Good full ruby. Vibrant, brooding aromas of black cherry, dark berries and licorice. Bright and intensely flavored but very tightly wrapped and currant dominated by its structure. Shows a chewy texture but is currently hiding its density. Finishes with substiantial but broad tannins and very good persistence.

...reveals more acidity and smokiness, without the voluptuous fatness possessed by the 1998. It is certainly fine, with plenty of tropical fruit and nicely integrated wood.

It’s interesting that the most expensive Chardonnay in this portfolio was one of my least favorites. Although it’s an excellent wine, the 2012 Chardonnay Stature, which was aged in 100% French oak (55% new), exhibits a more caramelized, hazelnut marmalade character along with a more evolved style with lots of fat and succulent fruit. It seems slightly less fresh and vibrant compared to its siblings.

One of the richer, more exotic wines in the range, the 2012 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Seco Highlands shows many of the signatures of the Rued clone that is predominant here. Orange peel, tangerine. White truffles, white flowers and spices are all nicely textured in an oily, resonant wine endowed with considerable depth. There is a lot to like here.

Bright red cherry, cranberry, orange peel, cinnamon and sweet floral notes are all pushed forward in the 2014 Pinot Noir Marin County. Vibrant to the core, the 2014 is an ideal Pinot for drinking over the next few years, while the flavors retain their youthful energy. Veins of underlying salinity give the flavors a real acid-driven pop.

Game, smoke, tobacco, savory herbs and leather emerge from the 2013 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block. This is one of the wilder, more savory wines in the range. Slightly angular contours and incisive tannins give the MacLean's Block much of its distinctive personality.

Hartford's 2015 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard is a powerful, phenolic wine, and yet it is very much medium-bodied in structure. Floral and savory notes are front and center, while the fruit is more in the background, which is not unusual for this corner of Green Valley. The Three Jacks is quite nuanced in style, especially for the vintage.

Good bright red-ruby. Cherry, red currant and flowers on the nose. Supple on entry, then a bit youthfully clenched in the middle, showing good grip to the flavors of cassis, minerals, licorice and herbs. Not hugely rich or fleshy but has good structure. A tad dry and peppery on the finish. This wine was to have been bottled in April.

Complex nose and excellent tannins. The best wine from this Chateau in decades. Drink 2013-2020

...smells like blackberry liqueur. Deep, with sweet tannin, low acidity, and gobs of fruit, it is a sexy, seductive Syrah that should drink beautifully during its first decade of life.

Deep ruby. High-pitched red fruit and floral scents, along with hints of sassafras and rose. Silky and seamless on the palate, offering juicy raspberry and floral pastille flavors and a touch of anise. Dusty tannins frame the finish, which clings with good fruity tenacity.

Savory herbs, anise, fennel and nectarines inform the 2011 Chardonnay Seco Highlands. Exotic and beguiling, the Seco Highlands captures the essence of the Rued clone (predominant in this wine), which is known for its aromatic complexity. Bright saline notes support the expressive fruit. The barrel-fermented Seco Highlands Chardonnay is another immensely promising wine from Kendall-Jackson.

It was nearly impossible to judge the closed 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard. While unquestionably a very good wine, I was unable to determine if it was an exceptional effort because of the high tannin and unformed nature of what I tasted.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County The 2017 Pinot Blanc fermented 50% in neutral puncheons and 50% in concrete eggs (the first vintage the concrete has been used). It opens with a touch of rubbery reduction, giving way to poached pears, baked Golden Delicious apple, smoke, candle wax, dried flowers and tropical touches. Medium to full-bodied, it has a creamy texture and good core of savory fruits, with bright acidity to lift the long finish.

Bright ruby-red. Blackberry, kirsch, cassis, tropical dark chocolate and minerals on the nose. Smooth on entry, then juicy and penetrating, with strong acidity and mineral verve keeping the dark fruit flavors quite bound-up today. Finishes with strong, toothcoating tannins and impressive vinosity. This slightly inky, chewy wine needs seven or eight years of patience, but is there enough flesh and fruit to support a harmonious devolopment in bottle?

USA, California, Sonoma: 2017 Vintage – Part 2 The 2017 Pinot Noir Jolie, aged in 45% new French oak, has a medium ruby color and opens with a touch of tar and rubber, slowly giving way to smoked cranberries, black cherries, scorched earth, charcuterie and dried herbs with Angostura bitters accents. The palate is medium-bodied with a silken texture and good intensity of earthy red and black fruits, framed with well-woven freshness and grainy tannins, finishing on a red berry note. This needs a good decant. 460 cases produced.

Possesses less weight and depth than the 1999. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful sweetness upfront, but hard, austere tannin in the finish. There is a lot going on, but my instincts suggest the tannin level may be troublesome. Antici

More expensive, the 2019 Pinot Noir Signature Collection Julia's Vineyard is a tiny selection brought up all in new barrels. It has wonderful up-front raspberry and mulberry fruits as well as some spicy background oak, medium body, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's impressive and a step up over the base cuvée. I tasted two bottles of this, with one bottle showing some obtrusive, troubling oak. This note reflects the good bottle.

From Rutherford, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosche Vineyard was somewhat closed the day I tasted it. Its dense ruby/plum color is followed by notions of loamy soil, kirsch, herbs and spice box. The wine has some light tannin to shed and lacks the profound richness, intense and depth of the top 2007 Cabernet Sauvignons, but it should evolve for 12-15 years. Freemark Abbey continues to be a work in progress as proprietor Jess Jackson moves aggressively to get this estate back to its glory days of the late sixties and early to mid-seventies.

The 2007 Zinfandel Piffero Vineyard is more restrained aromatically, but it still reveals plenty of briery, uncomplicated, pure fruit. Medium-bodied, tart, and slightly shorter as well as more compact than its siblings, it will benefit from a few more years of bottle age (not something I normally recommend for Zinfandel). It should drink well for 6-7 years.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Chardonnay DuPratt Vineyard is soft and open-knit, with lovely mid-weight structure and fine balance. Dried flowers, lemon peel, almond and sage give the wine a slightly savory quality while some skin contact adds breadth. The 2017 was bottled about a month before this tasting and comes across as still emerging from that natural period of closure.

Deep ruby-red. Musky, very ripe aromas of roasted dark fruits, beefsteak tomato and maple syrup. Then almost surprisingly bright in the middle (this actually has a relatively low pH of 3.55 and high total acidity), with powerful chocolatey fruit and a strong tannic backbone. In fact, today the wine's big, sandy tannins cut off the fruit. Winemaker Seillan predicts that this extremely young wine will age for 50 years; it will certainly require six or eight of them to become more approachable. But subsequent vintages are more suave.

Deep ruby-red. Musky, very ripe aromas of roasted dark fruits, beefsteak tomato and maple syrup. Then almost surprisingly bright in the middle (this actually has a relatively low pH of 3.55 and high total acidity), with powerful chocolatey fruit and a strong tannic backbone. In fact, today the wine's big sandy tannins cut off the fruit. Winemaker Seillan predicts that this extremely young wine will age for 50 years; it will certainly require six or eight of them to become more approachable. But subsequent vintages are more suave.

More natural, layered taste, and elegance allied to considerable richness. The 1991 Cardinale should drink well for 15 or more years. The turnaround in quality of this winery's red wines is profoundly obvious when tasting the new vintages of the Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the proprietary wine called Cardinale.