Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc: More Than An Afterthought? Fresh citrus, beeswax, sliced green apples and plenty of minerals. Quite a delicate but pretty style of palate with fresh acidity, a medium body and a dried-citrus finish.

Silky, juicy and ripe with clean, racy style; fresh and graceful with tangy acidity and precise fruit; bright and nicely balanced

Subtle in honey and grapefruit, this is a playful wine, vibrant in acidity and swirls of lemon zest that make it simultaneously refreshing and intriguing. Oysters are the obvious call.

Wild vanilla and white peach intermingle in this substantial wine, entirely well-composed in round layers of tropical pineapple and juicy citrus. The oak is subtle and gives the finish a lift, accenting the vanilla.

This is one of the richer Sauvignon Blancs out there. Aged in neutral oak which brings a touch of buttery toastiness, it also was stirred regularly on the lees. That adds a creaminess that’s integral to your enjoyment of the lemongrass, peach, kumquat and gooseberry flavors. The acidity is refreshing, making this a distinctive, delicious white wine.

Blended from vineyards ranging from Pope Valley to St. Helena, the wine was aged in neutral oak. It shows classic varietal notes of citrus fruits, gooseberries and lemongrass, with riper suggestions of white peaches. Low alcohol and brisk acidity results in a clean, savory wine.

Smooth, lush and ripe with plum, blackberry and spice; dense and balanced with good acid structure and a tangy finish; another solid Ted Edwards effort; long and stylish.

Fleshy yet subtle, full-bodied yet balanced. Loaded with ripe black plums. Lots of layers of pleasure. This wine is made mostly from Merlot Grapes with some Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Long, satisfying pleasant finish. Decant for an hour for maximum pleasure. Merlot food pairings: beef, cheese, poultry, quesadillas. A Natalie MacLean Terrific Turkey Wine

Bright and fresh with medium weight and excellent structure; juicy plum and well-proportioned tannins; long, elegant and balanced.

Marked by gritty tannins and a tang of acidity, this non-vintage Bordeaux blend turns rich in blackberry and black currant flavors on the midpalate. It’s very dry, despite the sweet fruit. You can drink it now, but it’s tannic enough to hold over at least the next eight years.

The 2008 Josephine comes across as understated and quite pretty. Ripe red fruits, flowers, spices are some of the notes that are woven together in this subtle, understated wine. Josephine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 9% Malbec. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028.

Dark red-ruby. Musky aromas of cassis, plum and licorice, with a complementary suggestion of barrel char. Plump raspberry and mocha flavors show an almost grapey quality for a Cabernet at age 20. Delivers an attractive balance of sugar and acidity but comes across as a bit aggressive next to the winery's Cabernet Bosché bottling as the still-youthful, building tannins show a dustier character and less refinement.

A wine with reserve and polish with blackcurrant and berry character as well as light chocolate and cement undertones. Full body, yet tight and pretty. Already very enjoyable. Why wait?

This pitch black colored Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley opens with an appealing black currant and dark chocolate bouquet with a hint of moist pipe tobacco. On the palate, this wine is just full bodied, balanced and a little juicy. The flavor profile is a ripe black currant and blueberry with notes of olive and minerality. I also detected hints of oak and plum in the background. The finish is rather dry and its dusty tannins and flavors stick around and last for a very extended period of time. This Cab would pair well with a well-marbled ribeye.

Herbal, dusty and oaky on the nose, this wine is sourced from such impressive vineyard sites as Bosche Vineyard and Wood Ranch, and employs small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Black currant, dark cherry and clove flavors dominate in this classic, medium-bodied wine with firm tannin and bright acidity.

Surprisingly, this is the producer's first blended Cabernet from the appellation, though it has long made vineyard-designates there. Combining fruit from the Bosche and Sycamore sites, it opens expansively in sizable tannin and dusty oak, before interweaving spicy black pepper, leather and soft infusions of blackberry and cherry.

Not dramatically different than its year- younger sibling from the Rutherford district reviewed below, Freemark Abbey's very deep, many-layered 2012 version is, whether by virtue of vintage or its extra year in the bottle, not quite as extreme in its tannins and thus the slightly preferred of the two. That said, it is not a wine for hasty drinking and should be buried away in the cellar for at least another six to eight years, but, as is the case with its mate, its keeping comes without risk and the pieces are in place for a long and satisfying future.

A rare offering from some of northern California's most expensive real estate, the 2000 Pinot Noir Marin Vineyard is a 315-case cuvee exhibiting tremendous earthy, plum, fig, and meaty-scented aromatics, and sweet, root beer-flavored fruit with a hint of cocoa emanating from the full-bodied palate. This stunning effort displays a grand cru Gevrey-Chambertin-like character. It should drink well for 5-8 years.

Displays a dense purple color along with huge flavor intensity, but its extremely high acidity is almost painful. I really do not know what to make of this wine. I suspect the high acid will allow it to age well past ten years, but whether it will ever completely open and be totally balanced is questionable.

This translucent and bright red colored Pinot Noir from Cambria opens with a cranberry and pomegranate bouquet with a hint of wild strawberry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with bright medium avidity. The mouthfeel is juicy. The flavor profile is pomegranate and strawberry blend with notes of minerality. I also detected hints of red cherry and a touch of oak. The finish is dry, and its flavors and mild tannins stick around for a little while. I would pair this good value and friendly Pinot with a pork tenderloin.

Full medium ruby. Highly aromatic nose of cassis, violet, licorice, cocoa powder and black pepper. Supple and impressively sweet, but with terrific backbone under the intense black fruit flavors. A very broad, round wine that's not at all heavy. And not especially muscular for a mountain wine. Broadens out impressively on the back end. A very good showing for both of these Dakota vintages.

The opaque purple-colored 2011 Le Desir, a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec, tips the scales at 13.9% alcohol (the highest in this vintage). It reveals a chalky/mineral-like character along with notes of blueberries and boysenberries intermixed with hints of new oak and lead pencil shavings, a lush, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and outstanding ripeness and concentration (especially for a 2011). It should be drinking beautifully in 2-3 years, and will keep for 15-20. All three of these cuvees are very successful 2011s.

Dark, rich, intense and tannic, with roasted coffee, currant and toasty oak flavors. Hard and unyielding now, but has a solid core of fruit and oak.

Weaves together rich, complex cherry, currant, plum and spicy flavors, with pretty, toasty oak and elegant tannins. Beautifully crafted.

From American Jess Jackson’s vineyard in St.-Emilion (run by the incomparable Pierre Seillan), the 2010 Lassegue possesses an opaque purple color as well as a dense, muscular, masculine style displaying lots of black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with hints of new oak and graphite. Full-bodied but backward, this cuvee (like most of Seillan’s wines) is built for the long haul. It requires 5-7 years of patience and should last for 20+ years.