There’s a beautiful delicacy to this Pinot Noir, despite fairly high alcohol. Yet there’s nothing light about the fruit. Waves of raspberry and cherry jam, ripe persimmons and pomegranates flood the mouth, satisfying and delicious. Good as it is now, it should develop over the next 5–6 years.

Bright ruby. Smoky, pungent aromas of dark berry preserves, cherry pit and Indian spices, with a bright mineral topnote. Offers gently sweet cherry-cola and black raspberry flavors that are given lift and bite by tangy acidity. Becomes spicier with air and finishes with excellent clarity and persistence. I find this suave pinot very approachable now.

Ruby-red. Heady red fruit, potpourri and cola aromas, with a sexy vanilla nuance in the background. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering pliant raspberry and cherry compote flavors and a bracing jolt of white pepper. Closes with impressive focus and length, with silky tannins adding subtle grip.

This wine ups the ante a bit in terms of ripeness, richness and size, but it impresses most for its very deep and well-defined fruit. It is fairly full-bodied and wonderfully balanced with lots of flesh and nicely placed acids. Although some may find it to be a little too much of a good thing, it is in no way excessive or over the top, and, if a fine match for a savory pork roast in the nearer term, it is built for keeping and should improve for another five or six years.

Bright ruby. An explosively perfumed bouquet evokes black raspberry, cola, incense and fresh rose. Sappy, palate-staining red and dark berry flavors show impressive depth and vivacity, with zesty acidity adding lift and cut. Closes sweet and very long, with lingering floral and spicecake note.

A rich, vital, complex Pinot Noir. Completely dry, with a savory scour of acidity, it treads a fine line between ripe cherries and pomegranates and earthier notes of mushrooms and dried herbs. Lots of terroir in this fine wine, which will take a few years of bottle age.

Love this! Beautiful cherries and field raspberry notes roll in first then there's fresh earth after a spring rain followed by some baking spices and a long finish. This pinot has been one of my favourites for years.

2003 NINE BARREL PINOT NOIR (RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY) With crisp tartness and beautifully ripened fruit, this Pinot Noir shows it's cool-climate terroir. Floods the mouth with tiers of cherry, cola, root been, licorice, spices and toasty oak, leading to a long, rich and fine finish. It's a bit immature now, although it'll wash down a great steak, but probably better 2007-2010. - S.H.

The blue glow at the edge of the glass suggest this syrah might be oxygen-starved, but it's not. Instead it's round and generous, the wine filling the mouth with the sphere of its alcohol, the taste filled with black raspberry. It's all about sweet fruit, yet there's a structure there, a stoniness gently insistent underneath.

A blend of six different vineyards and multiple clones, and unfined and unfiltered. Very nice buttery, citrus, floral, nutty aromas with peach, melon and spice. Richer and rounder on the palate with and a nice melon, creamy finish. Elegant and long with good acidity balance. Good value.

Bigger, richer in every way than the regular cuvee, delivering waves of rich, ripe, spicy fruit in a creamy, lushly-textured package. Long, delicious finish.

Deep straw. Moderately full-bodied. Balanced acidity. Moderate extract. Tropical fruit, butter, brown spice. A silky, buttery style with integrated flavors and judicious oak.

Herbal and green apple aromas seem most forward here, but an underlying oaky sweetness gives the wine a great deal of promise. Clean, dry finish.

This is an exceptionally well-made wine at the price point: floral and appealing in quiet waves of citrus, baked pear and nutmeg. Integrated oak gives it power and strength within an edge of mineral-laden acidity.

This is a serious and sophisticated wine that is full bodied, luxurious in its pear and honey flavors and smooth and mouthcoating in texture. Tasty nuances of vanilla, toasted almonds, and lemon cream emerge on the palate and linger long on the finish.

The 2015 Chardonnay Kelli Ann Vineyard is a step up, with more richness, depth, and texture. Offering buttered orchard fruits, white flower, and a touch of salty minerality, it's fleshy, medium to full-bodied, has some obvious oak, and a big finish. It's a rich, opulent Chardonnay.

Pure and lively, with flavors of lemon meringue, green apple, honeydew and spice. Though rich and dense, this is also elegant. The vibrancy keeps the flavors dancing.

Pure and lively, with flavors of lemon meringue, green apple, honeydew and spice. Though rich and dense, this is also elegant. The vibrancy keeps the flavors dancing.

This yellow colored Chardonnay from the Russian River opens with a fragrant and appealing pear and oak bouquet with a hint of pineapple and banana bread. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, slightly acidic and a little juicy. The flavor profile is pear and oak with notes pineapple. I also detected hints of butterscotch and green melon. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild acidity linger nicely. This Chard would pair well with chicken cordon bleu.

The full, rich California chardonnay style is executed brilliantly in this Russian River Valley offering. Creamy-smooth and opulent with ripe tropical-and-peach fruit lavished with butterscotch and toasted nuts, disciplined by bright acidity. It's a pricy bottle, but, like an E-Class Mercedes, it comes luxury-loaded and precision-tuned.

Butterscotch and baking spice on the nose of this lovely, voluptuous Californian Chardonnay. Cool climate viticulture comes through in the glass with a terrific balance and acidity. Pair with chicken a la king.

Treated essentially the same way as the Russian River cuvée, but from a different area of California, the 2013 Chardonnay Arroyo Seco has more tropical fruit, orange marmalade, white pineapple, delicate smoke and vanilla. This is a nice, broad, savory, very exotic Chardonnay compared to the more classic Russian River.

The 2012 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is the most lifted and layered of the La Crema Chardonnays. Flowers, green orchard fruit and spices all lift from the glass. This is a beautiful, totally harmonious Chardonnay from La Crema.

The 2012 Chardonnay Russian River spends time in 29% new oak. It exhibits notes of orange marmalade, white peaches and pineapple, medium to full body, heady glycerin and a long, pure, well-balanced finish. It should drink well for 3-4 years.

A full-bodied, well-rounded, buttery wine with lovely balancing acidity and citrus fruit notes. Ideal for roast chicken or seafood with cream sauces, as well as lobster in butter. Part of the Jackson Wines Estates Group. Some toffee and freshly baked bread on the finish of this classic Californian Chardonnay. Chardonnay food pairings: lobster in butter sauce, beef bourguignon, cheese, poultry, toasted ravioli served with Alfredo sauce.