Lots of upfront spicy and plummy flavors, turning elegant and refined. Finishes with a spicy richness and firm, supple tannins.

…is destined to last for two decades. The wine boasts an opaque purple color, and rich nose of minerals, black currants, and spicy oak. A dense, full-bodied powerhouse, with nicely integrated wood, acidity, and tannin, this firm Cabernet is loaded with extract and richness.

A complex, well structured, intensely flavored wine, with layer of currant, plum, black cherry and wild berry. Finishes with ripe, well-integrated tannins.

Generally speaking, when you see Alexander Valley on a bottle of cabernet, you think soft, fruity and easy to drink. Instead, this '95 has some real mountain fruit extract and flavor that demands aging. Ripe flavors of licorice and plum are framed by oak and very firm tannins. This Buckeye could use two to three years to soften into a lithe and supple wine, then pull out a bottle for a holiday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

The new-look 1991 exhibits a deep ruby/purple color, and a moderately intense bouquet of toast, black-cherries, and cassis. Flamboyantly rich, full-bodied, with fabulously juicy, succulent fruit, this hedonistic Cabernet should drink well for at least another decade. The Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is more typically Californian in proportions as it is a bigger, more blockbuster-styled wine.

Delicious, rich cassis and black currant. Proportional oak and integrated tannins. Perfectly balanced.

Vanilla and earth notes mingle with ripe plum and currants. Full-bodied and straight forward with flavor to spare.

This is a thick, chewy and full-bodied red that will appeal to a wide range of palates and budgets. Bright underlying red fruit enlivens the firm tannic structure and integrated oak, finishing soft and smooth on the palate.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is blended of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 21 months in 27% new French and 1% new American oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with compelling cassis, black cherries and warm plums scents with hints of bay leaves, Marmite toast and black olives. Medium to full-bodied, the palate gives mouth-filling black currant and plums flavors with a firm, grainy frame and loads of herbal sparks on the finish.

The 2017s From Sonoma A selection of top lots from Knights Valley, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve offers more dark fruits and cassis notes as well as hints of graphite and scorched earth. It’s a step up over the Vintner’s Reserve, is medium to full-bodied, has good concentration, and outstanding length. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is another terrific, entry-level wine from Kendall Jackson. Floral and lifted, the 2016 offers terrific Cabernet aromatics to match its mid-weight structure and overall feel. The 2016 is tasty, not to mention a superb value.

This is a large-production wine that spares no attention to detail or quality. Winemaker Randy Ullom created an expression of thick, rich, grippy power that’s available for an attractive price. Baked plum, clove, mountain sage and black cherry all figure into the mix, with a lasting touch of mocha on the lengthy finish.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is terrific. This is an especially pliant, fruity wine for Sonoma County, but the 2015 offers lovely fruit purity and plenty of near term appeal.

Gold Medal

This wine is made from a collection of vineyards dotted along mountainous ridge lines and benchlands, most of these spots along the Mayacamas Mountains. Winemaker Randy Ullom captures a classic character of dried sage, cedar and pencil shavings here, supporting the savory with bright acidity and a strong presence of tannin. This wine could stand more time in the bottle before enjoying; its youthful grip doesn't go without notice.

Showcasing several vineyards within the appellation, including Alden and Hawkeye, this is a rounded, approachable wine with quiet red and black fruit and leather notes. Balanced acidity gives the full-bodied, ripe fruit a lift.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate is a medium-bodied, textured, classic Alexander Valley Cabernet that offers plenty of darker fruits, scorched earth and a hint of vanilla. It has rock-solid purity of fruit, as well as impressive balance. The blend is almost 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (there’s 1.5% Petit Verdot), aged in 31% new French oak.

This classic Bordeaux blend, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon along with Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, has plenty of berry and cherry flavors. It is spiced with discreet touches of oak, and is satisfyingly long on the finish.

This affordable red succeeds in offering full-bodied dark cherry and black-currant flavors among an expansive palate of integrated oak and structured tannins. The finish is an extended mix of cinnamon, toast and chocolate tones.

The outstanding 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is another Sonoma bottling (32,886 cases). It is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest the usual suspects in the Bordeaux grape variety category. Dense ruby/purple, with a big, sweet kiss of crème de cassis, licorice, graphite and new wood, the wine is full-bodied, dense, rich, nicely textured and quite long. This wine will actually age nicely for a decade or more.

Weekend Wine Picks If sommeliers drank a little less Alsace and a little more K-J occasionally, a lot of wine lists would improve. This vintage was a cracker, and the wine simply sings at three years old. Look for a seamless mix of black fruit and cassis with a dollop of vanilla and mocha, all with some finesse. Ready to drink and perfectly suited to red meats. Back up the truck. Private wine shops only.

This crowd-pleasing Cabernet Sauvignon-based Bordeaux blend hails from the cool-climate, hillside vineyards of Sonoma County. Despite an ongoing drought, 2014 turned out to be a great vintage. Fruit forward with layers of dark fruit on the nose and aromas and flavours of ripe black cherries, blackberries and cassis on the palate. Subtle touch of spice. Good structure and balance, well integrated oak. Firm tannins starting to mellow. Closes in a long, lingering cedary finish. Perfectly released in time for summer BBQ, as it make a great companion to grilled meats.

Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Sonoma County, +331603 Vintages, $27.95: in time for the upcoming spring season and early BBQs -- this is a re-release of a popular selling red wine. It's sourced from Sonoma County (99%) and retails in the US at $24 USD. Black fruit all the way (black cherry, blackberry, black currant), 90% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc, rest is petit verdot, merlot, and malbec – which makes it a Bordeaux-styled wine. 13.5% ABV, aged 10 months in French and US oak (86% of total production) plus balance in stainless for freshness. And there's some mocha nuances for the millennials to pick out and go wild over. I last tasted this in May 2017; here, it has picked up a few non-fruit tones such as leather and tobacco leaf, even some "smoke". All of which is a good thing for the evolution and maturing of wines.

Swaths of tannin, along with a classic Knights Valley flavor profile, shape the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge. Graphite, gravel, smoke, game, herbs and cured meats wrap around a core of intense dark fruit. Big, searing tannins reappear on the finish. This is an especially virile style. Then again, its Knights Valley.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Napa Mountain emerges from vineyards on Mt. Veeder. Powerful and tannic, with plenty of Veeder character, the 2014 has plenty going for it. The flavors are dark, while the tannins are forbidding. Bittersweet chocolate, spice and menthol are some of the many notes that add complexity.