Inky, deep and gorgeous, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard emerges from the glass with blackberry jam, cassis, sweet spices, menthol and cloves. This is a surprisingly juicy, full-bodied wine with superb depth for the year. Typically firm Knights Valley tannins support the finish. All the elements fall into place nicely. I am intrigued to see how the 2011 ages. There is certainly plenty to look forward to here.

Smoke, tobacco, iron and a host of ferrous notes emerge from the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard. A wine of gorgeous complexity and personality, the 2011 is going to need at least a few years to fully unwind. There is a lot going on in the glass. Next to the Montana, the Dakota is more savory and also shows a bit more structure. Both are beautiful.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard is slightly softer and rounder, and is civilized for a young Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon. Its deep ruby/purple hue is followed by sweet blackcurrant fruit intermixed with hints of wet rocks and gravel. Dense, ripe, and approachable, it should be consumed over the next decade or more.

(15% alcohol; from white, rocky volcanic ash soil in a relatively early-ripening site): Bright red-ruby. Aromas of cassis, black cherry and licorice are lifted by mint and violet nuances. Very fine-grained and intense but a bit unforthcoming today, showing firm minerality to its tight, primary dark fruit flavors. With its solid spine of acidity and tannins, there's little in the way of easy sweetness of fleshiness here. But this rather clenched wine is still extremely young and likely eventually to merit an even higher rating.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Block 6 Pinot Noir has an earthy nose of wet leaves and forest floor over dark fruits—black cherries and currants—with dried lilac perfume. Medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with bramble berry jam and sweet spices plus earthy notions, framed by fine-grained tannins and wonderful juicy acidity, finishing with lovely fruit and floral layers.

The first vintage of this wine, the 2015 Vista Pinot Noir is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with a bright, open nose of red and black cherries and berries, dusty earth, autumn leaves and crushed rocks. Light to medium-bodied, it's very vibrant in the mouth with concentrated ripe red and black fruits and earthy accents. It has very 􀃒ne, pixelated tannins and mouthwatering acidity, finishing long and layered.

The 2005 Grenache was aged for 15-18 months in seasoned oak. It offers up a brooding perfume of garrigue, black cherry, and black raspberry. Ripe and sweet, it cuts a broad path on the palate. There is structure well-concealed under the layers of fruit, enough that this full-flavored Grenache will evolve for 3-5 years. It will drink well through 2020.

Medium ruby. Subtly complex nose melds cherry, bitter chocolate, minerals, tobacco and smoky oak, along with an enticing floral note. A step in density; silky, sweet and suave, with nicely integrated acidity. Laid-back and rather stylish, but with a serous structure for aging. Finishes with subtle length and sweet, spreading tannins.

The outstanding 1997 Legacy, a proprietary blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, & 17% Cabernet Franc, possesses abundant jammy black currant/cherry fruit intermixed with lead pencil, toasty oak, & vanilla. Full-bodied & pure, with moderate tannin, this large-scaled effort (14.2% alcohol) can be drunk early, but promises to evolve for at least two decades. The winery also produces a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon called Christopher's Vineyard, which represents a 2,000-case cuvee from a tiny parcel (the Buckeye Vineyard) situated on the top of Jess Jackson's Alexander Mountain estate. I tasted barrel samples of the '98 & '99, which will not be released until 2002 & 2003 respectively. They are both impressive, mountain-styled Cabernets with enormous richness, body, & strength. The '99 looks terrific, possibly the finest Christopher's Vineyard yet made. Sadly, I did not have a chance to retaste the '97 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard that had seemed disjointed when tasted last year.

The outstanding 1997 Legacy offers copious quantities of smoky, toasty oak, jammy black currant and cassis fruit, full body, and moderate tannin…

Readers with both patients and youth on their side will enjoy the huge, massive, excruciatingly tannic 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard. Although high, the tannin is not excessive because the fruit is so intense and rich. An inky/purple color is followed by notes of creosote, lead pencil shavings, and huge, full-bodied, blackberry as well as blackcurrant fruit with an underlying notion of crushed rocks. Clearly made from mountain fruit (Jess Jackson's Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, from which this offering emerges, is a windy, cold vineyard planted at 2,400 feet elevation), but 7-10 years of cellaring is required. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025+.

This 1,500-case blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot comes from two vineyards on Jess Jackson's Alexander Mountain estate at a relatively high elevation. The wine offers notes of cedar, graphite, black currant, sweet cherry, and smoky oak. It is quite tightly knit, full-bodied, moderately tannic, with good acidity and definition. It should be given several years of bottle age upon release and should evolve for at least 20+ years.

The 2015 Chardonnay Estate Vineyards features ripe apricots, guava and warm pineapple and brioche notes with hints of butterscotch and preserved ginger. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals wonderful freshness and a slightly oil texture plus plenty of tropical flavors, finishing long with some spiciness coming through.

...it is impossible not to admire the wine's energy and big, broad-shouldered frame. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.

Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Highlands Located at the southern end of the appellation (one mile from Pisoni), the 2016 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard saw 20% stems and a mix of new and neutral barrels. It offers a more open-knit, savory, complex style with obvious minerality in its dried cherry fruits, leafy herbs, and dried earth aromas and flavors. Layered, medium-bodied, and silky on the palate, it's drinking nicely today yet has plenty of structure and length.

From a site on Sonoma Mountain and old vines going back to the 1960s, the 2016 Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard gives up some blue fruits, plums, candied violets and cedary notes, medium body, fine tannin, and a fresh, lively profile. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

Coming from a vineyard planted originally in the 1950s, high on Sonoma Mountain, the 2015 Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard has a seriously earthy, forest floor and black dirt scented nose with a black cherry, licorice and cinnamon stick core. The medium-bodied palate is firm and tightly-knit, with great intensity and a long spicy finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Made up of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 Journey is medium to deep garnet-purple in color and gives intense scents of crème de cassis, baked plums and blackberry preserves with touches of cedar chest , violets and mocha. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, chewy frame and lovely red and black fruit preserves in the mouth, it finishes earthy with a bit of grip.

The finest red wine produced at Matanzas Creek in more than a decade is the 2008 Journey Proprietary Red. A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple hue along with notes of black currants, black cherries, tobacco leaf, underbrush, toast and earth. Medium to full-bodied with moderate tannin and a youthful, unevolved personality, it will benefit from 1-2 years of bottle age and should age effortlessly for 15-20. Quality is slowly rising at Matanzas Creek since it was acquired by Jess Jackson a number of years ago. He has done an excellent job bringing in winemaker Marcia Monahan and returning this estate to its glory days of the early nineties.

Good ruby-red. Tight, high-pitched, very subdued aromas of cassis, licorice, espresso and fennel. The most backward and youthfully imploded of this set of 2010 cabernets, hinting at intense black fruits and licorice but coming across as uncompromisingly dry today, with rather tough tannins. This will need another look in a few years. Incidentally, assistant winemaker Laura Diaz-Munoz describes the 2009 Lokoya cabernets as bigger wines. The 2010s are more elegant and will age well, she adds. They have higher acidity but similar pHs.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir has an open, deep nose of black cherries, cassis, blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry jam with notes of spice, wood smoke, underbrush and earth. Medium-bodied, it packs in the ripe, dark blue and black fruits in the mouth with a soft frame of new oak spice and earthy nuances. It offers grainy tannins and juicy acidity, finishing long with sweet fruit and spice. This is a bigger, richer style, but it's very nicely done.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley stands out in this lineup for its sensual, layered personality. At the same time, there is plenty of delineation in the glass. Floral notes are woven throughout, adding an element of lift, precision and pure nuance. In 2011, the Russian River Pinot is all about persistence and definition. It is a beautiful wine, especially within its price range. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Appellation series from Alexander Valley is blended of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, aged 19 months in 47% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it gives up warm cassis, red currant jelly and cigar box scents with hints of mint tea, underbrush and pencil shavings plus a touch of cloves. Medium to full-bodied, it has a rock-solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and minerally.