Aromas of blackberries, wet earth and fresh mushrooms follow through to a full body, a dense palate with chewy yet polished tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Hints of tree bark. Solid wine. Drink in 2019.

Dark, deep and concentrated with ripe plum, cassis and spice; lush and long, balanced and rich.

Earthy with dusty loam and forest scents, this wine is intensely rich, with grippy, chewy tannins. Fine-grained oak notes support dark chocolate, clove and tobacco flavors, accented with fruit-forward elements that recall wild blueberry and blackberry. Structured to age, it will be best from 2023 through 2030.

A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mount Veeder AVA, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is a small cuvée of only 387 cases. It’s a beauty with blueberry, baking spices, sweet toast, white flowers, chocolate and tobacco leaf. Wonderfully majestic fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning purity and depth lead to a wine with tremendous opulence and magnetic appeal. Drink it over the next 20+ years.

The blueberry, walnut, shiitake mushroom and stone aromas are impressive. Full body, chewy tannins and a solid core of fruit. Needs two or three years to resolve the tannins but excellent. Try in 2018.

Lush and smooth with juicy style and lovely plum, blueberry and cassis; silky and elegant with balance and classic style; long and lovely.

The 2014 Legacy Proprietary Red is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot aged 26 months in 55% new French oak. This is a wine with notes of lead pencil shavings, crushed rock, fresh, unsmoked cigar tobacco as well as blackcurrants and black cherries. Deep, rich, and medium to full-bodied, with finely tuned tannins, it should drink beautifully for 15-20 or more years.

The 2021 Château Lassegue is impressive and has plenty of heft and richness, while still showing the finesse and elegance, as well as freshness, that are the hallmarks of the vintage. Ripe blackberries, cherries, scorched earth, and graphite define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a beautiful mid-palate, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It's well worth seeking out, and I suspect I'd be a happy buyer.

The 2023 Lassègue is terrific. In fact, it is one of the best wines I have tasted here. A rush of inky dark fruit, creme de cassis, mocha, cloves and chocolate are all dialed up to the maximum in this decidedly opulent Saint-Emilion. Lassègue is not at all subtle, but it has a ton to offer for lovers of rich, heady wines. This is the first vintage in which Cabernet Franc drives the blend. Oak impact, thankfully, has been moderated as well. It remains a pretty lush, super-ripe wine, but it is impeccably balanced. This is a terrific effort from Pierre Seillan.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Lassègue rolls out with eager-to-please scents of kirsch, fresh blackberries, and raspberry coulis leading to hints of spice cake and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate has a lightly chewy texture with appealing freshness, finishing on a mineral note. The blend is 50% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, with pH 3.70.

Similar in appearance to the Poet's Peak at this stage and tasted from barrel, the 2021
Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge is inky with aromas of scorched earth,
cedar, black cherry, and leather. Full-bodied and plush, with ripe tannins, it’s already
expressive, revealing a lush, luxurious texture, satiny notes of mocha and blackberries, and a long, clean finish. It will be great to revisit this next year from bottle.

Coming from an elevation of 2860 feet, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate
Poet's Peak was tasted as a barrel sample and is highly expressive in its vibrant aromas of black raspberry liqueur, dark minerals, and floral perfume. This full-bodied red offers a plush texture, with good structure of sweet tannins, and it has that mountain fruit extract. It will certainly offer a lot of wine for $60

The 2021 Matanzas Creek Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc opens with an inviting aroma of melon, tropical fruit and a little bit of a herbal/grassy note.
Taking a sip reveals a rich, delicious and balanced wine with a smooth mouthfeel and good acidity. It features similar flavors to the nose with the tropical fruit dominating in the mouth.
It ends crisp, dry and very long on the lip-smacking finish. This is really good Sauvignon Blanc.

I tasted the 2019 Merlot Jackson Hills as a finished barrel sample. Deep ruby in color, it has lush aromas of black cherry jam, dark chocolate, tobacco, cedar and mint leaves. The full-bodied palate is packed with ripe yet detailed fruits supported by fresh acidity and grainy tannins, and it finishes long. 400 cases will be bottled after aging for 20 months in 55% new French oak.

I tasted the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge as a sample from barrel. It will mature for about 20 months in 70% new French oak. Deep ruby-purple, it offers aromas of red and black cherries, cedar, cigars and potpourri with wafts of savory spice. The full-bodied palate balances youthful fruit with fresh acidity, and the tannins are finely resolved even at this early stage.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is so promising. Rich and vibrant, with terrific nuance, the 2017 is shaping up beautifully; I tasted it from tank just prior to bottling. Sweet red cherry, mint, pine, spice and white pepper add a very pretty aromatic upper register. The 2017 is impressive.

After shaking off a matchstick-reduction note, this wine reveals itself to be pillowy soft and tropical. Even so, its malic apple-skin acidity brings more than enough brightness to the table. Sovereign Wine Imports, Santa Rosa, CA

Deep garnet/purple, the 2012 Ironheart Shiraz has quite a funky, yeasty and meaty nose with black and red fruits, pepper notes with an undercurrent of loam and underbrush. Restrained on the palate, the oak tannins are a bit hard and the palate is chewy muscular with cedar notes and a long, savory finish. It needs time.

This medium gold colored Chardonnay opens with a grilled pineapple and golden delicious apple bouquet with hints of melon and toasted oak. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium acidity. The mouthfeel is nicely balanced, unctuous, and rich. The flavor profile is a flinty minerality, gentle mango, and white peach blend with notes of Meyer lemon. We also detected hints of nutmeg, sautéed mushrooms, butter, and subtle oak. The finish drifts away nicely. The Tasting Panel would pair Chard with bay scallop casserole.

This medium purple colored Zinfandel opens with pencil lead and black raspberry cobbler bouquet with hints of stewed black plum and vanilla. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is round, balanced, and crisp. The flavor profile is very fruit forward, featuring juicy red plum and graphite along with notes of chalky minerality and red raspberry tea. We also detected hints of oak, cinnamon, and pepper. The finish is dry, and its flavors and dusty tannins are nicely prolonged. The Tasting Panel would pair this big boy Zin with your favorite steak taco or with a steak pizzaiola.

This dark ruby colored Cabernet from Kendall Jackson is very good. It opens with a black cherry and blackberry bouquet with a hint of peppermint and dark chocolate. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with nicely integrated acidity. The mouthfeel is round and balanced. The flavor profile is a mineral influenced black currant with notes of oak and blackberry. I also detected some hints of blueberry and cola. The finish is dry, and its fine tannins and flavors fade away nicely. This Cab would pair nicely with a filet mignon.

A barrel sample of the 2012 Cenyth, which has a whopping 56% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot in the blend, looks sensational. This was a generous year in terms of yields, and Seillan said virtually everything came in in terrific shape. It is just a question of culling out the best lots. A dense purple color is followed by abundant notes of black currants, blackberries, camphor, charcoal and creme de cassis, along with a full-bodied, opulent mouthfeel, a broad, savory texture, sweet tannin, adequate acidity, and a long finish displaying impressive purity. This beauty should drink well for 15 or more years.

Another sensational barrel sample is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale, which is all Cabernet that will see 32 months in just over half new oak. As with the other top releases here, it’s a vineyard and cellar selection. Offering lots of sweet oak, cassis, lead pencil, and floral notes, it’s medium to full-bodied, silky, and downright seamless, with awesome purity. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two decades.

Savory herbs, tobacco, smoke, iron and dried flowers form a striking tapestry of aromas and flavors in the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale. Delicate and understated in the glass, the 2012 impresses for its exceptional overall balance and pure pedigree. This is another wine with a very bright future.

Bright, deep ruby. Extremely primary nose hints at cassis, espresso and bitter chocolate; this is about as evolved as a Bordeaux during the Primeurs tastings six months after the harvest. Then surprisingly plush and rich, boasting superb volume and sappy verve to the black and blueberry, coffee and mocha flavors. The balance of sweetness and acidity is exhilarating. Strong underlying minerality gives shape and lift to the ripely tannic, very long finish. Splendid potential here. I tasted both this wine and the 2012 Montana from tank.