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.

The 2014 Merlot is 90% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot aged in 76% new French oak. Carpenter told me that this wine emerges from a micro-terroir within the vineyard that has traditionally underperformed, but due to draconian crop-pruning and tiny yields, it has turned out to be a “rock star” in 2014. Dense purple, with a big, sweet kiss of mulberry, chocolate, mocha and coffee, the wine is luscious, fleshy, dramatic and even flamboyant, with fabulous fruit on the attack and mid-palate, silky tannin and a plush, layered mouthfeel. It is already drinking beautifully (as most 2014s are) and will continue to evolve nicely for another 12-15+ years.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s is from a vineyard in the so-called Petaluma Wind Gap. This is from the Swiss 123 selection that is known as Wadenswil in Oregon. Very fragrant Volnay-like aromatics of strawberries and cherries are gently touched by some toasty oak. In the mouth, more apple notes emerge from this elegant, dark ruby, medium-bodied Pinot Noir, which seems destined to be consumed over the next 4-6 years.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Fog Dance Vineyard comes from Dijon clones 115, 667 and 777 grown in another cold, windy area in the Green Valley, south of the old hippie town of Forestville. Soft, spicy, tart red cherries in addition to some plum, Asian spice, and forest floor are all present in this luscious, sexy, complex wine that offers up loads of fragrance, medium to full body and a heady finish. Drink it over the next 7-10 years.

The 2014 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon called Pleinair is a blend of 95.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It is aged 20 months in 58% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This wine has a similarity to a top-flight St.-Julien from Bordeaux. Loads of Christmas fruitcake, cedar wood, tobacco leaf, black currants and spice box all jump from the glass and from the flavors of this round, juicy, medium to full-bodied wine with silky tannins. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain was aged 26 months in French oak and displays a dense purple color and much more suppleness than the Mt. Veeder or Rutherford offerings. The wine has loads of blueberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with white flowers, cocoa and a hint of underbrush. It is dense, full-bodied, chewy and very well-made. Drink it over the next 25 years.

The 2015 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard comes from four separate clonal selections – old Wente, Rued, Dijon 95, and a clone called 15. This is a beautiful, fat, almost premier cru Meursault-like wine with its hazelnuts, smoked almonds, white peach, honeysuckle and waxy, fleshy fruit. This rich, full-bodied wine is very impressive. Drink it now-2024.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Freemark Abbey’s generic bottling from Napa, is a brilliant example, and at $50, a heck of a value. It is also one of their larger cuvées at 24,332 cases. A blend of 75.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.9% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, this wine spent nearly 26 months in oak. Opaque purple in color, it exhibits beautiful blackberry and blackcurrant fruit with hints of white chocolate, allspice and tobacco leaf. It is rich, full-bodied, seriously concentrated, and has 2013's relatively serious structure and tannic clout. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Bear Point saw 50% new French oak for 21 months prior to being bottled. This wine has a dense bluish purple color and notes of blackberries, blueberries, incense, asphalt and white flowers. It is full-bodied, moderately tannic, and should benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age. It should keep 25-30 or more years.

Another big, structured, classic 2013 is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Monolith. Coming from a vineyard at 1,750 feet in elevation, this is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot., aged 20 months in 55% new French oak. This vineyard is one of the oldest blocks on the mountain, and the wine has great intensity, some chocolate, crushed rock and crème de cassis as well as plenty of earth and unsmoked tobacco notes. It is dense, full-bodied and moderately tannic. Drink it between 2020 and 2045.

The 2014 Stonestreet Estate Chardonnay is superb, with plenty of white peach and poached pear notes, beautiful purity, a lusty, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, subtle French oak, and terrific fruit and honeysuckle. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

The brilliant 2014 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard comes from a Zinfandel-dominated, old vine vineyard. With notes of licorice, incense, black raspberry and black cherry fruit, the wine also offers hints of pepper and roasted meats, but loads of fruit in a full-bodied, opulent, exciting and consumer-friendly style. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

The 2015 Chardonnay, which comes from the Matanzas Creek and Alexander Valley estate vineyards, is primarily from the fragrant Musqué clone and the rest Wente. Aged 50% in new French oak and fermented with indigenous yeast, it spent only ten months in barrel prior to being bottled. Offering notes of honeysuckle, poached pear, peach and some lemon custard, this wine is delicate yet intense, medium to full-bodied, layered, pure and authoritative. Drink it over the next 5-6 years.

Another big-time winner is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge from Knights Valley. This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 60% new French cooperage for 21 months prior to bottling. The wine has a deep purple color and a beautiful nose of blueberry and blackberry fruit along with some lead pencil shavings and spring flowers. It hits the palate with a thunderous impact of fruit, glycerin and some heady alcohol. With a rich, lush finish, the wine is long and impressive. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.

An outstanding effort is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 21 months primarily in French oak, of which 46% was new. An opaque ruby/purple color, terrific crème de cassis, licorice and forest floor notes are followed by hints of barrique, loamy soil, blackcurrants and blackberries. It is full-bodied, opulent, and already showing secondary nuances. This wine should evolve gorgeously for another 10-15 years.

Hartford Court’s Pinot Noirs are also extremely successful, and of course, they make a bevy of them. I tasted eleven separate selections, all of them priced between $50 and $75 a bottle with the exception of the Arrendell, which comes from the oldest vines of the whole batch and sells for $110. The 2014 Pinot Noir Marin emerges from that wealthy county on the western side of the Golden Gate Bridge, where few vineyards are located. Aged 17 months in 37% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, this comes from Dijon clone 828 and offers up the classic Burgundian notes of forest floor, pomegranate, plum, and smoky black cherries and strawberries. A Côte de Nuits-like Pinot Noir that is medium-bodied, but beautifully fruited and savory, it should be drunk it over the next 7-8 years.

The 2015 Cenyth is a slightly richer, thicker style of wine because of the vintage, but the acids are essentially the same, it’s just that the small crop and tiny berries seem to have given the wine more glycerin and textural impact than usual. This wine is dense ruby/purple and offers up forest floor, dark raspberry and spring flower garden notes. It is an exciting, elegant style of wine to drink over the next 12-15 years.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 27 months in French oak. This wine has huge tannins, big structure, and a muscular character. Plenty of white chocolate, blackcurrant, unsmoked cigar tobacco and mulberry are all present in this big, muscular, powerful wine that is built for the long-term. Don’t touch it for another 5-7 years, and drink it over the following 30 years.

A super premium Chardonnay from Western Cape? Just another facet of the brave new RSA. Jackson Family Estates has brought on winemaker Graham Weerts and old vine whisperer Rosa Kruger for this age-worthy wine. Grapes were sourced from three vineyards ranging from 175-750m in altitude: Stellenbosch (12-15 year old vines on rich clay); Overberg (28 year old vines on granite); Robertson (ten year old vines on limestone). One year in French oak (55 percent new) and regular battonage has yielded a generous, rich, creamy white with perfumed vanilla pear, red apple, bosc pear and stony spice, spread upon a solid wood framework. Settling into its thoroughbred stature now, and will continue to do so over the next few years. 1000 cases made

The serious Cabernet Sauvignons start with the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Smothers Remick Ridge Vineyard, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 56% new French oak. This wine exhibits classic crème de cassis, cedar wood, Christmas fruitcake and spice box notes, loads of new saddle leather, blackcurrants and blackberries on the palate, a full-bodied constitution, and light to moderate tannin in the finish. It will be better in 3-4 years and certainly keep for two decades or more.

The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc Aurora Point Vineyard was fermented in used oak with some indigenous yeast fermentation. It is a crisp, elegant, nicely textured Sauvignon Blanc moving toward the viscosity and texture of a good Chardonnay, with ripe, honeyed grapefruit and citrus blossom. Delicious, medium-bodied but intense, this is a beauty to drink over the next few years.

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.

I tasted four separate Merlots from the great 2013 vintage for Bordeaux varieties. The 2013 Merlot Jackson Park (in Bennett Valley) is made from the Petrus clone of Merlot grown on clay and gravel soils. Dense and medium to full-bodied, it offers up notes of mocha, kirsch, black raspberry and blacker fruits as it hits the palate. A big wine at 14.5% natural alcohol, it exhibits moderate tannins and was aged in all French oak, of which 26% was new. The tannins suggest this wine would benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, then would appear to have at least two decades of aging potential. It is a big, promising wine with a relatively high ceiling, so don’t ignore it.

The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc spent most of its time in concrete eggs and neutral oak puncheons. This wine is a beauty – elegant, with crushed rock, citrus oil, lemon blossom, and touches of honeysuckle and white peach. It has the texture of a Chardonnay, but the crisp acidity, minerality and citrus components one would expect in a Sauvignon Blanc. Drink it over the next 2-3 years.

The most expensive Chardonnay is the 2014 Stature, which comes entirely from Santa Barbara. It is 100% barrel-fermented, with the lees stirred twice a month, and spends 12 months in oak prior to being bottled. This is a California dead-ringer for a full-bodied, ripe Bâtard-Montrachet from France. Notes of honeysuckle, unbuttered popcorn, crushed rock, and white peach and pear are all present in this full-bodied, wonderfully layered and rich Chardonnay. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.