From only the 1971 plantings and a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Shiraz. You can think of it as being a single site version of Penfolds 389, only better. 370 cases made. If you wanted to show an overseas visitor an example of a ‘classic’ South Australian wine, then this would be a fine place to start. It’s medium to full bodied, almost svelte, with succulent but intense ripe tannin, truffle and grilled meat, blackcurrant and boysenberry, a little toast and smokiness, pitch-perfect acidity, and a finish  of impeccable length and composition. Great wine. Dead set classic.

Emphasis on good acidity over fruit, great structure, classy approach. 2 stars, very good.

Cambria, on the Santa Maria Bench, crafts single clone Pinot Noir wines, along with blends of key clones that the family has found highlight the fruit and the region, like their Mesa Terrace. A blend of four SIP certified, sustainably grown Pinot Noir clones revealing wild-strawberry, woody herb, and wildflower notes.

The wine showed a light-medium ruby color. Cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, loamy earth, oak and whiffs of strawberry each arrived on the nose where the strawberry dissipated as the wine opened up. Cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, raspberry, loamy earth and oak followed on the palate. The wine exhibited good structure and length, along with well-integrated tannins. This wine would pair well with risotto with wild mushrooms.

Also from Santa Maria, Byron “Julia’s Vineyard Old Vine” Pinot Noir features classic Pommard clone fruit with strawberry and earthy forest-floor notes.

2½ stars, Very Good Rhone style red blend, big flavors, great complexity, mostly syrah.

Very Good These wines deliver a lot of flavor interest for the money. This exception to the Bordeaux formula is 92 percent syrah and 8 percent petite sirah. From Kendall-Jackson's Sonoma County vineyards, it's spicy and silky, with deep fruit. Very Good

3 stars, Superb Kitchen sink blend of big red grapes, considerable power, great texture.

5 Celebrity Wines That Are Actually Worth a Taste Stars' talents go beyond singing and acting, as proven by these celeb-produced wines When Barrymore, a fan of crisp, fruity whites, got into the wine business in 2011, she hoped to be taken seriously in the industry. Today, it seems she has succeeded; Robbi Jo Oliver, senior director of wine and spirits at Mastro's Steakhouse in New York, quite liked the Pinot Grigio she tasted. "The 2015 has aromas of tropical fruits, citrus and minerality, which lends to a beautiful palate full of melon and bright acidity," she says, adding, "the wine pairs lovely with our seafood towers, crisp salads and composed sushi dishes."

A faint hint of pyrazines that lift a concentrated palate of dark fruits and resinous, forested notes with nicely executed oak use. Focused opening through the mid palate but the finish suddenly balloons out in a way that is surprising and makes it unclear if it will integrate with time in bottle or not. Fine, chalky tannins and mouth-watering acidity show potential but the wine currently is disjointed. Could come together with time in bottle. 15.5+/20 points

Winemaker Adam Lee is best-known for his single-vineyard pinot noir, but most of those are twice the price. His so-called appellation wines may not possess all the nuance and subtlety of the vineyard designates, but they have exceptional value and can stand alone on their own merits. This 2015 Russian River pinot has all the depth and complexity that a Russian River pinot should have, without the hefty price tag.

The wines of the Willamette Valley Location, location, location is important in Oregon, and the Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity appellation has it in spades. Lynn Penner-Ash has been lucky enough to take some of the best grapes from this vineyard — blessed with both a consistently cool climate and well-drained volcanic soil — for her 2015 Penner-Ash Zena Crown Pinot Noir. The pretty bouquet sports scents of red cherry and bright red berry. Flavors of cherry, baking spices and clove feel silky smooth in the mouth. A hint of cocoa on the back of the palate really adds a delightful note to the beautiful, lush finish.

A balanced, restrained zin with lush fruit. 2½ stars, very good.

Just the right amounts of just about everything; worth the short-term hit to your wallet. A

For Merlot Month, learn to #merlotme Harvested by hand, this is a wow wine. Complex and dense, yet still sleek, it’s full of flavors of dark chocolate, dark berries, coffee and herbs. It drinks like a cabernet sauvignon. If you like merlot, if you think you know merlot, you need to try this.

Drink These 25 bottles and Become a Wine Master Chardonnay is the most popular grape variety in the US. Familiarize yourself with the classic California style—ripe fruit, spicy oak notes—with a wine like the 2015 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

From the Jackson Estate Collection, the rugged, unruly Outland Ridge Vineyard produces complex Pinot Noir highlighting rocky terroir with earthiness and dense, age-worthy tannins.

Vintner’s Reserve has an admirable track record as one of America’s best-selling Chardonnays. The winery produces more than two millions cases each vintage, with fruit sourced exclusively from its own vineyards spanning from Monterey, Santa Barbara, Mendocino and Sonoma counties. The result is a rich, refreshing style that's appealingly ripe and round with nice brightness and charm. Four stars.

Got here too early for the wood, but supple sexiness awaits those who r patient. A-

Such a fantastic nose of delicious currants, this wine is elegant and refined. The palate does not disappoint and displays harmonious notes of liquorice and baking spices on top of the luscious black fruit. A wine to go wild for. Exceptional.

Top Ten: California Vérité, or truth as the French would say, makes a trio of Bordeaux-shaped reds all grown at the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains at the southern tip of Sonoma County's Alexander Valley, where winemaker Pierre Seillan works with Sonoma Mountain fruit. Seillan is a disciple of the cru concept and at Vérité his selections are released under the monikers of ‘La Muse’, a Pomerol-style merlot/cabernet franc mix; ‘La Joie’, a left bank, Haut-Medoc style cabernet sauvignon; and ‘Le Désir, a Saint Emilion-style blend of cabernet franc/merlot/cabernet sauvignon. In 2013, La Muse reaches for the stars blending a third of its fruit from the Alexander Valley vineyards, some 40 percent out of Chalk Hill and the remainder from the Knight and Bennett valleys. At 89 percent it is fair to call this a merlot especially when you consider its amazing, silky texture, bolstered by eight percent cabernet franc and three percent malbec. The perfect vintage spawned a 14.3 percent alcohol level that fits the harmony of this wine. The flavours are bright but restrained with impressive black fruit aromatics seemingly uninhibited by ageing in 100 percent new French oak barriques. A smoky, savoury, licorice and black cherry affair, but again without any boldness, seems as if it might age for decades. Each year the concentration improves but so does the finesse. A superb bottle of wine now long sold out but look for it in restaurants and private wine shops.

Top Ten: California Vérité is French for truth, and the truth is this is this has always been an old world wine made in the new world. Each year is a distinct mix of numerous small vineyard blocks. The maestro is vigneron Pierre Seillan, who refers to his methodology as droit du sol or the right of the soil. In 2013 La Joie is a 71/16/8/5 mix of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot that spends 15 months in 100 percent new French oak. The attack is leaner than you might expect for California, more Bordelais left bank with a firm, spicy, earthy, forest floor undercurrent. The tannins are dense but refined; the fruit pretty but intense, mixing black berries and black cherries, licorice, cocoa powder with more earth and mushroom notes before finishing long, firm and dry. Amazing complexity and elegance here and certainly the potential to keep at least twenty-five years. Best now with lamb shanks or a T-Bone steak but this baby should be cellared for a decade.

Top Ten: California The 2013 Désir is a blend of 62/22/11/5/ cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec aged 15 months in 100 percent new French oak. Perhaps the spiciest, it opens with a whiff an alluring hint of white pepper. The attack is as powerful and elegant as it gets, clearly mimicking the great wines of Saint Emilion. With so much finesse already evident you could drink this now although I would say wait a decade. The attack is round, the tannins chalky and soft with fine black tea, licorice, orange with a stony mineral backend. Impressive style and seemingly set to age for decades. Try now with Bistecca Fiorentina.

Top Ten: California For almost two decades, Lokoya Mt Veeder has been made from a selection of blocks within Veeder Peak Estate vineyard that sits on the sunny western ridges of the Mayacamas Mountains at the northern end of the Mount Veeder AVA. Poor, low nutrient volcanic soil yields small berries and big, concentrated flavours. Blueberries and violets with dense, rich mountain tannins spill from the glass. It’s always 100 percent cabernet sauvignon, fermented with native yeast, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Wisps of smoke and meat complex what is an outstanding bottle of cabernet and a direction many could learn from. I love the dry, firm mineral undercurrent and the subtle red fruit punctuation marks. You could drink this if you had to, but a decade or two in the cellar would leave this close to perfection and a fun bottle to slip into blind tastings.

1971 plantings in Clarendon, which is a very beautiful part of South Australia, and indeed, the world.Violet, tobacco and earth, black fruits and a little pepper. Full bodied, fleshy and flavoursome, with a juicy core of black and blue fruit, a wonderful chompy set of tannin, balanced acidity, and a succulent and savoury finish of considerable length. Here’s a wine! Took me about one minute to form the opinion that it’s an absolute beauty. That tannin on the finish, too. Yes.