McCoy's top dozen from Howell Mountain, Napa Valley Sadly, the silky-textured Cabernet Franc isn’t available in the UK. But this vintage of the savoury, earthy, berry-inflected Cabernet Sauvignon shows how much Howell Mountain Cabernets repay ageing.

Hop on these great value wines for your Easter meals

This light pink colored wine from Kendall Jackson opens with a fragrant watermelon bouquet with hints of wet stone and strawberry. On the palate, this wine is light bodied and balanced. The flavor profile is a mineral infused strawberry with hints of red cherry and red grapefruit. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild tannins drift away. This Rose is very food friendly and will be a crowd pleaser. Serve it with quiche Lorraine. Very good.

This dark ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Kendall Jackson opens with a fragrant black raspberry, boysenberry and coconut bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a coconut influenced red plum with notes of acai berry and thyme. The finish is dry and its building tannins stick around for a very long time. This Cab would pair well with a messy rack of barbecue ribs. Very good.

Key lime, poached apple, roasted nut, flint and meringue aromas show on the nose of this bottling by the large yet still family-owned operation. It lands fat on the palate with ripe, roasted apple and clean Meyer lemon flavors, a very classic Chardonnay in the Kendall-Jackson style.

Glazed pear and dried pineapple flavors are matched to spicy accents in this open-textured style. Buttery pastry notes show on the finish.

53% Merlot; 21% Petite Sirah; 20% Syrah; 6% other. Merlot might comprise the larger percentage of this weighty and fairly robust, blended bottling’s mix, but it is the wine’s Rhônish pieces that stand out the most and contribute an obvious and insistent streak of slightly peppery and vaguely gamy spice to its very ample and well-extracted, blackberry-like fruit. It runs into a fair amount of youthful finishing tannins without losing its fruity bearings, and its emphatic richness directs it to drinking with heartier fare whether poured early or, as it should be, after being allowed three to five years of age. One star.

The vanilla aroma of this merlot is louder than the blueberry character, so you have to like that to go for it. Modest depth and length, but rather appealing balance. Drink now.

This pink colored wine from La Crema opens with a faint wet stone and watermelon bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a mineral infused strawberry and watermelon with a hint of hint pepper. The finish is dry and refreshing. This wine would pair well with a spinach salad with goat cheese and walnuts. Very good.

Aromas of grainy oak, buttered toast, sea salt, pan-seared apples and a hint of white flowers show on the nose of this always classic and familiar wine. It's fairly viscous on the palate, where strong flavors of roasted apple, buttered toast and tangerine spray arise.

This light yellow colored Chardonnay from Kendall Jackson is consistently very good. It opens with a lemon, apple and mild oak bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and easy going. The flavor profile mirrors the nose with light lemon, green apple, mild oak and butter flavors. The finish is dry and its flavors linger nicely. This Chard is friendly. As always, it is a nice glass pour option.

Leading with a straightforward, mid-density nose of currants and black cherries and showing a trim of cocoa and dried herbs along with a wispy suggestion of smoke that is reiterated in its slightly solid, nicely filled flavors, this moderately full-bodied wine edges to tannin as it crosses the palate while keeping essential Cabernet fruit in sight at all times. While never especially flamboyant or flashy, it hits the right varietal marks at a very fair price and comes with the promise of a few years of improvement if cellared. One star, good value.

Light pink color. Aromas pop with nettle, sliced cucumber, white tea, honeysuckle, over top of watermelon and lemon. Juicy on the palate with a creamy texture and medium acidity. Watermelon and lemon and white peach mix with nettle and spicy oregano notes. Fun, fresh, spicy stuff.

Bright, youthful purple/red colour with earthy, spicy and fresh cherry fruit aromas, with a lacing of dried banana, all very appealing and bright. The wine is light to medium-weight and supple with some fruit sweetness and charm.

Deep purple/red colour with a coconut, slivered almond bouquet, fresh and bright. There's a stony terrestrial edge to it. The wine is medium-bodied and very dry but softly-textured, with abundant supple tannins and an aroma and flavour of dried banana. Medium-bodied, and very appealing. It's the antithesis of fruity. (Perhaps because it was fermented in concrete eggs?)

A delight to drink really. One of those wines I'd rather happily sip away than ponder the thought of a review. But alas, here we are writing about this beauty we have on our hands. The use of older oak has certainly ensured the fruit bounds along. Attractive purple and blue fruit aromas are woven between aniseed and mulberries. Some earthiness lurches forward with a tap of minerality. Dried herbs raise their hand before long too. Exotic spices and dashes of pepper move along at ease. Drying to finish, almost puckering, before tight acidity wraps up a neat package urging another sip. Superb! Certified organic and biodynamic. Drink now to eight years.

It's only April and perhaps we've seen the bargain of the year. Wickedly juicy, one glass just isn't enough.
The latest addition to the Yangarra Estate range, the brand's ongoing commitment to Rhone varieties has delivered this blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Shiraz, Cinsault, Carignan and Counoise 40/21/14/12/11/2.
Handpicked, 50% whole berries, wild yeast ferment with 100% old French oak for 10 months. Certified organic and biodynamic.
Flirtatious and dancy, this is a wine that screams nothing but pleasure. Earthy with some funk, but it's the absolute shower of red and blackberry fruit that just oozes charm. Medium bodied, the generous flow of fruit caresses the mouth filling every crevice with ease. Super smooth with the slurp factor sky high, stop at nothing to buy as much as you can.
Drink now to six years.

Deep red colour with a good tint of purple. The bouquet has earthy, shaved almond to nutmeg spectrum of aromas. The wine is medium to full-bodied and savoury, dry and a little plain on the palate. It's a good, well-made wine that has potential and will very likely reward a bit of cellaring. The tannins are quite drying and it's a very savoury style all round.

An amazingly intense wine with pure blackberry aromas. Although the wine is highly concentrated, the acidity gives definition, and the fine tannins frame the palate perfectly. Oak introduces a subtle amount of savoury nuttiness. It is a wine of power and grace that will age long into the future.

The American Syrah Report Greg Brewer is known for his Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but he also makes some great Syrah. His ’16 is delicious with lots of character. It’s full-bodied and vivacious, with dark fruits, violets, and cassis. The finish is strong with black pepper and chocolate notes.

77% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Syrah, 8% Syrah. Aged in 5% new French oak, 10% new American oak, 85% used French and American oak. NOT too sweet! Appetising and very well handled. Some evolution. Slightly chewy. 16/20.

Rosé is breaking out of its stereotypes The Tous Ensemble is a series of approachable, everyday releases from Sonoma County’s Copain Wines. A cooler growing season in Mendocino County to the north allowed the harvest to occur over a period of time, resulting in a diversity of ripeness and flavor development in the 2018 Copain Tous Ensemble Rosé of Pinot Noir. I found a vibrant nose combining floral notes with hints of grapefruit. The crisp, dry mouthfeel delivered flavors of melon and cherry with a spice element on the finish.

Fresh aromatics carried by an unctuous citrus note of both freshly rubbed leaf and oil with just a hint of cream. The palate follows sprinkled through with crushed sea salt into a long finish. A wash of acidity throughout. A good example of a wine for mixed company – the acidity and mineral notes to please the wine geek with just enough flavour to work for one newer to wine. 16.5/20.

Striking Pinots A juicy pinot with layered notes of strawberry, black cherry, cola and toast. It’s balanced with bright acidity. Nice length. A steal for the quality. 3½ stars.