More and more French oak (now 85 percent but only 23 percent new) has really helped to shape the new style of this wine that, while ripe and full-flavoured, is eminently more suited to food. Look for a bright core of plummy, black cherry fruit and mocha notes, with warm cedar, violet and tobacco undercurrents. Highly polished fruit from some impressive sites in Sonoma (85) and Napa (15). Well done.

A serious Merlot. Well-oaked, it shows lots of crowd-pleasing caramel, toast, vanilla and sweet woody flavors, but the fruit, acids and tannins are fully supportive of all that oak. Cherries, black raspberries and mocha flavors are pure and refined, leading to a dry finish.

A first-rate Merlot at a good price for the quality. Dry and complex with a soft, velvety texture, this supple wine features blackberry, red cherry, cocoa and sweet dried herb flowers, finished with toasty oak.

Wonderful Christmas-spice aromas lead to concentrated opulent fruit flavors in this full-bodied, complex and nicely oaky wine that's blended mostly from Syrah and Zinfandel. It's easy to pick out clove, cinnamon and cedar aromas before black currant and black cherry fill the palate.

A big, bold wine that also tastes precise and structured, it has deep, dense fruit flavors like black currant and black cherry, layers of fine tannins, hints of dark chocolate and espresso. This is a great wine to stash in the cellar, as it will taste best after 2020.

Opaque purple. Powerful, expansive aromas of black and blue fruit preserves, vanillin oak and incense, with a spicy quality adding lift. Lush blueberry and cassis flavors show an exotic floral touch and alluring sweetness, with gentle acidity providing shape. Closes smooth and very long, with supple tannins building slowly and folding into the dense fruit. I find this sexy wine quite approachable already.

Made in a modern, progressive, less classic style than its siblings, it is still very Californian in its opaque ruby/purple color, with a big, sweet kiss of toasty oak intermixed with ripe fruit, low acidity, and sweet tannin. From high elevation Napa vineyards, it is a big wine that should drink well for 10-15 years.

Here's a lush, soft Bordeaux blend, based on Cabernet and blended from vineyards around the county. Showing beautifully now, the wine opens with ripe cherry, blackberry, raspberry and coffee notes, surrounded by elegantly refined tannins.

The 2002 Stature is a cross-vineyard blend from many different sources. Composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, largely from their Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder and Stagecoach properties, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as lots of berry fruit intermixed with toasty oak, wet steel and chalk, a sweet, round, plump mouthfeel, and a medium to full-bodied finish with light to moderate tannin. It is far more accessible than the Highlands Estate Trace Ridge and should reach full maturity in another 3-4 years. It will last for 10-15 years where well-stored.

Succulent cherry fruit packed into a gentle, earthen tannin gives a sleek, integrated feel to this fat Napa cabernet. It's round and satisfying in middle, bracketed on either side by the smokiness of oak.

The inky/purple-colored 2001 Stature Meritage exhibits aromas of lead pencil shavings, licorice, black currants, smoke, and minerals. This closed but medium to full-bodied red boasts outstanding richness, sweet, well-integrated tannin, and a serious finish that lasts 40+ seconds. This impressive 2001 needs 2-3 years of cellaring, and should keep for 15+.

Firm and deeply concentrated, with a solid tannic punch to the blackberry, currant, coffee and plum flavors, this broad-appellation Cabernet reflects the strength of the vintage throughout the state.

Dark, grapey, with spicy plum, currant and wild berry. Finishes with firm tannins and fine balance. Notably elegant at this early stage.

Very aromatic, showing a complex nose of cherry, spice, smoked and raw meat, and tobacco. The flavors are copious, too, with strong black cherry, licorice and tobacco elements. Balance and structure are beautiful here, and the coffee-chocolate finish has a very good length, showing spice and blueberry accents. Lovely already, it will be better in four years.

Dense and chewy, but has all the ingredients for greatness, with tiers of black cherry, currant, anise and plum, finishing with chunky tannins that let the fruit glide through. Finishes spicy.

Bold, ripe, smooth and polished. The layers of plum, currant, and blueberry flavors are focused and lively right through the finish. Has the tannin and concentration for cellaring through the decade.

Slight brick edge on a ruby red wine. Fairly spicy nose: clove and cinnamon, a touch of mint, and lots of cherries.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is laced with black cherry, plum, grilled herbs, chocolate and menthol. Medium in body, with good underpinnings of both acidity and structure, the Grande Reserve delivers the goods. It is another impeccable wine in this range from Kendall-Jackson.

K-J has long been the standard-bearer for value in California wine, utilizing a vast network of excellent vineyard sources to produce good wine at a fair price. The Vintner's Reserve Cabernet is a shining example, retailing for $24 but doing a great impersonation of a wine that should/could cost much more. This vintage offers layered black fruits, generous wood spice that adds warmth, and depth and structure that speak to the quality of the grapes that went into this bottling. Drinking well now, but this wine will easily hold for another eight to ten years.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge delivers evocative black soil, truffles, sautéed herbs and smoked meats notes with a core of cassis, red currants and plums. Medium-bodied, finely textured and with a good core of red and black fruits, it finishes long and understated.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hawkeye Mountain is open-knit and inviting, with attractive mineral and savory notes that add nuance. Grilled herbs, crushed rocks, menthol, licorice and sage add nuance to this deeply flavored yet mid-weight mountain wine.

Jackson Estate wines are all about the company’s top estates situated on hillsides, raised benchland and even mountain tops. The Alexander Valley AVA (1984) is home to this cabernet (and a little petit verdot) that is a mix of six vineyards. It has all the hallmarks of a rich red wine: blackberries, black currant, cassis and tannins. It's aged for 19 months in an 83/17 ratio of French to American oak with only 31 percent new barrels. This wine is amazingly approachable now especially with a juicy T-Bone steak, Portobello mushrooms, or a grilled lamb chop but you could easily cellar this through 2022.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain is one of the most expressive wines in the range. Dark red cherry, plum, gravel, smoke and savory herbs give the wine much of its distinctive flavor profile. Persistent and nuanced, the 2014 shows very well today.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate (Alexander Valley) is terrific. A host of mocha, black cherry, gravel, smoke, dark raspberry jam and dark spices meld together in the glass. The 2013 is dark, imposing and structured, with fabulous depth and intensity. Gravel, smoke and game reappear on the back end.

Dark and smooth with ripe plum, cassis and black cherry; supple and showing mocha and spice; lush texture and good length.