and tea elements. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2024. 11,829 cases made

Aromas of almonds and dark berry and chocolate follow through to a berry and chocolate character. There's plenty of walnut too. Soft and velvety texture. Voluptuous. Drink now or hold.

A red with attractive currant, blueberry and spice character on the nose and palate. Full body, very silky and polished tannins and a ripe and rich finish. Shows the ripeness of the vintage. Yet this remains fresh and bright. A Bordeaux blend with a touch of sangiovese. Drink or hold.

A firm, muscular style, this red boasts black currant, black cherry, thyme and spice flavors, with a hint of black pepper. Flashes a matrix of dense tannins, yet this is long and should come alive with food. Think grilled or roasted meats. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

This is settling into its stride now, with the tannins and acidity integrating with the supple texture, setting the stage for bright cherry, raspberry, sage and tar flavors. Still compact on the finish, with a lingering savory aftertaste. Drink now through 2023.

Lots of ripe fruit and spices here with hints of dark berries and subtle smoked meat. Full and caressingly textured with a long finish. So delicious now but will improve with bottle age. A blend of 64% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Get Ready: The Super Italians Are Coming Aromas of lead pencil and currants with blueberries. Medium body, chewy tannins and a savory finish. Needs two or three years to soften.

Get Ready: The Super Italians Are Coming Pretty and balanced 2014 with currant and berry character and just hints of vanilla. Full-bodied yet tight and focused. Needs a year or two to soften even more, but already very attractive.

The 2012 Arcanum is mostly Cabernet Franc (71%) with smaller parts Merlot (16%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Petit Verdot (3%). This is a dark and thickly extracted wine that pours from the bottle with midnight black intensity. The Cabernet aromas play a leading role with rosemary and wild herb behind plump cherry and blackberry. This is a big wine and an aspirational one as well. It should continue its evolution over the next decade or more.

Concentrated yet lively, this exudes black currant, cherry, olive, tobacco and iron aromas and flavors. Vibrant and pure, with a coating of oak spice and tannins on the finish. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

The 2011 Arcanum is a blend of 77% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot aged in new French oak for up to one year. The wine is extraordinarily black and dense in appearance with virtually no light penetration. The bouquet is equally rich and generous with black fruit, prune, spice, leather and black olive aromas. The natural tannic astringency of the wine is apparent on the palate and adds to the wine's firm structure and power.

Aromas of blueberry, spice and cherry character. Medium to full body, fine and integrated tannins yet a velvety texture. Mostly cabernet franc with some merlot, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Drink or hold.

Harmonious, this Bordeaux look-alike boasts ripe black cherry, black currant, cassis and violet flavors, with leather and tobacco elements creeping in. Needs time to absorb the beefy tannins. Best from 2017 through 2026.

Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke purchased this estate in 1994. The property, near the town of Castelnuovo Berardenga, focuses on Bordeaux varietal blends, this on built on cabernet franc (51 percent), merlot and cabernet sauvignon. It's more vinous than many super-Tuscans, opening with air to full-on richness, not heavy but complete. New oak scents give way to brisk notes of forest floor and black olives, finishing floral and bright. It leaves the mouth feeling refreshed, with hints of anise in a zesty fragrance that lasts. An intriguing interpretation of the Tuscan hills.

Anakota's 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana is fabulous. Rich, sensual and enveloping, the 2015 captures all the allure that defines the best wines of the year. Super-ripe red cherry, plum, wild flowers and spice all mesh together in this ample, creamy Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon. As always, the Helena Montana presents a decidedly fruit-driven personality next to the more savory Helena Dakota.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard is laced with a host of mineral and soil-driven elements that add considerable nuance to the dark, plush fruit. Smoke, graphite, gravel, incense, blackberry jam and menthol give the 2015 its layered, beautifully expressive personality. I would prefer to give the 2015 a few years in bottle to allow the tannins to soften. This is another impressive showing from Anakota and Pierre Seillan.