Supple red cherry flavors more than match the oak influence of this wine, which deepens those flavors to chocolate richness. It finishes on a savory note. For roast lamb.

The biggest production cuvee is the seductive 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa, a 14,000-case blend of 78.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12.1% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and a tiny 2.8% Syrah. It was aged 24 months in French oak prior to bottling. Fully mature with an opaque plum/ruby/purple color, it offers up enveloping aromas of ripe black currant and black cherry fruit, cedarwood, licorice and dusty, earthy, red soil scents. With luscious fruit as well as an expansive, savory, broad palate with no hard edges, this beguiling, high class Cabernet Sauvignon will provide plenty of pleasure for another 5-7 years.

Creamy and lush with lovely smooth fruit and tangy acidity; bright and classic with superb balance, depth and style.

This wine has a lovely floral aroma, with accents of peach, lime and honeysuckle. This being an oaked Viognier, the wine has some richness, but it's nicely integrated. It has well-balanced flavors of ripe peaches and lime, with a nice bit of acidity.

A beautiful Viognier that showcases the variety's rich, exotic side. Offers a mouthburst of ripe grilled peaches, pineapples, green apples, honeysuckle and vanilla wrapped into a creamy, buttery texture. Try as an offbeat alternative to Chardonnay.

This straw-colored Sauvignon Blanc from Freemark Abbey opens with a mild and attractive Honeydew melon bouquet with a hint of banana. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied and nicely balanced between its fruit and acidity. The flavor profile is a very tasty mild ripe Honeydew melon with notes of gentle minerality and faint pineapple. I also detected a hint of lemon verbena mixed in as well. The finish is pleasant and smooth as it drifts away nicely. I would pair this food friendly Sauvignon Blanc with pan-seared grouper with a key lime butter sauce.

Who knew that Freemark Abbey made excellent Sauvignon Blanc? Of course, they are an iconic producer of Cabernet Sauvignon and some incredibly lush sweet wines. It’s crisp and laser-like, with a snappy bite that is not aggressive. Plenty of body and depth balances its knife-like cutting edginess. It has none of the tropical fruit-like over ripeness that can plaque so many Sauvignon Blanc from Napa. Try it this summer before it fades with grilled fish, shellfish, or frankly, anything.

Light yellow; pleasant, floral, moderately grassy, white peach, lemon-lime, and melon aroma with a hint of green bean; medium-full body; citrus and melon flavors with herbal and grassy notes, and zesty acidity; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines This is a very pretty and bright white with sliced apples and pears. Some cream, too. Medium to full body, lovely fruit and a clean and fresh finish. No malo leaves it bright and lively.

A pretty ribbon of gardenia opens the nose of this rich, concentrated wine, creamy in texture with a viscosity of vanilla and oak. The richness continues in deep caramel notes, as baked pear provides fruit and nuance.

Weekend Wine Picks Expect an expressive ripe, fruity nose of pineapple, guava and peach reflecting a mix of cooler sites including Coombsville, Howell Mountain, Carneros, and Suscol Creek. The palate is fresh with a linear tone and a complex, spicy nutmeg underbelly with creamy pear, citrus, green apple. The wood and lees is subtle but present with 67 per cent of the wine barrel fermented and no malolactic fermentation. A solid, fair-priced California Chardonnay. Perfect for a lobster dish.

Aged in stainless steel and small barrels of French oak, this wine remains smooth and silky with interweaved acidity, a classic, fresh expression of the variety with very subtle oak. Vanilla and pear find their way onto the finish, providing additional layers of flavor and finesse.

The 2014 Chardonnay is a non-malolactic 100% Chardonnay that’s 45% barrel-fermented. The wine is sensational. There are nearly 10,000 cases of this wine, which shows loads of white peach, honeysuckle, green apple and melon notes in a distinctive, clean, steely Chablis-like style. There is some tropical fruit, such as pineapple, but the overall character is one of great acid, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and no real oak influence.

There's not much Chardonnay grown on Howell Mountain, but here's one to check out. It has an unusually pungent earthiness, leading to rich flavors of yellow apricots, lemon tart and kumquats, with a complex touch of mushroom. Bone dry and crisp, it should develop bottle complexities over the next 5-6 years.

This dense, round, full-bodied red from a quiet appellation offers smoked plum and dark cherry flavors, with integrated oak and tannin.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Knights Valley) is a dark, powerful wine. Inky blue and purplish fruits, smoke, licorice and violets are pushed forward. This is a relatively soft, plush style for Knights Valley, with fewer of the mineral/savory notes often found here. In exchange, the 2013 will drink with minimal cellaring.

Plump and rich without being weighty, with well-defined plum, cherry, currant and blackberry flavors, all evenly dispersed. Ends with supple, graceful tannins and an echo of oak and licorice.

This wine is a steal for its quality—well-rounded, expressive and complemented with additions of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot. Cherry and vanilla flavors predominate, accented with cedar and tobacco, the texture remaining soft and smooth.

Made by Greg Brewer and reminding me of a terrific St. Joseph, the 2016 Syrah Santa Barbara County has vibrant notes of red and black fruits, lots of pepper, hints of tapenade, and even a kiss of bacon fat. It's elegant, medium-bodied, has high yet integrated acidity and a great finish. Readers looking for a more traditional, classic Syrah from California that has some Old World charm should check this out.

Concentrated and brawny, with almost viscous flavors of chocolate, dried fruit and smoke that linger on the thick finish…Tasted twice, consistent notes.

Edmeades has made some great single-vineyard Zinfandels from Mendocino over the years, but this Petit Sirah delivers everything I love about Petit Sirah -- it's concentrated, brawny, and almost viscious with flavors of chocolate, dried fruit and smoke that linger on its tannic finish. It's a bargain at the price.

Concentrated, brawny, with almost viscous flavors of chocolate, dried fruit & smoke lingering on the tannic finish.

Espresso, black walnut and black pepper flavors are bold and thick, with dense tannins framing the blackberry, plum and licorice flavors. Smoke, toast and spice accents linger on the finish.

Espresso, black walnut and black pepper flavors are bold and thick, with dense tannins framing the blackberry, plum and licorice flavors. Smoke, toast and spice accents linger on the finish.

The Folly presents as an old school California Zinfandel based field blend, likely containing Petite Sirah, Syrah among other varieties. There's something adding a bit of complexity here that's unusual in the style -- perhaps a bit of Merlot? But enough wine geek speak -- this is a juicy, cherry fruit driven wine with note of orange blossom and white pepper, a little tar and fall spice, good acidity and moderate tannins that will go great with summer grilling.