Merlot makes up the largest segment of the vineyards at Arceno, the Jackson's project in Chianti Classico. This wine blends merlot (57 percent) with cabernets sauvignon and franc in a plush, satin-textured red. It's smooth, scented with dark-roast coffee and dark chocolate. Built for steak.

Anakota's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota is plush, round and sensual, with plenty of mocha, chocolate, blackberry and crème de cassis. This clay-rich terroir produces rich, sumptuous wines that emphasize depth and mid-palate intensity. Because of that, this is a fairly approachable 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon although it will also develop nicely with time in bottle. Smoke, game, licorice, plum and earthy notes wrap around the dense finish.

Interestingly, I did not taste the 2012s, but the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard is an outstanding wine offering notes of crushed rocks, graphite, blueberries and blackcurrants. With lots of tannin as well as surprising density and richness, it is a successful 2011 that requires 3-4 years of cellaring. It should keep for 15 or more years.

Very perfumed, with sweet tobacco and currant bush on the nose. Full bodied, with a silky tannin structure and a long finish. A little hollow in the center palate, but still attractive. Give it time to soften.

A refined, herb-scented cabernet, this is solidly built on earthy tannin. There's a hint of sweetness to the fruit, balancing the earthiness and setting it up for lamb stew.

Ruby-red. Slightly medicinal aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, licorice and menthol. Bright but lush, with enticing black cherry and blackcurrant flavors complicated by a floral note. Still a bit youthfully reduced, but broad and juicy. Finishes with a a subtle suggestion of chocolate truffle with marc.

Bold berry and spice aromas are straight from the Carmenère textbook. In the mouth, this wine is full and beefy, with proper balance. Earthy, lightly baked and candied black-fruit flavors are graced by oak, chocolate and herbal notes on a ripe finish.

Opaque ruby. Smoke- and spice-tinged red and blue fruits on the highly fragrant nose. Juicy, gently sweet cherry and boysenberry flavors are lifted and sharpened by a spine of tangy acidity. Gains flesh and weight with air and finishes supple and long, featuring an echo of blue fruits and smooth, slow-building tannins.

Dark, ripe and velvety with soft herbs, plum and smooth texture; long, toasty and charming.

Attractive and subtle aromas of dark fruit, black olive and hints of herbs. Medium body, firm tannins and a pretty finish. Drink now.

A little short but some good stone and dark berry character. Juicy fruit on the palate. Drink now.

Despite the blackness and ripeness of its fruit, this cabernet offers enough tense acidity to give balance to the whole. It’s a heavyweight red, reaching every corner of the palate with its succulent flavors—the kind of red you need at your favorite steakhouse.

This opaque and midnight purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a very attractive mulberry, blueberry, vanilla oak bouquet with a hint of black olive. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a mineral influenced stewed plum with notes black olive and mulberry. I also detected hints of black currant and dried cherry towards the end. The finish is dry and its tannins are nicely extended. I would pair this Chilean Cab with steak tips.

Aromas of rose petal, black currant and some pleasant vanilla derived from the oak. The palate is medium to full-bodied with decent fruit and a walnut-like finish. Drink now.

A rich and ripe, peachy style with strong vanilla-pastry notes, as well as honey and spices. Drink now.

Pale to medium garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Grenache Old Vine has scents of cherry and strawberry preserves with hints of potpourri, baking spices, aniseed and dusty earth. Medium-bodied and packed with red berry coulis and spicy flavors, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins and a racy line carrying the fruit to a long finish.

Rich, espresso-laced blackberry and blueberry flavors are fragrant and dense, with an edge of black licorice, violet and rosemary lingering on the finish, where the tannins firm up.

Fragrant, with clove, sandalwood and white pepper accents to the pure core of ripe cherry, raspberry and kirsch flavors. Smooth and creamy.

Deep red with a tinge of purple; the bouquet is spicy and vanillan, quite intense and complex with some of the earthy ironstone mineral notes this vineyard often shows. It's rich and smooth, round and - true to the vineyard - not as fruit-sweet or lush as McLaren Vale grenache from lower altitudes.

Medium ruby/purple, the 2013 Grenache Old Vine has intense aromas of red and black cherries, black raspberries and anise with pepper, violets and meaty accents. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, the palate has chewy tannins with plenty of backbone, racy acid and a very long finish.

Sleek and lithe, with a meaty note running through the effusive blackberry and mint flavors, finishing with polish. Offers depth and intensity without weight. Drink now through 2018. 3,624 cases made.

Smooth and fresh with bright cherry and raspberry; juicy, lively and tangy with lifted, vibrant flavors; long and quite charming.

Bright red. Lively red berry and floral aromas are complemented by notes of white pepper, anise and woodsmoke. Juicy, tightly focused raspberry and bitter cherry flavors gain flesh and sweetness with air and pick up a note of spicecake. Finishes with very good focus, soft tannins and lingering florality. Very attractive now and probably best drunk on the young side, for its energy.

Uncompromisingly varietal sweet fruit from the 60-year-old vines is not overly confection-like, but nor is it in the mainstream of McLaren Vale grenahce; that said, its flavour has to be respected.