Vibrant aromas of black fruits lifted by minerals and violet. At once sweet and penetrating in the mouth, with terrific definition and floral lift to the black fruit and bitter chocolate flavors. Still youthfully clenched but appears to have the sweetness of fruit to support its huge tannins. Clearly the longest wine to date for this new label.

.boasts an opaque purple color, followed by thick, dense, black cherry and cassis flavors nicely dosed with high quality, smoky oak. Made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon (77%), with the balance Merlot, the wine is full-bodied, with impressive extraction and purity. There remains tannin to shed in this high class, beautifully endowed and structured wine that should be at its best between 2000-2025.

The 1995 Cardinale appears to be the richest and most intense Cardinale to date. ... it is deep and rich, with a sumptuous texture, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, plenty of tannin, full body, an exceptional extract and concentration. The wine's equilibrium and purity are to be commended. It will require 3-4 years of cellaring and should age for two decades or more.

A dense, opaque, black/purple color and a sensational nose of Asian spices, toasty new oak, cassis and herbs. Full-bodied and intense, with underlying gracefulness and style, this is the first vintage where Cardinale has merited its lofty price.

A big, boisterous wine, the 2013 offers notable intensity and energy in its dark cherry jam, raspberry compote, grilled herbs, smoke, licorice, dried flowers, gravel and spices. Firm mountain tannins shape the tightly wound, savory finish.

My First Annual Blind Tasting of American Pinot Noirs (Part One) Another deep, lovely fruity nose with black cherry and spice. Really big fruit on the palate, which thins out a bit on the mid-palate, and the spice comes in on the finish. Outstanding.

The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2005 Syrah, Saralee's Vineyard boasts notions of camphor, smoke, charcoal, blackberry liqueur, and acacia flowers. The complex aromas are matched by a deep, full-bodied, opulent wine with superb density and richness, low to moderate acidity, sweet tannins, and impressive depth.

One of the best wines in any year they release is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale, a selection of the best lots from multiple vineyards in Sonoma Valley. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is aged more than 30 months in a combination of new and used oak. It is the biggest of all these Arrowood wines, with a dense ruby/purple color and notes of cedar wood, blackcurrants, blackberry, and spring flowers as well as background toasty oak. It should drink well for at least 15-20 years, as previous vintages have certainly demonstrated.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Justi Creek Vineyard is the richest and inkiest of these three wines. Blue and black-toned fruits, lavender, smoke, violets and leather all blossom in a rich, pliant Cabernet. The Justi Creek is quite a bit sweeter and opulent through the mid-palate and finish. This opulent, intense Cabernet should offer a wide window of fabulous drinking pretty much upon release.

More forward, but still a long distance runner is the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale, which was still in barrel when I tasted it. From a number of different vineyards, most notably the Monte Rosso as well as the Smothers and Lasseter vineyards, it reveals dense black cherry and black currant notes intermixed with notions of loamy soils and vanillin. This full-bodied, powerful, tannic Cabernet needs to be cellared for 4-5 years, and drunk over the following 20-25 years.

Inky blue/purplish fruit, crème de cassis, lavender, licorice and cloves run through the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana. Flamboyant and opulent to the core, the 2015 is shaping up to be a real jewel of a wine.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota is laced with the essence of graphite, smoke, gravel, pencil shavings, blueberry jam and dark spices. Firm, incisive tannins give the wine its shape and feel. This is a classic Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with all of the signatures amped up by the natural intensity of the year.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard is much more savory and mineral-driven than the 2012, with a greater sense of Knights Valley character. Inky blue and black fruits, graphite, smoke, lavender and cloves are all very much alive in the glass. Underlying beams of acidity and salinity give the wine its pulsating energy and tension. This is a terrific showing from Anakota and Pierre Seillan.

Grilled herbs, blackberry jam, spices and graphite jump from the glass in a vivid, nuanced wine. The flavors are wonderfully clear and articulate, especially for such a big, resonant wine. Chocolate, mocha and spices are some of the notes that inform the rich, generous finish.

Good ruby-red. Cool aromas of crushed blackberry, cassis and minerals, plus a sexy candied note. Thick and powerful if a bit youthfully reduced, boasting strong, rather backward flavors of cassis, chocolate and iron. Finishes with huge, youthfully tough tannins that will require patience.

I have been to South America precisely once, and it was a memorable trip to Chile and Argentina. I left with the determination to return, to experience more of both countries, but particularly Chile, which has rich culture and traditions that are largely unknown in the U.S. Fairly light in the glass with pineapple and lemon, and a touch of oak. The palate is rich and unctuous with some initial fruit that is quickly subdued by a wave of butterscotch as well as considerable minerality. This is really a fantastic wine, but likely one that will not be embraced by the haters of Chardonnay. Rich, full, focused. Outstanding.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two A barrel sample, the 2017 Pinot Noir Aliette is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with a nose of spiced red fruits—red cherry, strawberry and cranberry—with nuances of floral perfume, underbrush and warm earth. Medium-bodied, it has lovely concentration of red and black fruits in the mouth accented by spice, with fine, grainy tannins and great juicy acidity, finishing long with oodles of sweet fruit. This is promising.

Dark raspberry jam, white flowers, sweet spices and rose petals jump from the glass in the 2011 La Muse. Wonderfully open and expressive today, the 2011 impresses for its silkiness and the sheer purity of its fruit. Floral and savory notes add complexity on the finish. I expect the 2011 will shut down a bit in bottle, but today it is impossible to miss the generosity and resonance of the fruit. I tasted the 2011 from tank, just before bottling.

Is fashioned from the rocky, mountain top Jackson Park vineyard in Bennett Valley along with a small amount of fruit from Alexander Valley as well as Knight's Valley. Its dense purple color is accompanied by wonderful notes of espresso, white chocolate, black currants, sweet kirsch, smoke, earth, fruitcake, mincemeat, and truffles. With formidable intensity, full body, sweet tannin, and tremendous delineation as well as structure, it will be at its peak between 2008-2020+

The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to be even more intense and powerful, with an opaque purple color, and gobs of lavishly oaked, smoky, cassis fruit intertwined with aromas of roasted herbs and high quality toasty oak. This powerful Cabernet reveals plenty of tannin, low acidity, and outsanding concentration and purity. This large-scaled, remarkably well-balanced wine should drink well young yet last for two decades.

From a site located on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2015 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is a complex, savory, medium-bodied and elegant effort that has lots of ripe currants, licorice and dried spice aromas and flavors. It shines for its elegance and finesse on the palate, but those Sta. Rita Hills tannin come through on the finish. Nevertheless, I'm sure this will be reasonably approachable on release.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard will certainly be an outstanding wine. Coming from granite soils on the warmer, southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands, it gives up lots of the textbook minerality I always find from this site as well as purple fruits, black raspberries, wild herbs and violet aromas and flavors. Firm, fresh and focused on the palate, it will need a year in the cellar to round into form.

From a terrific vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, the 2015 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is textbook wine from this site that offers tons of minerality and earth intermixed with notions of peppery herbs, currants, black cherries and mint. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it has fine tannin and notable balance. It should hit the ground running, yet evolve gracefully as well.

Deep ruby with a bright rim. Complex, expansive scents of candied red and dark berries and pungent flowers, with smoky Indian spice and mocha qualities adding complexity. Juicy, concentrated and penetrating, offering appealingly sweet black raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and a suggestion of succulent herbs. Smooth, fine-grained tannins add shape to the sappy, incisive finish, which clings with outstanding tenacity.