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.

Siduri Likely to Keep on Winning The slightly sweet nose wafts scorched earth, plum, currant, raspberry, blood orange juice, pencil shavings and top soil. The body is quite smooth and elevated with sturdy, precise tannins that take a minute to settle in. The well-appointed structure frames nicely flavors of semi-sweet raspberry, plum, cherry, roasted coffee bean, dark semi-sweet cocoa and tanned leather. Amazing value for a really good wine.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases A blend of 88% Petite Sirah and 12% Syrah, the 2017 Petite Sirah is very deep purple-black colored. It sings of black cherry compote, raisin cake and preserved plums with touches of dusty soil, tobacco leaf and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, the palate has bags of freshness and a chewy texture framing the fruitcake flavors, finishing spicy.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Warrior Princess delivers provocative herbal notions of wild thyme and bay leaves over a core of red cherries, cranberries and tobacco leaf plus a waft of forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate has a rugged texture of chewy tannins and enticing freshness, finishing long and earthy.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench Vineyard leaps from the glass with open-knit notes of baked red and black cherries, raspberry pie and mulberries with touches of forest floor and tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is generous and juicy, offering a plush texture and appealing freshness, finishing long and earthy.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block features expressive chocolate-covered cherries, black raspberries and boysenberries scents with nuances of violets, stewed black tea and fallen leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate has compelling freshness and a pleasant chew to the texture, framing the bold red and black fruit flavors, finishing earthy.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with a concentrated nose of licorice, black cherry, blackberry and blueberry with notes of turned earth and bergamot plus floral hints. Light to medium-bodied, it has great concentration of fruits and earthy layers in the mouth, with good structuring, grainy tannins and juicy freshness carrying the finish.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond With a pale to medium ruby-purple color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard features dried leaves, bitter citrus peel and potpourri over red and black berry and cherry fruit. Light to medium-bodied with perfumed, spicy fruits in the mouth, it's framed by soft, grainy tannins and juicy acidity, finishing long with good intensity of flavor.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard opens with blueberries, warm blackberries, lavender, black tea leaves, charcuterie and warm earth aromas. Light to medium-bodied, it has a good core of perfumed fruits, a sturdy frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and flavorful.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard has a nose of potpourri, tree bark and dusty earth with citrus peel, blackberries, rhubarb and pomegranate. Light to medium-bodied, it offers concentrated fruit layers with a grainy frame and fantastic freshness, finishing layered. This will benefit from another year in bottle.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 GSM is a blend of about 50% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre and 30% Syrah. Very deep, opaque purple-black in the glass, the nose opens with white pepper and notes of violet over a dense core of black fruit preserves and black cherry liqueur with underlying savory charcuterie and olive notes. Full-bodied, big and bold in the mouth, it packs in the dark fruits and savory layers, with firm, ripe tannins and good acidity to lift the long, dense finish.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2017 Jackson Estate Seco Highlands Chardonnay was barrel fermented and aged nine months in 60% new French oak. It's very aromatic, giving up scents of lychee, honeysuckle and musk melon over peach cobbler, cured meats, saline, mushroom paste and hints of dried leaves and struck flint. Medium to full-bodied, it's broad, slightly oily and intense in the mouth, offering loads of floral-tinged fruits and savory accents, refreshed by just enough acidity on the long finish. This would be a great Chardonnay for fans of richly styled Viognier—that's what this reminds me of.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 Chardonnay Brosseau comes from own-rooted, Wente clone vines planted in 1975 and 1980 on limestone soils—the vineyard is certified organic. Aged 16 months in 10% new French oak, it opens with appealing touches of crème caramel, toast and beeswax with golden apples, white peaches, button white mushroom and stone plus nuances of dried white flowers. The palate is medium-bodied and rounded and gains intensity in the mouth, enlivened with juicy acidity and finishing long and textured. This is lovely now but will benefit from one more year in bottle.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 Pinot Noir Panorama Vineyard was aged in 28% new French oak for 16 months. It has a pale to medium ruby color with scents of crushed cranberries, red and black cherries, rhubarb, warm earth, black tea leaves, rose petals, dried citrus peel and tree bark—a pretty interplay of ripe fruits and perfumed earthy character. Light to medium-bodied, it's elegant and silky textured in the mouth, with a sturdy frame of grainy tannins and great juicy freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality This offers some very attractively complex aromas of spiced red and dark cherries, as well as stony accents. The palate has impressive, fleshy appeal and a smooth run of silky tannin that carries long and smooth into the expansive, upbeat finish. Fresh and balanced. Drink or hold.

Napa Valley's 2017s Coming from three blocks around the Cardinale estate and all Cabernet, the close to 600-case 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville spent 27 months in 61% new French oak. It's a complete, elegant wine that has lots of spicy, white flower notes as well as terrific red and black fruits, lead pencil shavings, and tobacco aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and very pretty, drink this balanced, elegant Cabernet over the coming 15 years or so.

Napa Valley's 2017s These wines are now made by Kristy Melton. The 2018 Chardonnay now goes partially through malolactic fermentation, aged in 45% new French oak, and it's a richer yet beautifully balanced Chardonnay. Notes of lemon oil, orange blossom, and honeysuckle, with just touch of toastiness, are followed by a wine that’s beautifully balanced, medium to full-bodied, and layered on the palate, with loads to love. Drink it over the coming 2-3 years.

An elegant and focused style, with lithe minerality enriching the concentrated apple, pear tart and dried apricot flavors. Lilting midpalate, showing hints of crème brûlée on the finish. Drink now through 2024.