The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall Vineyard, which sees 57% new French oak for 20 months, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with a deep, opaque purple color and notes of charcoal, créme de cassis, graphite and white chocolate. It is full-bodied, multilayered, very deep, impressive and long.

The 2013 Chardonnay Red Point is another small cuvée of 269 cases, showing plenty of apple butter, tangerine oil, citrus, delicate oak and full-bodied power. Most of these seem to be in the 14% natural alcohol range, giving them good glycerin and body.

An absolutely spectacular Merlot is the 2013 Merlot W.S. Keyes, a blend of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon. There are only 305 cases, but it is certainly one of the great Merlots of Napa Valley. Blackberry fruit interwoven with a hint of black cherry jam, licorice, camphor and charcoal are all present in this full-bodied, chocolaty, dense, super-sexy wine to drink over the next 10-15+ years.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard from the Sonoma Coast is a cuvée of 360 cases aged in 38% new French oak for 16 months prior to be bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is a magnificent Pinot, full-bodied, with notes of Asian spices as well as plum sauce, roasted meats, grilled herbs, earth and spice. Some blacker fruits and forest floor notes are also present in this distinctively Burgundian Côte de Nuits-like Pinot Noir. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

The Hartford Vineyard, in the backyard of the Hartford home, is another century-old planting of head-pruned Zinfandels, and their lowest yielding old-vines. Aged in 40% new oak for nine months prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered, the 2014 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard also shows great fruit, loads of black raspberries, black cherries, licorice, grilled herbs and a very Mediterranean full-bodied mouthfeel. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

The 2014 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes across like a grand cru Chevalier-Montrachet from France. Great minerality, loads of citrus oil, apple blossom, white peach and tangerine notes are all present in this wine aged in 35% new French oak. The wine has stunning concentration, a broad, savory palate, a full body and notes of tropical fruit emerge with further aging. This is another relatively small cuvée of about 12+ barrels of wine, or 310 cases. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Cougar Ridge seems similar to the Monolith, with an opaque purple color, a big, sweet kiss of cassis and blackberry, licorice, camphor and, again, wet rocks conveying its minerality. It is interesting that this is the wine that has the lowest percentage of new French oak its aged in, coming in at 31%.

Perhaps the most backward and hulking wine of the group – mirroring the personality of Jess Jackson’s son, Christopher, who is now in law school – is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher’s Vineyard from the highest elevation, 2,400 feet. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 21 months in 63% new French oak shows terrific concentration, a big, skyscraper-like mouthfeel, and loads of blackberry, cassis, white chocolate and wet rocks. This is a long-term proposition and a wine that probably has 25-40 years of aging potential built in. Forget it for 4-5 years.

Another stunner is the 2013 Chardonnay Broken Road, which exhibits peach, honeysuckle and orange marmalade notes and is made from mostly Dijon clones of Chardonnay.

The 2013 Merlot exhibits deep mulberry and black cherry fruit, chocolate, cocoa, a good bit of spice, a plump, fleshy, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and serious length. This blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Malbec is impressive, but sadly, there are only 373 cases.

The 2013 Merlot Howell Mountain is a blend of 91% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, aged in 80% new French oak. The wine is dense and exhibits loads of mocha, lead-pencil shavings, black cherry and Asian plum spices as well as some sauce-like characteristics in a full-bodied, opulent, very fleshy and dense style. This is stick-to-your-ribs, mouth-coating Merlot to drink over the next 12-15 years.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail comes from an Anderson Valley vineyard at a 1,600-foot elevation. Aged in 31% new French oak, this wine offers the cranberry, blueberry and traditional red fruits in an elegant, deep plum-colored wine with moderate tannin. As the wine sits in the glass, more raspberries seem to emerge. This is a cool-climate, high-elevation Pinot that’s just beautiful. Drink it over the next decade, as it’s somewhat restrained at present.

The 2014 Zinfandel Russian River (1,500 cases) is full-bodied, offering terrific black raspberry and black cherry fruit and peppery, earthy, meatiness. Very lush, with well-integrated wood, alcohol and acidity, this is a beauty with a sensational texture and length. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

The 2014 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is from a hillside vineyard in the very cool-climate Green Valley, not far from the little “hippie” town of Forestville. Aged in 38% new French oak, the wine offers a light gold color with a greenish hue, hints of tangerine oil, pineapple, white peach and citrus. This is rich, full-bodied and stunningly proportioned, and much like all the other Chardonnays, the oak is very subtle and nuanced. This is another tour de force in Chardonnay winemaking from winemaker Jeff Stewart.

The 2013 Pinot Noir MacLean Block comes from a vineyard east of the town of Occidental and saw 36% new French oak prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is from Dijon clone 667 and 777 from a relatively high-elevation site that needs plenty of time to ripen fully. About 30% whole-clusters were used in this wine, which is dense ruby/purple with loads of spice, damp earth, forest floor and mushrooms as well as raspberry and black cherry fruit. It should drink well for up to a decade.

The 2013 Proprietary Red Cenyth, which is 50% Cabernet Franc, 29% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec, offers a dense ruby/purple color, beautiful sweet, gentle tannins, and an elegant blackcurrant and black cherry-scented nose with some licorice and floral notes. It is medium to full-bodied, well-crafted, pure and supple-textured. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Bear Point, which is 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot aged 20 months in 47% new French oak, offers dense cassis fruit, crushed rock, a touch of barrique, charcoal and spice. It is full-bodied, rich and should age and drink well for at least 15+ years.

The 2013 Upper Barn, a vineyard that Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer made famous, spends 11 months in 49% new French oak and is fermented with indigenous yeasts. This is all Old Wente clone material, planted in 1982, so it’s among the older Chardonnay vineyards in Northern California. This wine always seems to have great acidity and loads of orange blossom, marmalade, honeysuckle and lemon blossom characteristics. The 2013 Upper Barn Vineyard (963 cases) is a beauty and certainly one of my favorites of this group.

Lastly, the 2013 Chardonnay Gravel Bench, the smallest cuvée at 188 cases, shows a greenish hue to its light straw color and loads of steely, wet pebbles in the mineral-laced aromatics. Some lemon oil, orange blossom and apple butter as well as poached pear notes also make an appearance in this beauty.

The best Syrah from Novy Family Wines in 2013 is the 2013 Syrah Susan's Hill. Coming from a tiny, windy spot in the Pisoni Vineyard, it offers gorgeous notes of cassis, toasted spice, licorice and savory herbs in a full-bodied, elegant, seamless package. I love its purity and balance, and it's incredibly easy to drink. It's a killer value to enjoy anytime over the coming 5-6 years.

Another terrific Syrah, the 2013 Syrah Garys' Vineyard offers rockin' notes of cassis, underbrush, creamy licorice, toasted spice and hints of bacon fat to go with a full-bodied, rounded, voluptuous and thrillingly textured feel on the palate. This is a full-flavored, sexy, yet distinctive Syrah that's guaranteed to put a smile on your face over the coming 5-7 years. At the price, it's a no brainer.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Malbec and Cabernet Franc, aged in 80% new French oak. Floral notes intermixed with blueberry and black raspberry fruit as well as blackcurrants jump from the glass of this wine, which has full body and terrific texture, purity and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain is the largest cuvée (2,675 cases) and a blend of all five Bordeaux varieties: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec. It’s a beauty. Opaque purple, with notes of licorice, charcoal, lead-pencil shavings, blackcurrants and spice, the wine is full-bodied, opulent, lavishly rich and pure, with sweet tannin and a long finish. This wine is approachable now, but promises to age beautifully for 20-25 years.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard, which comes from a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast (408 cases), shows lots of herbaceousness, Japanese green tea notes intermixed with cocoa, black cherries, pomegranate and a hint of earth. This is a spicy, distinctively herbal style of Pinot Noir that readers will either love or not. I did like it, because it offers such a contrast in style to the other Pinot Noirs from Don Hartford’s winery. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s Marshall Vineyard comes from a vineyard south of Sebastopol that sits right in the windy Petaluma Gap. Foresty, woodsy aromas intermingled with raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit jump from the glass of this wine, which is medium to full-bodied and shows terrific purity, texture and length. It is still tightly knit, as one might expect. Another 6-12 months of bottle age is probably suggested, and the wine should evolve easily for a decade or more.