Very dark in the glass, this inky wine shows aromas of iodine, distilled violets and wound-up black-currant fruit, making the Syrah appear in charge. It’s very dense but not especially ripe on the sip, where layered tannins reluctantly reveal elderberry and lilac flavors. Though five years old, it still needs time to unwind.

2016 CHARDONNAY, ESTATE, SANTA MARIA VALLEY The nose is a full white stone fruit, resinous lemon and coconut. The palate is nicely elevated toast and bright lemon, butterscotch and peach through the finish.

Smooth and lush with juicy cassis and plum with toasty sweet oak; ripe and deep with density and rich flavors; balanced and long.

Knights Valley is the typically the warmest area in Sonoma County, and thought it has a great reputation for Cabernet, I'd say it's still under rated. Poker Knight makes an argument for the AVA, with classic varietal character, firm tannins, food friendly acidity and a long finish that's showing good integration now and will reward up to five years additional bottle aging. There's rack of lamb structure on this one - save the poker game for later.

Murphy-Goode's Knights Valley Cab offers up a rich slice of northern Sonoma County flavor. The Knights Valley is a warm spot in Sonoma's vast viticultural area that delivers ripe Cabernet grapes with regularity. This vintage of the Poker Knight exhibits luscious blackberry and cassis aromas, shows a bit of wood on the nose, and finishes with grippy tannins that suggest it might be best to lay this one down in the cellar for two to three years.

This is the style of Cabernet Sauvignon that made California famous for that variety. It’s balanced and discreet, with haunting herbal influences that complement the ripe fruit flavors. Not overdone, over extracted or over oaked, the multifaceted flavors of Cabernet come through. It dances on your palate. Murphy-Goode makes a series of more muscular -- and expensive -- single vineyard Cabernets as well for people who are looking for more oomph in their wines. For my money, I’d go with this one because you can appreciate the subtlety the wine offers.

The label is retro but the wine is thoroughly modern; silky and fresh with seamless, juicy, and tangy pear fruit lightly kissed by vanilla; what a price.

The 2015 Merlot captures the richness of the vintage, but with a good bit of savory character and Mt. Veeder mountain structure to play off those elements. At once powerful and also nuanced, the 2015 has quite a bit to offer. The Merlot is super-expressive today, and should drink well for another decade, perhaps more.

Largely structured and weighty, this well-made wine is youthful in its grippy tannins and full embrace of huckleberry and black-cherry fruit, the exuberance tempered by complements of black licorice and toasted oak. This will be happy in the cellar; enjoy best 2024–2029.

Mt. Brave's 2014 Merlot is powerful, dense and explosive. In this vintage, the wine is 100% Merlot. Punchy and bold, with plenty of dark red/purplish fruit and supporting mountain tannin, the 2014 is impressive. Savory herbs, iron, smoke and cedar infuse the expressive finish. This is a structured, hillside Merlot that needs time in bottle .

The Mt. Brave Merlot is a wondrously rich and harmonious wine that is as smooth as it is big. As soon as the wine enters your mouth, its generosity becomes evident: the soft attack evolves into a full mid-palate that’s plump with ripe fruit, and segues into a characterful finish of concentrated fruit and age-worthy tannin. It’s a beauty of a wine but it’s in no way simple or vacuous. Aromas and flavors of dark cherry, chocolate, sweet spice and floral notes float in a frame of velvety tannin, interweaving with that tannin on the finish. This wine has a long life ahead of it, despite being delicious now.

The 2010 Merlot Mt. Brave is imbued with tons of Mt. Veeder character. Crushed rocks, smoke, iron and dark blue/black fruit come together nicely in the glass. There is an underlying salinity and pure energy here that is simply compelling. The 2010 impresses for its combination of vivid fruit, intense structure and gorgeous overall harmony.

The 2009 Merlot is intense, juicy and beautifully balanced. A burst of dark, juicy fruit is followed by mint, pine, spices and licorice as the flavors build to the finish. Clean layers of minerality and sweet notes from the new French oak frame the exceptionally polished finish.

This very deep ruby colored Cabernet Franc from Mt. Brave won over our Tasting Panel. This wine opens with a black cherry and dark chocolate bouquet with hints of blackberry. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and juicy. The flavor profile is a mild mineral influenced black cherry with notes of plum. We also detected hints of black tea, black licorice and black raspberry towards the end. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins are nicely prolonged. The Panel suggest pairing this Cab Franc with a cast iron skillet seared skirt steak.

Blended with 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, then aged 18 months in 64% new French oak, this is a lovely example of the variety: velvety, with smoky undertones of oak. Milk chocolate, raspberry and wild truffle combine well on the medium-bodied palate, the finish bright and focused in acidity.

Another blue-fruited nose that's never overripe with blackcurrants, citrus rind, some burnt orange, orange peel and brambles. Full-bodied with grainy tannins, fresh acidity and a chewy finish.

Here we have a majestic, taught structured wine with an impressive ageing capacity and classic Cabernet flavours; sweet blackcurrant and liquorice Pontefract cake with lush smoky, charred characters. Powerful and forceful yet not too tannic. It's not refined or elegant but has caressing fruit. Highly recommended.

A muscular, tight-knit style, with firm, dense, well-proportioned notes of dark berry, crushed rock and graphite. Impressively lively acidity keeps the flavors jumping on the finish, ending with an earth-laced red berry core. Drink now through 2030.

The star of the Mt Brave trio of new releases is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. There are nearly 5,800 cases of this fairly priced Cabernet. Blueberry, licorice, beef blood, tobacco leaf and forest floor aromas soar from the glass of this ripe, full-bodied, opulent wine. A blend of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5.5% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Malbec, it was aged in 81% new French oak. The oak component is well-concealed behind the extravagant fruit. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Chris Carpenter makes this wine at a Jackson family vineyard above the fog line in northern Mt. Veeder, a remote spot that was one of Jess Jackson's favorite places in his stable of mountain sites. The vineyard produced a delicious 2011 cabernet, a cool, black wine that shows none of the damp challenges of the vintage. Scents of anise meet crunchy dark red fruit in a lush and approachable wine, its tannins forming fine layers of chocolate in the spaces between the fruit. It's approachable now and suited to several years of cellaring.

Deceptively complex, this succeeds with a supple texture and a graceful mix of currant, blueberry, spice, crushed rock and subtle licorice notes, gliding along on the finish.

Aromas of chocolate mousse and currants with hints of flowers. Full body with silky tannins and a chewy finish. A big but lively red. Better in 2017.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon comes across as quite soft and lush for a Mt. Veeder wine. Dark red fruit, flowers, mint and crushed rocks are some of the notes that flow through to the intense, saline finish. I especially like the energy and drive here.