Slightly more reserved than the Carlisle Vineyard, with a more coiled personality, is the 2013 Zinfandel Limerick Lane. This wine shows notes of charcoal, asphalt, pepper, black cherries, blackcurrants, meaty notes, a big spicy, earthy, herbal richness, multi-dimensional mouthfeel and sensational concentration, this wine is 100% Zinfandel and capable of lasting at least another decade.

An absolutely fabulous value is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa. This comes from multiple sources and there are 46,000+ cases of it. A stunning Cabernet Sauvignon and a classic example of Napa viticulture, this blend of 75.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, was aged just over two years in oak. Loads of sweet blackcurrant fruit, cocoa, a touch of toast, earth, and baking spice are all present in this wine that has terrific fruit on the attack and mid-palate, a full-bodied mouthfeel, no hard edges and a luscious, opulent, gorgeously pure style. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see it last longer. For old-time reader/subscribers, this might be the modern-day equivalent of the great 1974 Souverain Vintage Selection that I recommended back in the late 1970s and is still going strong today.

The 2013 Zinfandel Papera Ranch is slightly richer and more classic than the Russian River, from a vineyard planted in 1934. The wine is 97% Zinfandel and the rest mixed old-vine black varietals planted probably by the first or second generation of Italian immigrants. The wine has a deep ruby/plum color, a big sweet kiss of steak tartare, beef blood, blackcurrants, sweet cherries, baking spices, herbs and new saddle leather. It’s rich, ripe, full-bodied and opulent. This is a beauty to drink over the next 6-8 years.

A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mount Veeder AVA, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is a small cuvée of only 387 cases. It’s a beauty with blueberry, baking spices, sweet toast, white flowers, chocolate and tobacco leaf. Wonderfully majestic fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning purity and depth lead to a wine with tremendous opulence and magnetic appeal. Drink it over the next 20+ years.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged nearly 25 months in oak. The wine shows the floral/blueberry notes that often come from higher elevations on Spring Mountain. A nice hint of chocolate, toasty oak, bay leaf and spice box. It’s rich, layered, full-bodied and another beauty. This is also a fairly small cuvée of 335 cases, making it the smallest of any of these cuvées from winemaker Ted Edwards.

Offers notes of cigar box, roasted coffee, chicory, blackberry and wild berry, with touches of dried herb and cedar. Ends with firm, ripe tannins and good length.—2005 California Cabernet blind retrospective (September 2015). Drink now through 2022.

From high-elevation blocks once devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, this exceptionally crafted wine reveals a worthwhile trade-off, flavors celebratory in pear and peach. Fragrant and floral, it offers zesty acidity in Meyer-lemon form, finishing in lasting waves of more lemon.

Beautifully balanced and elegant, this is made by one of the winemakers at Cardinale and inspired by the Loire Valley. It offers equal parts fruit, weight and minerality, tasting of fresh-squeezed lime and wet stone, with a layering of viscous vanilla. Medium-sized in terms of texture, it dances on the palate, refreshing throughout.

A wine I haven’t seen before from Freemark Abbey is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford. This wine is a selection from their Bosché, Sycamore and Red Barn vineyards in Rutherford. This is a relatively small cuvée of just under 2,000 cases, but an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. Black olive tapenade, blackberry, black cherry, blackcurrants and licorice are all present in this full-bodied wine that also shows a touch of earth, a full-bodied mouthfeel, sweet tannin and a long finish. Interestingly, this is a blend of 83.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.3% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc aged just over 24 months in oak. It should drink well for 15-20 years.

The 2014 Chardonnay is a non-malolactic 100% Chardonnay that’s 45% barrel-fermented. The wine is sensational. There are nearly 10,000 cases of this wine, which shows loads of white peach, honeysuckle, green apple and melon notes in a distinctive, clean, steely Chablis-like style. There is some tropical fruit, such as pineapple, but the overall character is one of great acid, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and no real oak influence.

The 2013 Zinfandel Russian River is a blend from three renowned sites for Zinfandel - Limerick Lane, Carlisle and Papera. At $20.00 a bottle, it’s a steal. The wine shows loads of briary blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, Asian spice, incense, licorice and roasted herbs. It’s ripe, full-bodied, with terrific fruit intensity and purity. The acidity brings everything into focus and gives the wine a zesty, powerful mouthfeel. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

Concentrated in raspberry liqueur and balsamic tanginess, this is a juicy, soft and smooth wine, with plenty of structure and complexity. Blackberry coats the palate along with a savory tip of tobacco and black tea, components that linger on the finish

There is nothing petite about this wine. It shows an opaque red-black color, concentrated aromas full of blackberry and cedar, then flavors like pomegranate juice and blackberry jam, without being sweet. All this density and intensity will help it age. It will improve if allowed to age in a cool place until at least 2020.

Perfumy, this lusty Zin is also structured and juicy, offering plenty of jammy blackberry and cherry to keep a palate coming back for more. Powerfully built, it’ll stand up to chunks of meat very well.

This is a new line of label-driven wine meant to be adventurous and whimsical. Catchy label aside, the wine inside entirely delivers in well-integrated fruit and floral characteristics, showing the crispness of its stainless-steel fermentation. Tangy, it’s both tart and tropical, finishing focused and lean.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate (Alexander Valley) is terrific. A host of mocha, black cherry, gravel, smoke, dark raspberry jam and dark spices meld together in the glass. The 2013 is dark, imposing and structured, with fabulous depth and intensity. Gravel, smoke and game reappear on the back end.

An inviting hint of coconut water opens the bouquet of this wine, followed by lemon zest, lime and grapefruit. Oak makes an appearance on the palate, but with subtlety, finishing dry and refreshing with a lightness to the end.

From the famous single vineyard in Rutherford, the 2013 Merlot Bosché Vineyard (96.4% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon) has a slightly blacker fruit character, a rather classic notes of cedar wood, white chocolate, espresso bean, plum and blackcurrant fruit. It’s also tannic and at present seems more austere and backward. Interesting, there’s more extraction and density to this wine, but it’s not as charming as the less-expensive one. This probably just needs another 6-12 months of bottle time, and should age nicely for at least a decade or more.

Presents a rugged mix of road tar, crushed rock, graphite and cedary notes amid a core of dried dark berry fruit, ending with tobacco, underbrush and chalky limestone flavors. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2027.

A Bordeaux-like expression, reminiscent of Ausone, exhibiting a mix of gravelly, crushed rock earthiness, with dried herb, licorice, cedar and dusty, drying currant flavors. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Best from 2017 through 2028.

If chocolate-covered cherries could be liquefied, this wine is what they would taste like. It is delicious, fruity, soft in texture, maybe slightly sweet, and so easygoing and tempting that it’s hard to stop sipping. Note that it’s deceptively full in body.

Made from a selection of high-end vineyards otherwise sourced for single-vineyard wines, this is a stellar offering and a steal of a deal for the quality, a mix of funky, lightly spiced dark plum and black cherry that’s unfussy in its approach. Mouthcoating, it’ll please a wide range of palates and meals.

Concentrated in toasted marshmallow and juicy blackberry, this is a large, full-bodied wine marked by puckering tannins that still need time to resolve. Powerfully built, it’s big on flavor and intensity, with vanilla on the finish.

Cherry-vanilla and boysenberry jam combine around a ripe, lush and full-bodied wine, ideal for smoky, grilled foods. Smooth tannins make it enjoyable now and accessible to many palates, though be mindful of its power and intensity.

I tasted two Merlots from Freemark Abbey. The 2013 Merlot Napa, which comes from multiple sources, is their biggest cuvée (89.1% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec aged almost 16 months in oak). A deep ruby color, with notes of mocha, white chocolate, black cherry and dried herbs, the wine is medium-bodied, shows loads of supple, lush fruit, easygoing soft tannin and a round juiciness. Isn’t this exactly what buyers of Merlot are looking for? Drink it over the next 7-8 years.