Peach blossom, warm buttercream and Nilla wafer aromas make for an invitingly rich nose on this bottling. The palate grabs attention with a lemon-pith grip, as white-peach lushness battles with an alkaline minerality, making for a flavorful yet not overdone expression.

Very rich, extra-ripe fruit flavors fill out this full-bodied wine, getting support from mild tannins and ample baking spices from French barrels for a broad, rounded texture.

If you want to know what’s up in modern Napa, check out this merlot based mix: 91.5% merlot, 5.8% cabernet sauvignon and 2.5% petit verdot, of which 77 percent is mountain fruit from Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain (63%) and Stagecoach Vineyard (14%) on Atlas Mountain. The remainder comes from the Oakville, Calistoga, and Rutherford area on the floor of Napa Valley. The mountain fruit has transformed this wine, giving it more purpose, far beyond the merlot mould. The palate is enticing with medium spice, perfect oak, and a mix of blue and red fruit that assimilate most winemaking and barrel work. You can drink this now with food or cellar through 2030 and beyond.

This light-yellow colored Chardonnay opens with a musty oak, lemon and pineapple bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied and slightly acidic. The flavor profile is an oak influenced baked apple and Bosc pear blend with notes of ginger and cooking spices. I also detected hints of almond butter and chamomile tea. The finish is dry and its flavors linger for quite a while. This rich and flavorful Chard would pair well with lobster bisque.

Refined and open-textured, with a buttery and toasty allure to the airy blend of white fruit and spice flavors. The juicy finish has accents of ripe citrus.

This deep ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a gentle black currant, black cherry and leather bouquet with a hint of cola. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied, balanced and round. The flavor profile is mild flinty influenced ripe black plum and cassis blend with notes of black cherry. We also detected hints of cocoa dust, black tea, and some toasty oak. The finish is dry and its mild tannins linger for quite some time. The Panel would pair this Cab with a bacon wrapped filet mignon, roast beef au jus, leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic.

This wine is dark and dense, its concentrated black-cherry flavors woven with notes of licorice, vanilla and warm spice. Hints of amaro bitterness add complexity to the rich flavors, a match for grilled game or other robust dishes.

Oak enriches this wines' creamy texture and provides the base notes while the fruit shimmers on top. It's a powerful pinot with enough brisk structure and high-toned fruit to carry all the richness.

From a vineyard in Bloomfield, a village in the coastal hills south of Freestone, this wine delivers cool richness in flavors of juicy kumquat, red spice and layers of earthy tannins that have a supple red-clay feel. It's integrated, lasting and clean.

This gentle pinot fans out in a range of transparent red fruit flavors, hinting at wild strawberries and sour cherries, complete with the pits and the leaves. That tangy berry flavor lasts, on the incipient side of ripeness. It has the delicacy for Japanese fare, like Hamachi kama.

If you look to Hartford for rich Russian River pinot noirs, you'll find this to be a departure—a bright, oceanic red with the umami brininess of seaweed and salt-cured olives. There's a light cherry sweetness to check the saltiness, setting up an appetite for pasta tossed with sea urchin.

Julia's is always dark red and savory, with a scent of the sea, of turf and dark-red fruits. What starts out lean and cool becomes more rounded and seamless in the glass, all the complexity filled in a black-cherry lushness—and wonderfully lively for a 2016.

This medium purple colored Syrah from Copain opens with a moist pipe tobacco and black cherry bouquet with hints of leather, craisin and cinnamon. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with medium acidity. It is also balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a pronounced oak influenced pomegranate and stony minerality blend with notes of craisin. I also detected hints of red raspberry and cinnamon mixed in. The finish is dry and its dusty tannins and fruit flavors sail away nicely and last for a considerable amount of time. This red fruit-based Syrah would pair well with Shaking Beef from the Slanted Door (San Francisco) or with bratwurst sliders on pretzel buns.

Finesse, fresh, creamy.For 30 years, the Jackson family has sustainably farmed and tended this Santa Maria estate. Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson's daughters, Katie Jackson and Julia Jackson, grew up among the estate's vines. Drawn to the grit and beauty of winemaking, Katie and Julia continue the family business.Cambria is shaped by these three women: Barbara Banke's keen knowledge of the industry and business sense, Katie's passion for sustainability and the land, and Julia's creative backbone and dedication to empowering communities.The vineyard was named for Katie Jackson in 1986, and this 2018 Chard is comprised of clones: 4 (46 years old) and Wente 76 and 96, which grow on the estate's ancient soils of fossilized seashells, shale, limestone and sand.It was 75% barrel fermented, 75% went through malolactic fermentation and was aged sur lie in French oak for 8 months (20% new) before bottling.Yellow plums, Meyer lemon, toasted spice, acacia, honey and vanilla aromas lead to a fresh but creamy palate. Toasted hazelnut and spice flavours are layered with yellow fruit and lemon to mimic the nose. Concentration, depth and finesse. Pair with roasted artichokes with capers and mint, creamy soups and pastas, corn chowder and smoked cheese.

This full and rich Chardonnay from the Katherine's Vineyard has a fragrant floral bouquet full of fresh fruit and a slight citrus breeze. The flavors are apple and peach, with a little lemon zest, and a mild buttery presence which finishes with a vibrant crescendo.

This pale white gold colored Sauvignon Blanc opens with a ripe honeydew melon and gentle grapefruit bouquet with hints of pineapple and wet stone. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, well-balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is a tasty white grapefruit and ginger blend with notes saline and gentle lime. We also detected some hints of chalky minerality throughout. It closes with a dry, refreshing and lingering finish. The Panel would pair this Sauvignon Blanc with raw oysters, shrimp scampi, or grilled mahi-mahi.

Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Giving aromas of boysenberry, blackberry, cardamom spice, tilled earth, flower blossom and a touch of toasty oak. Mid-weight and forward-drinking in style, with flavors of black cherry, black plum and blackberry with a riff of oak in the background. Silky in texture, with quenching acidity and a modest but satisfying finish.

For three decades Cambria Estate Winery has helped define the Santa Maria Valley. This Chardonnay offers a bevy of subtlety; lemon-lime, guava, honeysuckle, granny Smith apple and white peach. Nothing here is over the top. Four different clones were used on their estate property. “I sourced mainly older vines planted in 1971,” says winemaker Jill Russell. To that she added fruit from “younger blocks planted in 2012.” The 2019 strikes a deft balance between the use of oak aging (nine months), stainless steel, barrel and malolactic fermentations. This allows for enough acidity to make it fresh and lively, while still having a smooth and seamless feel. Though this is a ubiquitous Chardonnay, the 2019 shows the quality of the fruit and land.

This red offers ripe dark cherry and plum compote flavors, with loamy richness. There is pomegranate and dried strawberry midpalate, with forest floor notes on the savory finish. Drink now through 2024.

Svelte and elegantly styled, with dried cherry and berry flavors that feature fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Sandalwood, tea and cooking spice notes fill the rich finish. Drink now through 2024.

The sand is deepest at the highest point in the Yangarra vineyard, where this 4.2-acre block of grenache, planted in 1946, grows as bush vines, dry farmed under biodynamics. Peter Fraser allows the wine to ferment spontaneously in open vats, half of it as whole berries, then ages it in older French oak. It’s a lean, peppery grenache with a dark raspberry bite, chewy in its broad tannins, lasting with a black savor. The tight structure benefits from time in a decanter, as it will from the company of grilled lamb.

I really enjoy when fine wine wineries do rose. Come on in, the water is fine. Tangy and tart rose style, leaner than expected with terse, sherbetty acidity a feature. Pomegranate juice, cherry juice. Light spice. Refreshing, but that acidity is just off the pace and feels a bit coarse and forced. Cold, no probs. Good drink.

This has very fresh strawberry, peach and watermelon aromas with plenty of red-floral perfume, too. The palate has fresh, mouthwatering strawberries and a glossy, more-ish finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

Medium to light coral-pink colour, with a youthfully fruity aroma, toffee apple with hints of fresh herbs and strawberry, bright and straightforward. The palate is intense and dry, enlivened by fresh acidity which leaves us with a lip-smacking crisp aftertaste. No great hurry to drink this - indeed, a few more months in the bottle will help bring it on.

Marcia Torres Forno, Matanzas Creek’s winemaker since 2010, has clearly influenced the stylistic direction this estate’s wines have taken. Like most talented winemakers these days, she is relentlessly active in the vineyard as well as the winery, overseeing such operations as selective leaf removal, which helps reduce extreme herbal aromas and flavors in Sauvignon Blanc. The 2019 vintage is a particularly savory white wine that suggests deliciously ripe fruit flavors dominated pink grapefruit, with vibrant acidity on the finish. There aren’t a lot of $20 wines out there that offer as much satisfaction as this one.