Sleek yet densely structured, with boysenberry, mineral and anise aromas that lead to layered, focused flavors or tart plum, white pepper and herb.

Youthful purple color. Intensely perfumed nose evokes red and dark berries, potpourri and Indian spices. Rich and smooth in texture but surprisingly lithe, offering juicy raspberry and mulberry flavors complicated by notes of candied flowers and star anise. Supple tannins add shape to the long, sappy, floral finish.

Outstanding '08s: densely packed with fruit but still elegant.

Bright ruby. High-pitched aromas of crushed dark berries, bitter chocolate, licorice and Indian spices. Juicy, dense and spicy, with sappy, intense dark berry flavors lifted by zesty minerality. Quite dry but ripe and penetrating, with a building element of exotic Christmas spices. Finishes with gentle tannins and very good persistence. These vines reportedly average around 85 years of age.

The least expensive offering is the 2008 Zinfandel Russian River, a dark ruby/purple-hued effort displaying a big, ripe nose of black raspberries, briery mountain fruit, pepper, spice, and earth with a hint of wood smoke in the background. Full-bodied, fleshy, and rich, this impressive Zinfandel can be drunk over the next 4-5 years. …proprietors Don and Jennifer Hartford not only produce superb Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, but also some of the finest Zinfandels made in northern California.

Made from an old (some vines are over 100 years of age), dry-farmed, head-trained vineyard, the 2008 Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard reveals a deep ruby/purple hue as well as a perfume of ground pepper, vanilla, barbecue smoke, black cherries, and blacker berries. With full body as well as invigorating, fresh acidity, it cuts a broad swath across the palate, and easily hides its lofty alcohol. It is a fragrant Zinfandel, and the tart acids seem to keep everything in balance. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years. …proprietors Don and Jennifer Hartford not only produce superb Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, but also some of the finest Zinfandels made in northern California.

Ruby-red. Black raspberry, smoked meat and flowers on the nose. Graceful red and dark berry flavors stain the palate without conveying any excess weight. Extremely fresh and focused zinfandel with excellent finishing clarity and spiciness. There's a pinot-like quality to this wine that's very appealing.

Few Zinfandels are this focused and complete. Displays boysenberry, white pepper and loam aromas, with a structure that balances ripeness and complexity, showing flavors of wild berry, licorice and cinnamon. Drink now through 2014.

Made from an average of 85-year-old vines; elegant and wonderfully juicy, with velvety texture, ripe plum and luscious black raspberry.

Glass-staining purple. Powerful blackberry and cassis aromas are complicated by incense, Asian spices and lavender. Deep, sappy and sweet, offering pure dark berry preserve flavors, terrific mineral lift and fine-grained tannins. Impressively balances richness against elegance, with outstanding finishing thrust and lingering dark fruits.

Saturated purple. Heady, smoky dark berry aromas accented by exotic, pungent spices. Deep and chewy, with ripe, sweet boysenberry and cherry fruit flavors supported by solid tannins. Really expands on the back but retains an elegant quality, finishing with an alluring silkiness.

Boasts copious quantities of blackberry, licorice, peppery, fiery fruit and spice, good underlying acidity, and a full-throttle, blockbuster finish. Consume it over the next 7-8 years.

Reveals a dark ruby/purple color along with an elegant, Pinot Noir-like nose of crushed rocks, raspberries, and briery boysenberry fruit. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, extraordinarily well-balanced, and elegant, it should drink well for 5-7 years.

Deep ruby. Captivating, vibrant aromas of cassis, blackberry, bitter chocolate, licorice and white pepper, lifted by mint. Large-scaled and broad on the palate, with sweet, lush flavors of crushed cassis, black cherry and pepper, enlivened by fresh, will-integrated acidity. Finishes with big, toungue-dusting tannins that reach the front teeth. Serious zinfandel with personality.

Good medium ruby. Vibrant, highly aromatic nose combines blackberry, violet, white pepper, cedar and toasty oak. Juicy and firmly built, with concentrated dark berry flavors over a mineral spine. Very fresh, firmly tannic Zinfandel with lovely purity and no excess weight.

Full bodied, rich and beautifully textured. Plush chocolate, coffee, plum, vanilla, licorice, black cherry, spice, cedar and herb notes co-mingle here in a fine showing of an elegant, powerful Zinfandel. Long and lush at the end.

A robust, beautifully flavoured Californian Zinfandel from the cool climate Russian River district of Sonoma. Pair with barbecued meats.

The 2012 Zinfandel Russian River, their largest production cuvee (over 2,500 cases), was aged in 20% new French oak for nine months, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. It tips the scales at 15% alcohol. It exhibits an opaque blue/purple color along with plenty of briery, berry fruit intermixed with hints of incense, Christmas fruitcake and spice. This exuberant, richly fruity, full-bodied Zin can be drunk over the next 4-5 years.

This pale pink colored wine opens with an inviting rose pedal and watermelon like bouquet. On the palate, this wine is light to medium bodied, nicely balanced and smooth as silk. The flavor profile is a gentle mineral infused faint strawberry with hints of white pepper, watermelon and almond. The finish is dry and fades away nicely. This elegant Rose is very sophisticated and would pair with the finest mild dishes. I would pair it with a shrimp scampi risotto.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir West Vineyard has an understated, restrained nose of rhubarb, Bing cherries and cranberries with hints of fragrant earth, bay leaves, fungi and mossy bark. Light to medium-bodied, rugged and earthy, it has a firm frame of chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long.

USA, Oregon: 2016 Vintage – Part Two The 2016 Pinot Noir Cascade is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with a very perfumed nose—lilacs, rose petals and potpourri—over a core of sweet red and black fruits plus notions of fresh tobacco and baking spice. Light to medium-bodied, it has lovely sweet fruits in the mouth accented by spice and perfume, grainy tannins and a long earthy finish.

Sleek and vibrant, with rose petal and cherry aromas and layered, lively raspberry, stony mineral and spice flavors.

Lurid red. Oak-tinged raspberry, cherry and candied rose scents, along with cola and vanilla notes that build steadily with air. Smooth and broad on the palate, offering sweet cherry-vanilla and spicecake flavors that firm up on the back half. The vanilla note carries through a long, spice-tinged finish given shape by supple, harmonious tannins.

Medium ruby-purple colored, 2015 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton delivers a lot of red berry/raspberry expression with underlying menthol, dried herbs and tree bark notes. Medium-bodied, the palate offers a great concentration of juicy red fruit flavors with a solid backbone of grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long.

This dark red colored Pinot Noir from Oregon opens with a mild black cherry bouquet with hints of raspberry tea and cigar box. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, refined and smooth. The flavor profile is a gentle red plum and flinty minerality blend. We also detected notes of black cherry and oak along with a hint of cinnamon. The finish is smooth and dry while its flavors fade away nicely. The Panel suggested pairing this Pinot with a veal chop or venison.