This impressive wine is sourced from stellar sites, including Stagecoach, Cardinale and Bosche. Made in a 100% varietal manner, it is plush and expansive on the palate, rich and round in smoothly integrated red plum and cherry with accents of herb, tobacco, leather and black pepper.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases The 2017 Chardonnay offers up wonderfully intense tropical fruit notes of pineapple upside-down cake, guava and passion fruit with touches of brioche, butterscotch and toasted cashews. Full-bodied, the palate has a lovely oiliness to the texture and plenty of freshness lifting the intense tropical flavors to a good, long finish.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Already bottled, the 2018 Zinfandel Russian River Valley has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and sings of blackberry pie, blueberry compote and raspberry preserves with hints of mossy tree bark, hoisin and Indian spices. Full-bodied, rich and spicy in the mouth, the palate features firm, chewy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing on a lingering raisin cake note.

Tightly focused and a bit restrained, with brooding blueberry, smoked tarragon and dusky spice flavors that build tension toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2028.

Wine for the Cellar Freemark Abbey is enjoying a renaissance under the Jackson Family Wines banner, and there is plenty made under the Napa label, now at 24,000-plus cases. Don’t let the production scare you. It is a reserve style red, fresh and vibrant with everything you want in a 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend is a tour of Napa soils, including valley floor well-drained loam and clay; western mountaintop soils shallow and acidic with low fertility; and eastern mountaintop soils that are volcanic based, with poor fertility and incredible minerality. Look for intense, spicy, fresh, juicy boysenberry and bing cherry with milk chocolate, cedar, and garrigue. There is plenty of life here, and there is no rush to drink this wine. The 2016 composition is 75.8 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 16.2 per cent Merlot, 4 per cent Malbec, 3 per cent Petit Verdot, and 1 per cent Cabernet Franc.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color and notes of earth and wet leaves over a core of black berry and cherry fruit with potpourri and Earl Grey tea touches. The palate is light to medium-bodied with a good core of dark, spicy fruits, grainy tannins to frame and juicy acidity, finishing long.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2016 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple and scented of black cherry pie, warm blackberries, shaved nutmeg, wet leaves and earth. Light to medium-bodied with a good core of dark fruits, it has juicy acidity and soft tannins with warm spices coming through on the long finish.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and an open nose of charcuterie with hints of tar and earth, fleshing out to red cherries, Bergamot, pomegranate, rhubarb and dried flowers notes. Light to medium-bodied, it has a good core of juicy, perfumed fruits, with a soft frame and lip-smacking freshness, finishing on a floral note.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard opens savory with faint touches of tar and charcuterie, fleshing out to black cherries, loamy earth, cinnamon stick, tree bark and red cherry sparks. Light to medium-bodied with broody, earth-tinged fruits, it has a soft frame and great freshness, finishing long and layered.

USA, California: All Along the Central Coast – The 2017 Vintage in Paso Robles and Beyond The 2017 Chardonnay is fermented entirely in stainless steel with some bâtonnage in tank but no malolactic fermentation. It has a pretty nose of pear blossom, red apple skin, honeycomb and chamomile with notes of peach pie and a rocky mineral note. Light to medium-bodied, it has a softly rounded texture with juicy acidity and finishes long on a floral note.

Opens with steely elegance and gently expands and fleshes out, featuring refined apple, spiced pear and mineral flavors that glide on a vibrant finish.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality This is a brambly style that has forest berries and herbs on offer, as well as a spicy layer that delivers a complex overall impression. The palate has good, harmonious structure and neat, spiced red-cherry flavors. Drink now.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality Aromas of violets and dried red cherries make for classic pinot style. The palate has plush and silky tannin texture and delivers a mellow, fleshy feel with good balance. Drink now.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality Spicy oak influence sits across ripe red cherries with a swathe of freshly cut herbs. The palate has very attractive freshness and lithe, juicy appeal. Already lots to like here. Drink now. Screw cap.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality Aromas of sliced dried cherries and blueberries lead to a languid feel on the palate with mellow red cherries and dried, woody spices, as well as a creamy, biscuit and espresso finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

2018 Oregon Vintage: Vineyard Savvy Reaps Consistency and Quality A bright, vibrant pinot that offers plenty of ripe red-cherry and strawberry aromas that lead to a palate that delivers assertive tannins, driving a fresh and quite intense, directly fruity finish. Drink in the next three to four years.

This value-minded wine is a nice showcase of the appellation, offering a mix of forested earth and grilled mushroom. Smooth, supple tannins form around an intense midpalate of red cherry and citrus that remains fresh on a lengthy finish.

Napa Valley's 2017s There are around 2,000 cases of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford, which is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Aged 27 months in 58% new French oak, it has a terrific sense of elegance and purity as well medium-bodied richness, light tannins, and classic Rutherford notes of mulled red and black fruits, dried earth, and chocolate.

Sourced from a host of sites in the Santa Barbara County, the Syrah shows smoky undertones that mingle with white pepper, blackberry cobbler and suggestions of venison tartare that take shape in the glass. The palate shows a nice combination of verve and viscosity with straightforward black fruit and smoky flavors. Beautiful now, this will provide drinking enjoyment for at least another seven years.

From a great Bordeaux vintage this maturing merlot-based red shows complex but subdued aromas of leather, very ripe blackberry/plummy fruit, chocolate, oak resin and an offsetting touch of fresh dill/basil herbality. It is quite full bodied with a sense of volume, but it is not heavy. There is some Bordeaux finesse here too - good acidity. Tannins are quite dusty and drying but again not hard. The length is very good to excellent. Best now to 2025. Tasted Jan 2020.

Rod Berglund created La Crema Viñera in 1979 with a group of friends who invested in his endeavor. His vision was to make single vineyard, cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. His mentors included Joseph Swan and André Tchelistcheff. His wines were well received and inspired others, but marketing conditions were not in his favor. In 1984, the winery was sold. Berglund married Swan’s daughter, Lynn, in 1986, and helped Swan with his last harvest in 1987. Joseph Swan died in early 1989 and Lynn and Rod Burglund continue to operate the winery. Jess Jackson took up Berglund’s mission in 1993, shortening the name to La Crema and focusing on cool spots in the Russian River Valley. The winery is now located in the beautiful Saralee’s Vineyard in Russian River and La Crema winemaker Craig McAllister invited founder Rod Berglund to join him in creating this wine to celebrate 40 years. The grapes come from several estate vineyards including Bellflower, Piner, Saralee’s, Seascape and Ross. It is a tantalizing wine with ruby red color and pretty cherry, raspberry aromas with a hint of floral notes and dried roses. In the mouth its svelte structure supports layered flavors of black cherry, blood orange, rose and a touch of fresh herbs. The acidity is mouthwatering, and the tannins are fine grained, encouraging flavors to linger while you experience the harmony of the elements coming together.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair is racy, silky and super-expressive. Sweet floral and spice notes give the 2017 pretty aromatic top notes and brightness. This is a very solid value in the world of Napa Valley Cabernet, marked by plush red fruit and floral notes.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Equitem offers lovely texture to play off the expressive varietal notes. Orchard fruit, almond, dried flowers and sage all meld together effortlessly. The Equitem has a bit more richness than the Naissance. I would prefer to drink it over the next few years.

A pretty wine, with bold honeysuckle aromas that lead to crisp yet oily-textured apricot, spice nut and orange peel flavors. Drink now.

I’m almost always impressed by La Crema’s Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Against California’s tendency to produce dense and sweet Pinots, La Crema’s comparative restraint, reflective of the Russian River’s relatively cool climate, is welcome. This one offers a medium body and supple texture, and it has attractive cherry and plum flavors heightened by suggestions of cinnamon and a subtle hint of chocolate.