Aromas of flowers and peaches, flavors of minerals, anise and tropical fruit.

2013 Galerie Wines Equitem Sauvignon Blanc, Knights Valley, Sonoma County (100 percent sauvignon blanc): cut grass aromas, crisp and lively, with flavors of lemons, grapefruit and minerals; $30.

From the same stable as the ubiquitous Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay – the wine that put California Chardonnay on the map, and seemingly in every wine drinker’s glass, in the 1990’s – this is KJ’s response to the growing demand for less oaked Chardonnay. And a very welcome addition it is too.

50% fills a 675l ceramic egg, foot-trodden and fermented on skins, remaining there for 120 days before pressing; the other 50% is pressed into a second ceramic egg and fermented off skins. The fresh varietal fruit is held in a distinct chalky/pithy embrace, the length and balance faultless. The fascinating question is how long it will live. 68 dozen made

Open-fermented, hand-plunged, 25% whole bunches, cold soak, wild yeast, on lees, 15 months in French oak (15% new), barrel selection. Bright colour introduces a wine that skips along a sunlit path, the black cherry fruit with flashes of chocolate, oak and tannins coming and going, here one moment, gone the next, then back again. 297 dozen made.

Hand-picked from the 1.4ha estate block, whole bunch basket-pressed, predominantly tank-fermented, then used French oak for 4 months, lees-stirred. In typical Yangarra fashion, it has captured the best bits of viognier, impressive to say the least, especially its fruit lift on the finish. 362 dozen made.

Whole bunch-fermented, basket-pressed, 30% fermented in large ceramic eggs (half on skins for 90 days), 60% used oak, 10% new French, 7 months barrel maturation and lees-stirred. Yellow-gold, it is a wine all about texture and structure that just happens to be white. 269 dozen made.

Winemaker Adam Lee goes big on this bottling from the vineyard planted by the two Garys (Pisoni and Franscioni), showing bacon fat, blackberries and graphite on the nose. Once sipped, it veers more tart, with cranberry and just-ripe raspberry picking up some complexity from thyme herbs.

Adam Lee takes hold of one of the appellation’s iconic vineyards and delivers clean, fresh aromas of mushrooms, raspberries, mocha and graphite. The palate shows soy, shiitake and more raspberry, an excellent study of the grape done in the Siduri style.

Deep purple fruits, black sage, big cherry and woody spices arise from this wine by Adam Lee, who recently sold to Jackson Family Wines but will remain in charge. The palate shows crushed clove and allspice, licorice, graphite and more dark fruit flavors.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana is fabulous. Notes of charcoal, graphite, blackberry and blueberry fruit, along with white flowers and crushed rock are all present in this fabulous, full-bodied, beautifully textured and expansive wine. It seems to have come into its plateau of full maturity, where it should last at least another two decades. I don't ever remember being this impressed with this particular cuvée, but it knocked me out at age ten.

An absolutely spectacular showing for Cardinale in 2005, their Proprietary Red is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that comes in at 14.7% natural alcohol. It is aged 20 months in 100% new French oak and bottled unfiltered by winemaker Chris Carpenter. He sources the fruit from Jackson Family vineyards such as the Veeder Peak Vineyard and the Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain and several other sites elsewhere in Napa. In that sense, it's a cross-Napa Valley blend. A beautiful nose of pure kirsch liqueur as well as crème de cassis jump from the glass of this opaque purple wine. The fabulous fragrance is followed by an equally compelling, full-bodied, opulently textured mouthfeel. The wine has incredible length of a good 45 seconds. It is voluptuously textured, gorgeously pure and fruity, and already strutting its stuff. It should continue to evolve for at least another 10-15 years.

The myth perpetrated by Old World wine proponents is that California wines don't age. Those critics need to taste Verité, because these wines are aging far slower than I imagined. The 2005 La Muse, a blend of 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Malbec, tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol and spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. Incredibly youthful, this wine has an opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of espresso roast, white chocolate, blackberry and cassis, with mocha and a touch of oak. The wine is full-bodied, with magnificent structure, texture and density. I could drink it now. That said, most consumers should give this wine another 3-4 years, and drink it over the following 30+ years.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain has an opaque purple color and fabulously intense notes of beef blood, crushed rocks, forest floor, crème de cassis, licorice, and a volcanic/charcoal/hot gravel character. This is terrific stuff. Full-bodied, with a majestic mouthfeel and finish, this is just a magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon from a vineyard on Diamond Mountain called Wallis. Only 667 cases were produced.