The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is laced with the essence of graphite, cured meats, crème de cassis, smoke and licorice. Unctuous and deep, but with grippy Howell Mountain tannins underpinning the fruit, the 2014 has a lot going for it. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2014 for at least a few years. The Howell is a step up from some of the other wines in this range. All of the fruit for this wine came from Keyes.

A compelling, unique wine, the 2014 Merlot W.S. Keyes exudes depth, richness and concentration. The 2014 is more of a blend, as it includes 20% Cabernet Sauvignon from Keyes, which is one of the most distinctive sites on Howell Mountain. Crème de cassis, lavender and a host of deeply spiced notes infuse the unctuous, rich finish. Most of the Merlot is from the old-vines section of Keyes, while the Cabernet is from younger vines.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is the most reticent of these wines from Mt. Brave. Powerful, explosive and tightly wound, the Cabernet offers notable intensity and plenty of depth. Readers should expect to cellar the 2014 for at least a few years. This is one of the better relative values among the high end wines in the Jackson portfolio. Hints of lavender, espresso and bittersweet chocolate round out the nuanced finish.

Mt. Brave's 2014 Merlot is powerful, dense and explosive. In this vintage, the wine is 100% Merlot. Punchy and bold, with plenty of dark red/purplish fruit and supporting mountain tannin, the 2014 is impressive. Savory herbs, iron, smoke and cedar infuse the expressive finish. This is a structured, hillside Merlot that needs time in bottle .

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is an attractive, nuanced wine, with striking aromatics, silky tannins and mid-weight structure. Lifted and light on its feet, the 2014 is quite pretty today. The flavors are decidedly bright and floral, while the expression of fruit tends towards the redder end of the spectrum. This is one of the most finessed wines in this range. The Spring Mountain Cabernets is a blend of fruit from several sites.

La Jota's 2014 Merlot is vibrant and powerful, partly from the inclusion of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot in the blend. A spine of tannin and acidity shapes the wine nicely. Dark plum, cherry, spice, licorice and lavender flesh out in the glass. Unctuous and deep, but with tremendous depth and plenty of mountain character, the 2014 Merlot is a winner from La Jota.

Graphite, smoke, incense, lavender, plum and sweet French oak hit the palate in La Jota's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker Chris Carpenter has done a tremendous job in crafting a Cabernet that is both deeply expressive of Howell Mountain, but with enough sweetness in the tannins and overall juiciness to drink well with minimal cellaring.

Fresh and expressive, layered with blackberry, cherry, floral and savory spice flavors on an open-textured frame. Dances lightly as the finish lingers harmoniously.

This generously filled, very well-focused offering is a textbook expression of the richness, the fruity succulence and supple feel that have made the Napa Valley version the standard by which all others are measured, and it does so at a price that makes it one of the best buys to be had among collectable Cabernets. It fixes on ripe currants and cherries early on with accents of briar, dusty soil, dried herbs and root-beer-like sweetness all in tow. If far from hard and standoffish, it is a wine not to be wasted by hasty drinking, and it fully deserves five or six more years of age. GOOD VALUE

Nice enough on first sniff, but gradually opening and showing fine fruity depth and plenty of attractive highlights of caramel and crème brûlée to its dominant theme of fully ripe apples, this involving Chardonnay is fairly mouthfilling and well-structured at once. While it is not at all tight or constrained, neither is it in any way overblown, and it earns high marks for both richness and careful construction.

The 2014 Cabernet Franc, the first vintage off this property, is intriguing. Expressive Franc aromatics lead to a core of expressive dark cherry, cedar, licorice and sweet tobacco. Silky, gracious and medium in body, the 2014 is quite attractive today. This is only the second crop off these young vines that were once part of the Potel holdings Jackson Family Wines purchased a few years ago.

Lokoya's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain offers good immediacy, which makes it the most accessible of these 2014s. Medium in body, the 2014 is a bit light in structure and overall intensity. It will be interesting to see if the 2014 gains a bit more volume and body in its aging. Today, it is decidedly compact. Graphite, game, smoke and incense infuse the expressive finish. In 2014, the fruit for this wine came from what was formerly Wallis.

Not dramatically different than its year- younger sibling from the Rutherford district reviewed below, Freemark Abbey's very deep, many-layered 2012 version is, whether by virtue of vintage or its extra year in the bottle, not quite as extreme in its tannins and thus the slightly preferred of the two. That said, it is not a wine for hasty drinking and should be buried away in the cellar for at least another six to eight years, but, as is the case with its mate, its keeping comes without risk and the pieces are in place for a long and satisfying future.

Tangled in its tannins when first opened, this wine requires a day of air to take shape. The acidity hits the tannins with the spark of crushed stone, while flavors of tart plum and peach skin fill out the hard edges. Blended from 20 vineyards and five varieties (it’s 75 percent cabernet sauvignon, with merlot, franc, petit verdot and malbec), this needs bottle age to soften.

This wine is inky dark in color, potent in flavor and huge in structure. The aromas are like smoke, dried herbs, and blackberry, the flavors are concentrated in black currant, while the texture is saturated with fine tannins that make it almost chewy. This is full bodied, dry, and needs either time to mellow out or some juicy protein alongside.

Tangy grapefruit and gooseberry flavors make this new wine from Jackson Family Estates lively, fresh and palate-cleansing. It has medium body, good concentration and bracing acidity.

The 2014 Cabernet Franc is surprisingly open and radiant, with plenty of varietal aromatic and flavor nuance. Tobacco, sweet herbs, leather and mocha all add considerable shades of dimension. Ripe, sweet tannins give the 2014 much of its immediacy. I expect the 2014 will drink well pretty much upon release.

This deep and seriously solid look at the variety is definitely not one that impresses as having been made with early drinking in mind, yet, while it is decidedly hard and intemperate in its tannins, it is nothing less than a classic Cabernet in every other respect. It teams persistent, very well-defined blackcurrant fruit with lovely oak in kind and degree, and, even though taken over by sere astringency at the finish, that fruit somehow survives. We highly recommend eight to ten years of cellaring here and do so with full confidence that patience will be rewarded.

This is a dense yet dry wine, with a ripe blackberry jam aroma and flavor. Firm tannins give it pleasant grip; splashing it into a decanter will open it up.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair is a rich, juicy wine. Black cherry, violet, mocha, chocolate espresso and sweet spices are all pushed forward. Succulent and expressive, the 2014 will drink well pretty much upon release. The flavor profile is a bit sweet and oaky, but the wine's overall balance is impeccable. This is an especially juicy style that is sure to find many admirers, especially given its price point relative to most Napa Valley Cabernets.

The producer sources fruit among several appellations for this varietal wine, coaxing a wealth of full-bodied flavor and succulence into its mix of cedar, sage, black cherry and oak. The firm tannin profile provides a structured foundation.

Fermented in both stainless steel and a mixture of French and American barrels, then blended with 7% Sémillon, this wine impresses in grassy pea shoots and ripe peach. Tingling acidity provides stylistic freshness and a pleasant texture.

Less outgoing and not as well-endowed as its counterpart from the Nielson Vineyard, this mildly minerally effort is notably tighter in its fundamental architecture. It is firm and slightly fleshy with nary a hint of extra fat, and its penchant for leanness remains in play right to the end. It is a Chardonnay best saved for service with sundry lighter fish dishes rather than one to pour with richer, more fully flavored fare.

Graceful and perfumed, with notes of candied violet and gingerbread adding richness to the plum, cassis, fudge and black walnut liqueur flavors. Features dense, polished tannins and a long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2026. 238 cases made.

Charming and expressive, with floral black raspberry and licorice aromas and jammy, well-built flavors of smoky plum, grilled herb and cracked pepper.