Black-ruby with a lighter purple rim; wow! iodine and ink, lavender and bittersweet chocolate; ripe blackberries and black currants nestled in brambles, briers and underbrush; savory hints of bay leaf, sage and rosemary, with a touch of the latter’s resiny woodiness; leather and loam; a deep, almost primeval tannic and mineral structure; surging acidity cuts a swath; bastions of oak will require a few years aging to soften. Try from 2021 or ’22 through 2029 or ’30. A monumental model of the grape with a price to match. Excellent.

This opaque and very dark red Cabernet Sauvignon based wine from Freemark Abbey opens with a very inviting cassis and blueberry bouquet with notes of graphite and hints of Werther’s Original candy. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is a tasty mineral infused red cherry with notes of red plum and hints of cedar. The finish is rather dry and its sticky tannins are very lengthy. The Panel thought this impressive wine would pair well with Roy’s rib roast.

Pale copper color. Complex but airy on the nose, with white cherry, strawberry, grapefruit, topped in wildflowers, hay, honey, with salty, oyster shell notes. Nervy and crisp on the palate with fine bubbles – dry, brisk, salty, bright appeal. Strawberry, white cherry and red apple peel, mixed with chalk, saline but plenty of doughy, honey, almond notes, too. Delicious, complex, bright stuff. Chardonnay with 43% Pinot Noir, fermented in a mix of old French oak and stainless steel, aged 24 months on the lees.

Gold Medal

Gold Medal

Trophy Red Wine of Show

Napa Valley's top Cabernet Sauvignons A delicious symphony of mountain grapes from all of Napa Valley’s mountain AVAs. Very nuanced and long, with flavors that exude spiciness, savoriness, and minerality.

Deals $35 & Under A rich, supple classic with lovely apple tart flavors, a creamy middle, and a long lightly toasty finish.

Weekend Wine Picks The fruit comes off three dominant Pinot Noir growing regions in Santa Barbara County. Santa Maria Valley, one of California’s coolest AVAs, brings the aromatics. Los Alamos, a slightly warmer site, brings the riper, darker fruit flavours. South of Santa Maria Valley and Los Alamos, the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and its steep slopes add stony minerality and some austerity. Look for fresh, brambly red fruit aromas that spill onto the palate with more dense, vibrant black cherry fruit flavours. All the blocks are harvested separately to allow for a wide choice of tastes and styles — a distinctive style that has turkey written all over it.

Wine of the Week It's practically dessert in a bottle. Flavors of crisp Golden Apples, crushed wild straw, and hints of lemon meringue pie make up the flavor profile of La Crema Russian River Valley Brut Rose. An outright steal at $45 a bottle, this California sparkler is made in the traditional method, which means that the wine receives its secondary fermentation right in the bottle and is allowed to age to its moment of perfection before it is released. The result is a splendidly flavorful and refreshing sparkling wine that is perfect for a lazy afternoon brunch or a light aperitif before dinner. Its also perfect for pairing with a variety of soft cheeses and desserts. Most people think of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir when they think of Sonoma County's Russian River Valley, but La Crema is proving that the region is also capable of creating a really intriguing delicate wine, by combing the two (73% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay), creating a sparkling wine that is perfect for the lighter type of fare that is now favored by millennials. Imagine it with Oysters on the Half Shell, Ceviche, Spicy Salmon Sushi Rolls, Thai Basil Shrimp, Lamb Kabobs, or Kung Pao Chicken. The exotic flavor combinations are endless.

Relatively firm reduction suppresses the fruit and I would counsel giving this a thorough aeration first as it definitely helped. There is reasonably good volume to the rounded, supple and quite forward flavors that possess a velvety texture before concluding in an acceptably complex and persistent finish that flashes a hint of acid tang. This is already drinking well though it could be held for a year or two first.

Tasted alongside Cullen Vanya 2012, Mount Mary Quintet 2015, Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1 2015, Woodlands Heather Jean 2010, Penley Estate Helios 2016, Balnaves The Tally 2010, Wirra Wirra Dead Ringer 2015 – stiff competition. It certainly meant a pace was set. This quite distinct from most of the more ‘restrained’ wines in that mix, overt, bright, sweeter fruit, less tannin, one could say. This is the ranking for me – Cullen Vanya 2012, Mount Mary Quintet 2015, Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1 2015, Woodlands Heather Jean 2010, Penley Estate Helios 2016, Hickinbotham Trueman 2016, Balnaves The Tally 2010, Wirra Wirra Dead Ringer 2015, with YY and Woodlands very close to equal, and let’s say a little gap after Penley to the next three. That does say a lot about the pedigree of all the wines, however. Has this sweet, candied fruit character rolling through the wine, like jubes or something similar, but also let’s chime in with black jelly beans. Scents show some savouriness, earth, clove, dried leaves, but liquorice and blackcurrant essence is there too. There’s a good swish of grippy, fine, stony tannins but that sweeter fruit character is the main program. Also, mint, green herb, saline flavours. It’s long, medium weight, fresh feeling in character. It’s a pretty cabernet.

Terrific Turkey Wine A silky, seductive cool climate California Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. Morning fog protects the grapes and lengthens ripening while preserving nervy acidity for seafood, roast chicken and turkey. Medium-bodied and delicious! Pinot Noir food pairings: veal medallions, roasted pork loin, roasted and braised lamb, chicken stuffed with asparagus and goat cheese, venison burgers.

Wine and Thanksgiving Putting the vin in Thanksgiving. For a meal or palates that call for more robust red wines, there is no shortage of candidates. ...Yangarra ‘High Sands’ Grenache (McLaren Vale, Australia) is rich and delicious…

Winemaker Randy Ullom is that rare breed of winemaker that can cross over from mighty Cabernet Sauvignon to elegant Pinot Noir without missing a beat. The 2017 Grand Reserve is a beauty that offers notes of bright cherry and strawberry, with a touch of spice and smoke and modest tannins that are smooth as silk.

What makes a great wine truly great? This bold style of Pinot Noir starts with the warm perfume of pressed dark berries with a whisper of gunflint somewhere. The entry is silky at first before giving way to plunging bold flavours of roasted plum, bittersweet chocolate, black licorice and salt—as well as a hint of crushed violet and chalk. The resonant finish elongates the experience. This is a generous, smart and immediately charming bottle of red that grows more compelling with each sip.

As the weather chills, wouldn't it be nice to fly to California? But if you can't afford the airfare and time off work is a problem, visit the Golden State by drinking California wines. I've come across four vintages that will do the trick. The Freemark Abbey 2017 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($40) is both typical and atypical of a Napa Chard. It has the aromas and flavours you'd expect from a warm-weather Chard – apple, lemon, toffee and vanilla. However, whereas many California Chards are too heavily oaked for my liking, the Freemark is elegantly oaked.

This dark red colored Pinot Noir from Cambria opens with a new leather and black raspberry bouquet with hints of flinty stone and cherry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, soft and round. The flavor profile is a tangy black raspberry with notes of cedar, minerality, clove and cinnamon. I also detected hints of craisin and red plum mixed in as well. The finish is dry and its acidity and flavors are nicely prolonged. This Pinot definitely shows better with aeration. Decant it and swirl your glass before pairing it with salmon with a sweet and sour plum and rosemary sauce.

There’s a great sense of balance in this wine, with elements ranging from mint to blackberry to gingerbread — though the more iconic violets aren’t really showing here. A very light pepper element and a touch of balsamic notes both endure on the finish, giving this merlot a weight that will likely appeal to cabernet fans. Either way, I think it’s a delight. A-

Iconic notes of ammonia impregnate the nose of this classic Napa sauvignon blanc, with notes of grapefruit, lemon peel, and lime peel all coming on strong in short order. It’s fairly floral on the back end, though that significant astringency strips the delicacy down fairly quickly, concluding with a somewhat sour note. B+

Three Pinots That Aren't Meiomi That Will Still Bring the Lush Pinot Vibe to Thanksgiving I remember my first visit to Siduri years ago with their bare bones tasting room in an Occidental, CA industrial park. They’ve since been purchased by Jackson Family wines but they still have their outsider ethos firmly in place. The Russian River is on the opulent end of their Pinots, but they do some whole cluster fermentation which gives the wine some earthy grip and ballast to counter the ripe fruit. It’s got a wonderful balance that will win over even die-hard Burgundians.

Three Glasses - The Big Names

Napa Valley Cabernet 10 years apart The aim of Cardinale is to be accessible, though not mature, on release, as well as having the capacity to age, and this 2015 succeeds admirably. There's dense blackberry fruit on the nose, which has power and ripeness without being jammy or overbearing. The mostly new oak is evident on the nose, and the palate, but it's sumptuous and integrated. Plump and full-bodied, the wine is understandably youthful and quite grippy, but it's not too extracted, and the long finish is juicy and vigorous.

Napa Valley Cabernet 10 years apart Cardinale is a blend from mostly mountain sites in Napa, but always with a proportion of valley-floor fruit blended in to give greater approachability. There's very little perceptible evolution in colour here. The nose is both opulent and vibrant, while the palate remains velvety and suave. The tannins are very ripe, and new oak still dominates the mid-palate. The finish is long, spicy, and chocolatey. Jackson Family Wines founded the label in 1982 and its winemaker since 2001 has been Chris Carpenter.

The 23 Best Wines to Serve at Christmas You can't go wrong with these master sommelier-approved selections. "With concentrated cinnamon and clove aromatics, this wine almost smells like Christmas," Osborn says. "It’s concentrated and pure, with loads of red and black fruit, sweet spice and a balanced structure. This old vine Grenache is a dinner-table staple for the holidays."