Light, tangy, expressive and appealing, balancing open-textured grapefruit, spice and delicate mineral notes against deftly poised acidity. Lingers easily on the finish.

This is the only 2015 wine from Novy that has thus far gone to bottle. The other Novy 2015 wines were tasted as tank samples and show great promise, although I’d prefer to revisit these in a few months and review them as bottle samples. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Zinfandel Russian River Valley offers expressive blackberry, black cherry and baking spice notes with a touch of licorice. Full-boded, concentrated and purely fruited in the mouth, it has a gorgeous velvety texture and a delightful burst of blackberry flavors on the long finish.

Well-built, moderately rich and centered, offering dark berry, plum, currant and cedary cigar box touches. Firms pleasantly on the finish, with a mild tannic grip.

Scented of grass, lemon peel, grapefruit and bell peppers with a waft of green apple skins, the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is medium-bodied, delivering crisp, clean flavors and a slight yeastiness on the finish.

The lemon and blood orange flavors are smooth, supple and charming, ending with a kiss of butterscotch.

Shows a pithy citrus side to the green apple and tangerine notes. Clean and refreshing.

Firm, with focused blackberry and cedar flavors on a taut frame, finishing with persistence.

The Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard covers a steep cut of country from the ridgetops above the village of Clarendon to the Onkaparinga River in the gorge below. Planted since 1971, it is now owned by Jackson Family Farms and the wines are made by Australian Charlie Seppelt and American Chris Carpenter. ‘Revivalist' is said to refer to the extensive vineyard work on the canopy structure of vines planted in 1976, but it may just as well apply to the notion of restoring some decency to the merlot grape. I love the silky, earthy fruit flavours that spring from the bottle. A pre-maceration lasts about 96 hours before it is fermented open top where it spends another three weeks on the skins before 15 months in French oak. Hardly a perfect vintage with a dry spring, a January heatwave and heavy February rains, and a cool finish. No matter, this is fun to drink with its Bing cherry aromas, dried figs and a fragrant savoury finish. I love the elegance here.

Sleek and impeccably built, with floral raspberry, mint and licorice aromas that lead to vibrant and focused blueberry and cherry flavors, accented by white pepper and bay leaf details.

This is what Russian River Zinfandel is all about. Rich, dynamic and layered, with complex fruit, offering notes of jammy black raspberry, stony mineral, herbs de Provence and licorice. The finish unfurls at length.

Rich and supple, balanced by a bright core of acidity and accented by notes of raspberry, crushed stone, herbs de Provence and white pepper.

Ripe and well-built, with a core of vibrant acidity, offering floral black raspberry and bay leaf aromas and layered blueberry and cherry flavors, accented by crushed rock, white pepper and anise hints.

Like all good Petites, this wine is big and brash. When paired with this dish, though, it reveals a hidden sophistication. Its long, evolving finish becomes especially noteworthy.

This is a pretty pinot noir that's also edgy. It has bright red raspberry fruit and crisp acid, which makes it a lovely food pairing. It also has layered flavors, with notes of mushroom and smoke. Well crafted. (Siduri is open the first weekend only, according to the www.wineroad.com website).

This is solid cab with generous blackberry fruit, subtle spice and a hint of mocha. Ripe tannins. Seamless texture. (Kendall-Jackson is open the first weekend only according to the www.wineroad.com website.)

Smooth, rich nose; lush, ripe style with juicy Tuscan fruit; toasty, elegant fruit with silky vanilla oak; intense, balanced and complex with lush style.

Lush berry nose; smooth and rich with juicy berry fruit and also showing notes of vanilla oak and spice; balanced and ripe, long and elegant.

Smooth and juicy with generous plum and berry fruit; lush texture and rich, intense flavors with style and depth; long and balanced.

Dark and dense, smooth and rich; deep, intense and luscious; ripe blackberry and cherry; notes of licorice, toasted oak and spice; lovely texture and length.

Smooth and lush with juicy fruit and mature berries; rich, ripe and balanced, elegant and long.

Smooth and lush with juicy cassis and plum with toasty sweet oak; ripe and deep with density and rich flavors; balanced and long.

Juicy and bright with silky texture and lively, clean, juicy raspberry fruit; fresh and snappy, balanced and long.

Juicy and smooth with deep color and bright black cherry and spice; tangy and long.

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.

Smooth and spicy with juicy, tangy and racy cherry fruit; fresh and bright, long and balanced.