Bright gold. Fresh citrus fruits, fig and white flowers on the fragrant nose. Juicy and smooth in texture, with good heft to its candied orange and pear flavors. Finishes on a racy note, with good clarity and lingering spiciness.

The 2006 Chardonnay Sonoma, from a difficult year for this varietal, is nearly outstanding. This 100% barrel-fermented with 100% malolactic fermentation Chardonnay exhibits crisp acidity interwoven with notes of nectarines, orange blossoms, white currants, and lemon oil. Made in a Chablis-like style with no noticeable wood, this elegant 2006 should drink well for 2-3 years.

The 2005 Chardonnay Reserve Speciale is an elegant, almost Chablisian style of Chardonnay that has backed off some of the power and richness of other vintages. The wine displays lemon blossom, nectarine, and guava notes intermixed with some subtle wood and fresh acidity in a medium to full-bodied finish.

The 2005 Chardonnay Sonoma (6,500+ cases) is 100 percent barrel fermented with 100 percent malolactic fermentation, resulting in vivid honeyed lemon, apple blossom, white peach, and currant characteristics offered in a fresh, lively, medium-bodied format with good underlying acidity. Drink it over the next 1-3 years.

This red offers black currant, black cherry, herb and spice flavors draped across a frame of fine tannins. Balanced and lingering. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

Get Ready: The Super Italians Are Coming Shows plenty of beans, blackcurrants and spices. Medium body, intense acidity and a slightly short finish.

This dark ruby colored Merlot based wine from Italy is very good. It opens with a new leather, barnyard and cedar like bouquet with a hint of cardamom. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, smooth and juicy. The flavor profile is a cedar influenced red plum and flinty minerality blend with a touch of cranberry and pomegranate. The finish is rather dry with quickly disappearing dusty tannins. The Panel suggested pairing this wine is with a veal scaloppini or grilled pork. Very good.

Blueberries, flowers and hints of cedar on the nose. The palate shows firm and chewy tannins, fresh acidity and a clean finish. A little lean but likable.

This is pretty heavily wooded with vanilla and currant character and chewy, slightly drying tannins. Medium body. Dialing it back a little would make it a lot better. Drink or hold. 89 points.

Full ruby-red. Aromas of blackberry syrup, chocolate and game. Rich, sweet and fat, with briary black fruits complicated by mocha, leather and minerals. Denser and sweeter in the middle palate than the Jackson Park merlot but quite tannic on the lingering finish, with notes of briary berries, leather and game.

Bright medium ruby. Blackberry, cassis and violet aromas lifted by a peppery nuance; rather reduced. At once penetrating and pliant, with good intensity to the dark fruit and floral flavors. But I don't find the sweetness or breadth shown by a barrel sample a year ago. Finishes juicy and persistent, with firm but fine-grained tannins. Give this reduced wine plenty of aeration if you plan to serve it anytime soon.

A ripe and generous wine for the difficult 2016 vintage that is still fresh with a very attractive balance of juicy blueberries and soft tannins. Slightly rustic and herbal finish.

This Carménère from Alcance, a Chilean winery under the umbrella of the Jackson Family Wines Collection, is a good introduction to this grape. Carménère was formerly planted in Bordeaux but has fallen out of favor there because it is a late-ripening variety that often failed to reach maturity there. That's not a problem for it in Chile. This appealing example combines ripe red and black fruit flavors with the alluring herbal or leafy character inherent to the grape. Mild supple tannins allow for immediate enjoyment -- perhaps with grilled chicken -- while providing sufficient structure. Bright acidity keeps it interesting throughout a meal. For those averse to any leafy character in a wine, select a bottle of Alcance's Merlot, which delivers more obviously fruity character to pair with the aforementioned grilled chicken.

Deep ruby. Oak-spiced cherry and dark berries on the fragrant nose, joined by a building vanilla nuance. Plush and open-knit, offering juicy blackberry and cherry-vanilla flavors that tighten up on the back half. Finishes sweet, supple and broad; dusty tannins add grip to the oak-spiced fruit.

This 70-30 Grenache-Shiraz blend is full but very dry. Yangarra's first Rose has a strong core of minerality, dressed up with blackberry and raspberry fruit and a light orange-peel accent. Roses have reputations for being fun wines, and this one is too, but in this case, fun and serious aren't mutually exclusive.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2014 Grenache Old Vine has a tarry, tire-like, slightly reduced nose giving way to notes of warm cherries and red currants with hints of black earth and pepper sauce. Full-bodied with rich fruit and earthy flavors combined with a solid backbone, it is somewhat Mataro-like at this youthful stage, with some reassuring spices coming through on the finish.

This opaque and dark ruby colored Grenache from down under, opens with a fragrant and appealing boysenberry bouquet with a hint of black raspberry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and juicy. The flavor profile is a mineral infused blackberry with notes of black plum and boysenberry. I also detected hints of plum and strawberry. The finish is dry and its flavors and acidity are nicely prolonged. This Grenache would pair well with fresh fig and pork loin ragout. 89 points. Very good.

A great representative of Australian Grenache, with flavors of black fruit, road tar and raspberry liqueur fading to a palate of brambly fruit, all of which is couched in mocha and vanilla tones from toasty French oak. There's a bit of raspberry jam and a faint grip on the medium finish. Drink now.

Deep red. Raspberry, blackberry and candied cherry aromas are complimented by baking spices and dried flowers. Fleshy and broad, offering sweet black raspberry and cherry preserve flavors, soft tannins and a late note of anise. This is drinking very well right now, and the finish is seamless and sweet, if just a touch jammy. This will be a real crowd-pleaser.

Toasty, spicy character competes against ripe cherry fruit, bringing welcome tension to this earthy blend. The finish persists impressively. Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. Best after 2008.

This blend of grenache and shiraz with mourvedre is thick with black cherry flavor. An edge of tannin cuts the density, and brisk acidity cleans up the finish. For grilled lamb chops.

The old-vine designation will make more sense when you see how black and extracted the wine appears in the glass. Aromas are abyss-deep, with dust and black soil over dark fruit. The palate holds nothing but the purest blackberry, dressed up with some toast. Finishes with taut cherry. A solid, masculine wine.

South Australia: Part Two — Mostly McLaren Vale Yangarra's 2016 Shiraz spent a year in 25% new French oak, which is manifested as hints of pencil shavings joining dark plum and berry fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, with a sense of tension that's common to all the Yangarra wines, with svelte tannins and a crisp finish.

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Shiraz has a bit of a tarry / rubbery nose to begin, giving way to a baked black cherries and blueberry core with suggestions of cracked pepper and chargrill. Medium to full-bodied, it leads with a chewy structure on the palate with nice savory and spice elements complementing the ripe fruit, finishing long.