Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, coffee, licorice and oaky chocolate and mocha on the nose. Densely packed and firmly built, with a strong spine of ripe acidity giving definition and punch to the flavors of blackberry, black cherry, minerals and chocolate. Quite penetrating and youthfully tight but there's good underlying fat to support the youthfully edgy tannins. This will need a few years in the bottle to soften and blossom.

Good bright ruby-red. Brooding aromas of blueberry, cassis and crushed stone. Deep and surprisingly sweet, offering rich, nicely delineated flavors of cassis, plum syrup and licorice. Finishes with suave dusty tannins and excellent mineral-driven length.

Full-bodied with a big grip on the palate. Blackberry liqueur aromas and flavours, though the wine is dry and complex. The grapes come from the cool climate of Sonoma's Alexander Valley.

A classic example of Alexander Valley Cabernet, rich but supple, with compelling fruit and vanilla aromas and an overlay of oak on the palate. This is a lush and very satisfying wine. It outperforms many more expensive Napa Valley Cabs.

Typical of good Cabernet Sauvignon from mountain vineyards, this wine is tight and firm, with flavors that make one think of wild berries, herbal underbrush and stony terrain. The grapes grow at altitudes ranging from 400 to 2,400 feet, which helps explain Stonestreet Cabernet’s mouthwatering concentration, savory tannins and palate pleasing long finish.

Deep red-ruby. Youthfully medicinal aromas of cassis and bitter chocolate. Creamy and suave on entry, then tighter in the middle, showing excellent intensity to the dark berry and chocolatey oak flavors. Boasts a lovely combination of sweetness, firmness and breadth, along with smooth but tight-grained tannins that suggest a graceful evolution in bottle. Very nicely balanced, dense cabernet from east-facing vines above the fog layer.

Dramatically rich and full-bodied in blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate and oak flavors. With thick, fine tannins giving it a youthful astringency, this Bordeaux blend needs to be cellared. Should develop bottle notes over the next ten years.

From a block on the Alexander Mountain Estate at 2,200 feet, Rockfall has the pungent mineral savor of a high-elevation cabernet. There's plump and plummy fruit to smooth over all the mineral tannin, all wrapped together in tight restraint. Quiet and unyielding for now, this lasts on the flinty scent of crushed rock. For the cellar.

Sharing the same winemaker, Graham Werts, as the Stonestreet winery, the 2006 Legacy is a 1,400-case blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec. This gorgeous 2006 boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as aromas and flavors of spicy oak, creosote, burning embers, and copious quantities of black currant and blackberry fruit. Full-bodied with a subtle smoky component, multilayers, a round, generous texture, and sweet tannin in its silky finish, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20+ years.

Why Sonoma County deserves the wine spotlight: Stonestreet has the ring of a contrived winery name designed to conjure rural imagery. But it’s the founder’s middle name, as in Jess Stonestreet Jackson. The wealthy land-use lawyer and prominent thoroughbred-horse breeder, who died in April at age 81, played a role in popularizing chardonnay in America with the country’s most popular bottling, Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve. This is a newer, super-premium label. I love the aggressive tannins in this full-bodied yet austere red. It shows cassis, black tea and mineral nuances along with a firm slap of acidity. Try it with steak or age it for up to 15 years.

Although the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a softer wine, it still begs for additional bottle age. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, it offers graphite, blackberry, cassis, toasty oak, and earth notes in a full-bodied, rich style with slightly less tannin and concentration than its monster sibling.

(100% cabernet sauvignon, planted at an altitude of 2,400 feet) Full ruby-red. Dark berries, graphite, cedar and spicy herbs on the nose. Sweeter and lusher than the regular Alexander Valley bottling, with complex flavors of currant, melted chocolate and flowers. Here the acids are more harmonious, framing and extending the flavors through a broadly tannic finish. Even in 2005, the crop level at this altitude did not exceed 2.5 tons per acre, according to winemaker Graham Weerts.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Estate is a gorgeous and distinctive wine. Lime peel, mint, white flowers, crushed rocks and a whole range of green, grassy notes give the 2017 vivacity and brilliance. A touch of reduction adds character to this super-expressive Sauvignon Blanc from Stonestreet.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point Vineyard opens with compelling citrus notes of grapefruit, yuzu and lemon zest with touches of baking bread, wild thyme and crushed rocks. Crisp and medium-bodied with a silky texture, it gives loads of citrus layers and a minerally undercurrent with a long zesty finish.

The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Estate comes from Alexander Valley and has tiny splash of Semillon. Brought up in stainless steel and neutral puncheons, it offers a Bordeaux Blanc-like bouquet of lemon curd, crushed rocks/salty minerality, and apple blossom. It has vibrant acidity, medium body, and a balanced, rock-solid profile. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years.

The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point Vineyard opens with green apple, white grapefruit and lemon peel notes with touches of elderflower and orange blossoms. Medium-bodied with a lovely slight silkiness to the texture and plenty of zip, it has a great citrus fruit core, finishing long and invigorating.

Stonestreet consistently delivers complex, refreshing renditions of Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy on the nose, with an exotic tease of pea shoot, it seemingly vibrates on the palate with lemon, grapefruit and apricot flavors.

The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point Vineyard was fermented in used oak with some indigenous yeast fermentation. It is a crisp, elegant, nicely textured Sauvignon Blanc moving toward the viscosity and texture of a good Chardonnay, with ripe, honeyed grapefruit and citrus blossom. Delicious, medium-bodied but intense, this is a beauty to drink over the next few years.

Intriguing, complex and provocative is the 100% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point Vineyard, coming from an 800- to 1,000-foot-altitude vineyard and fermented in older oak. Much more nectarine, exotic pineapple and passion fruit notes are present in this medium-bodied, fresh, lively and perfumed style of Sauvignon Blanc that is delicious and beautifully textured. Drink it over the next several years.

Captivating aromas and flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, lemon ice, lime leaf and crushed rock are complemented by a leesy complexity. Supple, sweet and very easy to taste now owing to its richness of texture. A cool minty quality contributes to the impression of energy on the rising finish, which is crisp but not at all hard. This is very good.

A very fine Sauvignon Blanc that's pure, fresh and crisp. This shows uplifted citrus fruit, gooseberry, date and spice flavors. It's an excellent example of the variety...

Pungent gooseberry, grapefruit and anise aromas. Dense, supple and full for sauvignon, with enticing tropical fruit flavors dominating. Not a steely style of the variety but boasts lovely intensity of fruit.

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora is full of attractive melon, fig and pear notes. It shows considerable textural richness and depth, partly from the aging in neutral puncheons. I especially like the volume and depth here. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016.

There are only a measly 250 cases of the potentially dazzling '99 Chardonnay Block 66, produced from Jess Jackson's Alexander Mountain estate. This light gold-colored effort exhibits a huge, mineral-infused, butter, pear, citrus, and honeyed fruit-scented bouquet as well as flavors. The wine is strikingly deep, well-delineated, and super-concentrated. Look for it to drink well for at least 2-3 years.