Golden color; smooth fruit nose; lush, rich texture, ripe but nicely structured with bright acidity; rich, balanced and long.

Rich cherry nose; ripe, deep cherry and savory notes; clean, balanced and luscious with hints of vanilla oak and toast, long and rich.

Copain (meaning ‘friend’ in French) was set up in 1999. The entry-level Syrah has the savoury, sylvan register of a northern St-Joseph. Its rounded fruits are well balanced, not overly full or intense, and shot through with an agreeable spicy streak. The oak is well integrated and doesn’t dominate. Tannins are very ripe but provide structure.

Plush and graceful, with an elegant core of complexity wrapped in velvety raspberry, spice and orange peel flavors.

Lithe and refined, with expressive rose petal, dark cherry and toasted cinnamon notes that build richness toward polished tannins.

Bright, medium red/purple hue, with a fresh fragrance of raspberry and blueberry, mixed spices and flowers. It's light-bodied and light in tannin, a fruit-driven but quite detailed wine of great aromaticity and charm.

Deepish red colour with a tint of purple. The bouquet has the trademark leafy raspberry lift of this varietal, with a hint of cedar, while the palate is tight and firm, elegant and intense, and it has more in common with St-Émilion than the Loire. Elegant, medium to full-bodied. A very tidy wine.

This white gold colored Chardonnay from Brewer and Clifton is very good. It opens with a mild oak and lemon meringue bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a tasty lemon meringue pie and oak blend with nicely integrated minerality. I also detected hints of green apple and a touch of white pepper. The finish is dry and it flavors and well-managed acidity show nice length. This Chard would pair well with chicken cordon bleu.

This is a classic Napa Cabernet. Graceful and elegant and quite understated with a lovely, lifted nose of blackcurrant, spearmint, dark chocolate and pencil lead. The nose is complex and very refined with nicely integrated aromas. It is fullbodied, dense and firm and wonderfully dry, with no mocha and no jam. This is a fine elegant cabernet that will age well.

Lush and smoky stone-fruits nose with a sense of underlying power. Density and grip on the palate with impressive weight of fruit. Caramel on the persistent finish.

Thick tannins wrap around juicy jammy flavors of blueberry and black cherry in this concentrated and savory, earthy wine. Additional aspects of dried herb, tobacco and a touch of vanilla round out the full-bodied experience.

From a vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley, this bottling by Greg Brewer begins with fresh aromas of passion fruit, citron, lime leaf and wet cement. The palate is tightly wound with slightly sour tones of guava peel, presenting a very fresh, no-oak style that still has plenty of character.

Moderate garnet color in the glass. Persistent aromas of darker cherry and sous-bois. More power, intensity and finish in a mid weight plus style featuring flavors of plum, pomegranate and a citric thread. A good tannic backbone provides balance. Quite appealing, with uplifting energy and a cherry cola finish.

This faint straw-colored Chardonnay from Freemark Abbey is very good. It opens with an attractive lemon verbena bouquet with a hint of apple. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and juicy. The flavor profile is a mild oak influenced apple with notes of lemon verbena and Bartlett pear. I also detected some vanilla and oak in the background. The flavors extend into the finish and linger nicely. This Chard would pair well with chicken piccata.

Oregon 2019: 451 Tasting Notes and Scores Plentiful spices are cast across ripe dark cherries, leading to a fleshy, lithe and juicy palate that has attractive red-plum and cherry flavor in abundance. Drink over the next five years.

Oregon 2019: 451 Tasting Notes and Scores Light and bright, poached cherries and berries lead to a smooth array of finely spiced cherry flavors and a smoothly delivered, plush and smooth palate. Drink or hold.

This wine’s bold, succulent black cherry flavor has the energy to override its oak aging, layering that tight fruit ripeness over sweet touches of caramel and almond. This is clean and spicy in its flavor detail, its acidity gentled by supple sweetness even as it keeps moving the flavors forward. Delicious with tea-smoked duck.

This bursts with fresh and floral boysenberry aromas and flavors, gathering black licorice and smoky cracked pepper notes on the way to refined tannins. Drink now through 2030.

Enticing notes of pencil shavings and sweet spice are front and center on the nose, with additional aromas of baked apple, pressed yellow flowers and orange oil. The palate shows great balance, with a bright seam of acidity that keeps the apple and orange fruit pure and focused. Lovely accents of toasted brioche and wood spice carry the enduring finish.

45 top global Bordeaux red blends Ripe, full-bodied, oak-driven style but with lots of plush, ripe, rich berry and cherry fruits, a touch of dark plum and good acidity to finish. Lovely purity of fruit here. A blockbuster of a style, but it still shows restraint and elegance. Finishes with fresh acidity to keep everything in check.

The nose on Stonestreet's '16 is immediately evocative of wildflowers and mountain tea, a brush of smoulder and all the herbs you can pack into a tisane's sachet. This is paramount to support of earth and terra firma for dark berry fruit that's just so aromatic and frankly, delicious. There's a confident swagger and elegant grace about this cabernet sauvignon that doles out nothing but pure delight. Great value from Sonoma hills that would cost double across the pass. Drink 2020-2025. Tasted March 2020.

10 warming red wines to get you through the last gasps of winter Part of Jackson Family Wines, best known for the Kendall-Jackson and La Crema labels, Stonestreet is a premium winery located on a 2,225-hectare estate in the Mayacamas Mountain Range. To my taste, Alexander Valley cabernet is every bit as exciting as anything from Napa. This splurge-worthy red is ripe and fragrant, beautifully balanced and complex. It’s appealing in its youth and promises to develop nicely over the next six to 10 years should you have the patience to wait. Available in Ontario at the above price, various prices in Alberta.

Dense and muscular, featuring a core of cherry and plum flavors that mingles with fresh herb, minerally earth and espresso notes. Firm, deep, dense tannins and a whiff of freshly cracked black pepper emerge on the finish, balanced by concentrated flavors. Drink now.

Siduri Likely to Keep on Winning The dark, almost hedonistic nose is laser-focused on a concentration of raspberry, black plum, black currant and black cherry. The full body is elevated by bright acid, and mellowed by smooth, long and well-integrated tannin. The structure is seamless. Flavors icnlude strawberry, plum, cherry, sweet rhubarb, graphite, black pepper and a bit of iron. It finishes with a spicy flourish. Great stuff.