USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2015 Les Voisins Chardonnay gives up notes of lemon curd, grapefruit and white peaches with hints of honeyed toast and toasted almonds. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers plenty of citrus and stone fruit flavors with a lively line of freshness and a savory finish.

Copain's 2014 Chardonnay Tous Ensemble is soft, open-knit and gracious, all qualities that make it an excellent choice for drinking now and over the next year or two, while the orchard fruit and floral notes remain vibrant. This is a pretty, understated Chardonnay.

Spicy, floral, vanilla, tobacco leaf, black olive, peppery, cherry, cranberry aromas. Round, supple, dry, smooth palate with good concentration. Very spicy, clove, licorice, vanilla, meaty, tobacco, cranberry, cherry jam, carrot top, black olive flavours with a touch of orange peel on the finish. Good finesse and acidity, needs 3-5 years to fully integrate. Solid value from St. Émilion.

Starts off with vanilla and black cherry scents, with just a sprinkling of dried herbs. This blend of 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc is creamy and supple through the mocha-tinged midpalate, then finishes crisper than expected, with some dusty tannins. Drink 2008-2015.

Offers a fleshy, extracted feel, with steeped plum and blackberry fruit carried by loamy tannins. Tobacco and bittersweet cocoa notes fill in on the finish. Good underlying acidity should help this stretch out a bit more with modest cellaring.

Elegant, spicy, gamy notes jump from the glass of this medium dark ruby/purple-tinged effort. Pain grille, black currant, cherry and crushed rock characteristics along with prominent minerality are also found in this mid-weight, slightly tannic 2008. An excellent effort, it should drink well for 10-15 years.

Dusty and juicy with excellent structure and nice, edgy style; fresh and balanced.

Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Inviting aromas of black cherry goodness with a hint of sweet oak. Darker fruited in a mid weight styled wine with flavors of purple berries, blueberries, pomegranate and oak spice with a hint of edible flower. Soft and seamless on the palate with integrated tannins and a subtle herbal oak thread in the background.

Leaving finesse and nuance to others, but making a bold and deeply fruity statement instead, this ample wine trades heavily on ripeness and rich oak, but plenty of solid and slightly juicy black cherry fruit sits very comfortably at its heart and effortlessly stays the course even as youthful tannins emerge at the end. Three or four years of cellaring will provide it with marginally more polish, but its major message now is one of ready richness and amplitude, and we do not anticipate that its essential voice will be greatly changed with age.

The 2012 Pinot Noir is juicy, pliant and very pretty. Dark red stone fruits, cloves and new leather all flesh out in an ample, broad Pinot built on a core of forward fruit. The 2012 is endowed with quite a bit of richness and volume, not to mention considerable near-term appeal.

The generous plum and raspberry notes are delicate and spicy, with an aftertaste of wilted rose, snappy berry and red candy.

Bright full ruby. Musky crushed cassis, licorice and coffee bean on the nose. Surprisingly glycerol in the mouth for 2011, but also shows the peppery herbal side of the vintage. Ultimately softer than the two earlier vintages and probably best for drinking over the next seven or eight years. Silky in the middle but showing only moderate depth, with the tannins displaying a slight green edge. Production will be only 1,000 cases, or down about 75% from average. Cenyth is a project of Pierre Seillan's daughter Helene and the late Jess Jackson's daughter Julia under the Jackson Family Wines umbrella. Beginning with this vintage, they have reduced the percentage of new oak and the length of elevage; this wine was bottled in June of 2013. And the most recent vintages have featured a majority of cabernet franc.

Good medium ruby. Slightly porty tones to the aromas of black raspberry, coffee bean and flowers. Sweet and ripe in the mouth, with oaky flavors of black raspberry, blackberry, licorice, violet, tobacco and game. Finishes with big, dusty, broad tannins and a slight dryness.

Nicely ripened and abundantly fruity and never in any danger of succumbing to candied cuteness, this exceptional effort is a complete package that rises to the upper levels of its class on the strength of its focus, its balance and its all-around tastiness. Hopefully, it will encourage others in the area to have a go with variety.

The 2015 Pinot Noir Panorama Vineyard reveals attractive notes of sweet red berries, cinnamon stick, orange rind and potpourri. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, supple and open-knit, with melting tannins, adequate acidity and a sapid finish. Enjoy it over the next handful of years.

Bright but wild on the nose, this bottling, which is overseen by actress Drew Barrymore, shows raspberry, thyme, sagebrush, rhubarb and smoke aromas on the inviting nose. The palate offers light berry flavors alongside hickory smoke, proving refreshing if not too complex.

Dried red currants and cranberries meet with loamy soils on the nose of this block-designate bottling. Tangy red fruits and a hint of olive show on the palate, where the earthy minerality shines through the energetic acidity.

A big and gutsy Pinot Noir, this Carmel Road offering displays some earthiness and a generous amount of sweet, ripe fruit. Not surprisingly for a wine this big it also has a relatively high amount of alcohol (14.5%). Best to serve it with hefty dishes that likewise are big and bold -- lavishly seasoned and meaty lasagna, for example.

Fans of earthy Pinot Noir will love this vintage from Carmel Road's Panorama Vineyard. With a floral note on the nose, this wine quickly delves into the realm of earthy forest-floor aromas of damp forest and black tea. The earthiness tends to dominate the pretty fruit aromas of raspberry and cherry, though many Pinot enthusiasts would consider this a feature rather than a flaw. The finish shows a touch of wood spice. 89 points.

Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. Interesting aromatic complex featuring black cherry, blackberry, peppercorn and toast. A forward drinking wine offering flavors of black cherry, blueberry, black tea and spice with haunting oak in the background. A friendly wine with balanced tannins and a heady finish.

Lovely sweet cherry aromas and flavours along with chocolate notes from oak aging. Medium-bodied and smooth. The vineyards are located on the benchlands of the Arroyo Seco appellation in the cool climate region of Monterey, which benefit from morning fog. Silky finish. Pair with roast chicken.

Ruby-red. Mineral-accented red currant cherry on the nose, with complicating notes of Asian spiced and cinnamon. Dense but energetic, with tangy raspberry and blackberry fruit and floral flavors and silky tannins. Becomes firmer on the finish, which repeats the raspberry note and shows very good precision.

Medium ruby color; forward plum and herbal aromas; ripe, forward plum and cherry flavors with some herbal/oak notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Forward, fruity Pinot that will work well with a lot of food choices.

The underlying wine, before the winemaker put it into oak barrels, was delicious in tangerine and pineapple fruit, brightened with brilliantly crisp acidity and a fine, steely minerality. The oak, which is modest, adds a richer coating of buttered toast. A great price for Chardonnay this drinkable.

Vivid gold. Ripe melon and peach aromas are complemented by sweet butter, dried flowers and herbs. Showing a decadent quality but this is also surprisingly lively. Full-bodied honeydew and pit fruit flavors are subtly sweet and expansive, with a hint of candied ginger coming up on the back half. Finishes with serious punch and lingering smokiness.