From vines planted in 1910 in the northern part of the Russian River Valley, the 2015 Zinfandel Limerick Lane Vineyard is a ripe, sexy, yet elegant Zinfandel that has tons of ripe plum, raspberry, exotic spice and violet aromas and flavors. With no hard edges, a forward, sweetly textured, forward style, drink it over the coming 5-7 years. The Novy label is for winemaker Adam Lee’s (of Siduri) Rhône blend and Zinfandel releases.

2016 VIOGNIER The nose is a juicy tropical fruit with notes of banana, vanilla bean, peach, mango along with fragrant gardenia. The palate entry is rich, silky peach and mango with an impression of caramelized (roasted) stone fruit in the core. Finishes with a vanilla and lemon/mineral bite.

Sourced from sites in the Santa Maria Valley and aged 18 months in 40% new barrels, the 2016 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley has slightly more density and depth in its black cherry, toasted spices, crushed flowers, and vanilla bean aromas and flavors. Clean, beautifully balanced, elegant, and with ample length, it delivers tons of Pinot Noir charm for not much buck.

2015 PINOT NOIR, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY The nose is a briary and lively red fruit with good core richness and brightness. The palate is rhubarb and cherry with form texture throughout, blue fruit on finish with nice brightness.

Perhaps due to being four years old, this wine shows less exuberance than most Santa Barbara Pinots usually do, and instead exhibits grace and silky style. Soft on the palate, it tastes foremost of cherry fruit, but without the annoying sweetness that mars so many others. Impressive.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley is notably more serious than the Santa Barbara County release. Offering up dark cherry and black raspberry fruit to go with lots of spice, licorice and a touch of oak, it's nicely concentrated, medium-bodied, balanced and rich, with juicy acidity coming through on the finish. Fermented with 10% whole clusters and aged 14 months in 20% new French oak, it should be at its best from 2016-2021. Even though it's more expensive than the Santa Barbara County Pinot, it's still a terrific value. Originally misprinted as Byron, but review pertains to Nielson by Byron.

2015 CHARDONNAY, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY Fermented and aged in 80% stainless/20% older French oak. The nose is light, fresh peach with notes of clay and spice. The palate entry is toffee and crème brulee silkiness with oily density in the core. Quite compelling in its juiciness.

Based on cabernet from the Terra A Lago vineyard in the Mayacamas foothills and merlot from the Geyserville bench, this is a chewy yet sophisticated red, carrying a black earthen flavor in its tannins, even as they’re smoothed by oak. It feels properly ripe, its sails full of red fruit, hinting at higher-toned floral aromas and a woodsy savor that speaks to hillside fruit.

Smooth and lush with dense plum, blackberry and cassis fruit; silky and bright with smooth fruit and notes of earth and spice; balanced and long.

Silky and elegant with plum, cassis and spice; smooth, lush and rich with balance and a long, toasty finish.

Smooth and juicy with black raspberry, blackberry and plenty of spice; rich, softly tannic and complex; tangy structure and velvety texture; long and lush.

Rich and supple with black cherry, black raspberry and spice; notes of toasty oak and vanilla; tannic, dense and balanced with a long, lush finish.

We fully admit to being unaccustomed to finding anything like polish in a wine of this size and ripeness, but both polish and balance are the hallmarks of this deeply filled wine. It leads with intense aromas of blackberries, sweet smoke and cream, and it follows up on that promise with rich, well-composed flavors of empathetic fruit. It is firmed by a nice trim of tannins and shows little in the way if intrusive heat despite its 15.8% alcohol. It is withal a fairly serious wine, and it seems certain to improve for another three to five years.

2004 ALEXANDER VALLEY SNAKE EYES ELAINE MARIA VINEYARDS ZINFANDEL Rustic in its youth and blunt with raspberry jam flavors against staunchly dry tannins, this needs years to evolve into those tannins and the sharp, mineral acidity. It grows more complex and heady with air, a touch green, a touch pruney and entirely zin. (1,025 cases)

Crisp citrus aromas and fresh lemon and grapefruit flavors define this medium-bodied, appetizing and unapologetic wine. With lots of personality, a tingly texture and tangy finish, it’s just the thing for appetizers and first courses.

Distinctive for the jazzy, toasty, mocha-laced oak, yet the rich, polished fig, nectarine, white peach and tangerine flavors are equal to the wood. A remarkably seductive Chardonnay.

Distinctive for the jazzy, toasty, mocha-laced oak, yet the rich, polished fig, nectarine, white peach and tangerine flavors are equal to the wood. A remarkably seductive Chardonnay.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines This is a big and juicy red with lots of ripe forest fruit. Full-bodied, round and chewy.

Offers a refined texture, with robust and well-knit flavors of dried berry, plum tart and dried blackberry, accented by a layer of raspberry ganache that runs throughout. The succulent finish features plenty of tannic grip and dried herbal notes.

Rich, tannic and woody, this wine is robust in big black fruit, espresso and toasted oak. It is youthful in dense concentration and structure, a worthy showcase of the variety grown in a wild cool-climate appellation that appears to love it with abandon. Enjoy.

This is an opulent, full-bodied Merlot with layers of black and red fruits that finishes grippy with delicious cocoa and raspberry notes. Drink or hold for another five years.

Lithe and filled with a finely textured savoriness that washes over the cherry and dried berry flavors. Firmly tannic, with a big finish that offers cocoa powder, mineral and spice details.

The 2014 Malbec may well turn out to be one of the best Malbecs California has made to date. They have not hit the high points of the finest Malbecs coming from top wineries in Argentina, but wines like this will certainly give notice. A blend of 96% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 53% new French oak, the wine has a dense purple color and a big nose of chocolate, blackberry, espresso bean and spice. It has plenty of intensity, full body, silky tannin and adequate acidity. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.

This 2014 Merlot from Mt. Brave is a big boy wine and you can tell right away why this wine’s release was held back. It is opaque and very dark ruby colored. It opens with a port like bouquet with hints of black cherry-cola. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and rich. The flavor profile is a blackberry and mineral blend with notes of oak. We also detected hints of black licorice towards the end. The finish is rather dry and its moderate tannins stick around for quite a while. The Panel suggested serving this hearty Merlot with a pot roast.

The 2014 Merlot is a beauty. Black cherries, cassis, forest floor, and graphite notes all give way to a classy, pure, medium-bodied effort that has nicely integrated acidity, terrific purity of fruit, and fine tannin. It’s a classy effort to drink over the coming decade or so.