This starts off as black satin, mostly tannin and dark fruit, before air brings up more distinct black cherry and earth in the middle of the wine. The plush texture doesn't get in the way of the firm structure, allowing the wine to build complexity as it develops in the glass. Cellar it for a few years, or decant a bottle for roast leg of lamb.

Offers notes of cigar box, roasted coffee, chicory, blackberry and wild berry, with touches of dried herb and cedar. Ends with firm, ripe tannins and good length.—2005 California Cabernet blind retrospective (September 2015). Drink now through 2022.

Marked by strong, dry tannins now, which lock it down and make it astringent through the finish. Yet beneath the toughness is plenty of ripe fruit, with waves of blackberries and black currants. Oak shows up as toast, and also contributes to the tannins. Nowhere near ready, this wine should begin to come into its own after 2011.

There's an earthy, loamy feel to the tannins of this wine, buried under fresh, floral, fruit-skin tension. The fruit itself is juicy and firm, held tight by the tannin, opening to a supple cabernet texture and flavor that will meld well with rack of lamb.

From the high-pedigree of the Bosche Vineyard, the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosche, a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot aged in French oak for 24 months, exhibits an opaque ruby/purple color and a wonderfully sweet nose of camphor, underbrush, black currants, and spice. The wine is deep, full-bodied, with superb richness, depth, and intensity. This is a beauty with silky tannins and low acidity. It should drink beautifully for 15-20+ years.

From the well-known Rutherford vineyard located on the alluvial fan on the west side of Rutherford, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosche Vineyard is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot aged 24 months in French oak. This mature 2002 exhibits plenty of creme de cassis, vanillin, cedarwood, licorice, underbrush and forest floor notes in a medium to full-bodied, richly fruity, seductive style. Although not the most concentrated wine of the vintage, it is beautifully round, elegant, and ideal for drinking now and over the next decade.

Freemark Abbey's latest Chardonnay release shows the fine hand of winemaker Ted Edwards, who chooses to ferment part of the batch in French oak to develop richness and a creamy texture, and part in stainless steel to preserve freshness and acidity. The result is a well-balanced Napa Chard that delivers a complex palate of lemon oil, pear and baked apple, with hints of wood spice.

Longtime winemaker Ted Edwards has fashioned a beautiful 2013 Chardonnay, an 11,000-case, non-malolactic, 70% barrel-fermented cuvée from multiple sources throughout Napa. One-third new French oak was used. Notes of delicate pear, apple blossom and tropical fruits emerge from this classic Chardonnay. Medium to full-bodied with a greenish hue to its color, it exhibits impressive layers and minerality. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years.

This is an oaky, leesy Chardonnay, and quite a good one. Although it's super rich in fruit, it shows a crisply acidic minerality that grounds it and makes it serious. That fruit is wildly forward in pineapple tart, pear butter, Key lime pie and golden apricot.

Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2016 Syrah is a very pretty wine from Greg Brewer's Ex Post Facto project. Racy and perfumed in the glass, with striking aromatic presence, the 2016 makes a strong opening statement. The red and purplish berry fruit is nicely lifted by floral and savory overtones from the whole clusters. It will be interesting to see where this wine goes in the future. Certainly the debut vintage is promising. Brewer gave the fruit, from Spear, 4-5 days of cold soak followed by a lengthy fermentation/maceration of 45 days or so. The 2016 spent 16 months in neutral French oak.

Good Petite Sirah is generally not for the faint of heart, but those of us who love it think that the bigger and bolder the better. This offering from Edmeades has all the requisite intensity and firm tannins to show off its juicy blueberry and other dark fruit flavors, but it also has a kinder, gentler side. Even non-Petite Sirah fans will love this unexpected showing of finesse and elegance.

This petite was grown at a vineyard on the Talmage bench in the foothills of the northern Mayacamas range, the vines between 20 and 60 years old. It has a brightness that balances the toughness of its structure, making its density feel layered rather than monolithic. The fruit's a bit purple and primary at first, but as it takes on air it harmonizes with the tannins, moving toward a clean black-currant scent and cool minerality that feels dynamic. It's a petite to age for a few years before opening with braised meat, or cassoulet.

They say these vines are 121 years old, and certainly, the wine they produce is concentrated. The winemaker, Van Williamson, finds nutmeg, fir, white pepper, tobacco, raspberry and strawberries, which sounds about right. It's also a little more tart than the magnificent Zeni bottling.

Same vineyard (as Claudia Springs 1998 Eagle Point Ranch Zinfandel), different producer, making for an interesting comparison. There's 19% Syrah and 5% Petite Syrah blended into this wine, which is succulent and delicious, with spicy, lively fruit leading the way. There's enough acid to give it structure and balance, but not so much that the wine seems edgy or sour.

Eagle Point Vineyard. There's 19% Syrah & 5% Petite Sirah blended in, making for a succulent wine, with spicy, lively fruit leading the charge. There's enough acid to give it structure & balance, but not so much that the wine seems edgy or sour. Full bodied, mouthfilling, flavorful & distinctive.

From an underrated North Coast winery making some of the best Zins in the state. You'll go wild over the bold complexity of this beauty. Packs twice the power of most Zins and gets away with it. This is a wine to show a visitor form foreign shores what California Zin is all about.

An amazing single-vineyard Zin. Oaky, but packed with berry fruit.

One doesn't expect to find fruit this ripe and fully formed in Mendocino Zinfandel, but then 1994 was an exceptional year for this cool-climate region. You'll find cedary overtones from barrel aging, medium body and delicious drinkability. You might have to hunt a bit, as production was not large. Don't be daunted by the price; the wine is worth it.

Dark, rich, intense and concentrated, packed with complex wild berry and cherry flavors.

Black fruit, leather, bacon, lilacs. Full-blown style, with inky fruit concentration made elegant by a silky mouthfeel and extrodinary balance of all components. Cellar Selection.

This knock-out wine reveals a well-developed yet compelling bouquet of black fruits, tar, herbs, and smoky scents. There is lavish richness to this full-bodied, deep, concentrated, lusciously-textured, expansive, mouthfilling wine. This terrific, full-flavored, broad shouldered Zinfandel should drink well for 7-8 years.

Intense fruitiness along with touches of mint and baking spices make this full-bodied wine impressive as well as complex and layered. The vivid, ripe strawberry and blackberry components are well balanced by firm tannins and a light oak coating.

Another hit from this Zin specialist; dense and packed with rich, ripe blackberry and spice.

A steep site at 1,500 feet in the coastal ridges above the Anderson Valley, this windy vineyard catches the sun when the valley below is socked in with fog, allowing zin to fully ripen while holding onto its acidity. In 2012 the vineyard grew a zin of captivating intensity, its ripeness feeling warm and energetic, charging forward coastal scents of spruce tips and crushed blackberries, its texture posh in the middle and firm at the end.

Edmeades has been setting the standards for California Zinfandel for decades. Winemaker Ben Salazar must have had the stars aligned for a fermentation of the most wonderful kind when he put this wine in the barrel. Huge and hulking with finesse like a runway model’s walk inside a body builder’s physique, the 2012 Edmeades Zinfandel delivers a package that is more than the sum of its parts. Concentrated fruit flavors have mellowed since release, presenting a much more approachable wine that drinks with ease rewarding the consumer with brambly dark berry, chocolate cherry cordial painting a wide swath across the palate. The soft dusty tannins of the Edmeades Zinfandel echo in the background as the mouth-cleansing acidity sets you up for the next sip. Worth seeking out even if it takes a little work. Excellent.