Appealing, with zesty red currant, cedar and spiced herb flavors.

This cab has firm tannins and layered flavors, and you’ve got to applaud its range. It has notes of black cherry, mocha and nutmeg. Well integrated. Nice length.

(79 percent pinot gris, 9 percent roussanne, 4 percent grüner veltliner, 3 percent chardonnay, 3 percent viognier, 2 percent albariño: ripe and rich and intensely fruity, with floral aromas and tropical fruit flavors.

A full-bodied, well-rounded, buttery wine with lovely balancing acidity and citrus fruit notes. Ideal for roast chicken or seafood with cream sauces, as well as lobster in butter. The Chardonnay grapes for this Californian white wine are a regional blend from vineyards in the Russian River valley. Finishes with nuances of fresh golden apple, pear and crème brûlée. Pair with roast chicken.

This is a sleek pinot noir with concentrated Bing cherry fruit, coupled with crisp acid. A hint of mineral and white pepper in the mix. It's a smart pick. A standout.

Our Wine of the Week, La Crema 2013 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($25), is a lovely choice for celebrating Earth Day, as it has a pleasingly loamy foundation, an earthiness punctuated by flavors of allspice, cocoa, licorice root and good black tea. Above this foundation is a bright melody of acid, citrus zest, Queen Anne cherry, Bing cherry and a flourish of pomegranate, characteristics that begin in the wine’s bouquet and resolve on the palate. The wine is on the darker side of pinot noir, with a rich concentration of flavors and a lush mouthfeel, qualities that have become increasingly popular over the last decade or two. It is more velvety than satiny, attributes that can be key to successful pairings.

Yummy, intense, concentrated, velvet tannins, a steep backbone of acidity. Throw in the fruit - dark berries, dark chocolate, spice (inhale and the hairs in your nostrils twitch) - along with the vanilla and the infusion of French oak and you have a lovely mouthful. It's still tightly woven and has the stuffing to age a long time. It's a wine designed for a juicy beef tenderloin fillet or a marinated, grilled flank steak. It is sourced exclusively from Knights Valley as a single-vineyard wine. It's a Winery Exclusive.

This baby is packed with dark berried fruit and caresses the palate with soft, silky tannins. It was aged 17 months in 71 percent French oak and 29 percent American oak. It's sourced from Alden-Ellis Vineyard, which is a mountain estate at an elevation of almost 1,200 feet above the valley floor. The rocky soils stress the vines to create small, intense berries that make an intense, concentrated wine still young and tightly woven. Think black currant, blueberry preserves, violets and toast. Winemaker Dave Ready Jr. says it will age for years to come. It's one of the Winery Exclusive wines.

This Cab, also one of the Winery Exclusives, is produced off this single vineyard in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains. Winemaker Dave Ready Jr. calls it the most intense Cabernet in the portfolio. It's a pretty wine with silky tannins, concentrated flavors of cassis, blackberry and cherry with a hint of herbs. The smooth tannins make this wine accessible to drink early in its life but you can bet it's most age-worthy too. Food pairing? Ready says only a Porterhouse steak will do.

Really? Twenty-six dollars for this Alexander Valley Cab? Clear out space in your cellar. It's still young as can be, tightly wound, but the soft dusty tannins make it drinkable now. It's so deliciously dense, you can chew it. It's 100 percent Cabernet, packed with brooding deep blackberry fruit with black cherry, dark chocolate notes and a kiss of thyme and bay leaf. It's braced with sturdy acidity. Alcohol is 14.6 percent. It's aged 16 months in 72 percent French oak barrels, 28 percent American oak, 35 percent new. Winemaker Dave Ready Jr. calls it one of his tried and true favorites.

Dark and supple with rich blackberry and plum fruit; tangy, crisp and juicy with spice and depth; tangy, long and stylish.

Lush, dense and juicy with bright cassis, plum and soft herbs; clean, smooth and tangy; lively and balanced.

Smooth and lush with toasty oak and ripe pear; juicy and balanced with notes of spice, bright acidity and citrus.

Crisp and light and fruity, with aromas and flavors of red raspberries and cherries.

This spicy petite sirah is striking because of its range of flavors - blueberry, licorice and plum. The wine's snappy spice plays nice and doesn't overshadow the fruit. Lingering finish. Impressive.

Good or bad, vintage assessments for Napa cabernets tend to spill over onto the reputations of cabs from Sonoma County. But there are some good examples from Sonoma that are still available. For example, the 2011 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon ($35), which is a good buy, is bright and savory, with red fruit, notes of anise and olive, and drying tannins.

Medium-deep ruby color; deep berry and oak aromas; big, full berry flavors with oak and some earthy notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Big, deep Pinot that needs time to open up.

You could serve this alongside any other South Australian shiraz, at any price or prestige level, and it would either hold its own or better it, even allowing for style preferences. The Ironheart is a powerhouse. It's saturated with dark, inky fruit, is grainy and grunty, and for all its churn and wealth it's brilliant with balance. This is one for the deepest, darkest reaches of the cellar, to be forgotten for as long as you can hold out. The fact that it has herbal, spicy, coffeed notes pumping through its veins just compounds the attraction. In fact, for all that, it could even be argued that this wine has an elegance; or a ripped, muscular version thereof.

160 dozen made from the highest section of 1946 bush vine Grenache. No new oak. I like that they are making a statement about Grenache with the pricing. This is a seriously good wine from sniff to swallow. Great depth of fruit here (raspberry and sour cherry mainly), sweet spices and earth, dried roses, all manner of layered aromatic complexity. Medium bodied, again the flood of deep ripe fruit that's pure and fresh, rather than sweet or over-ripe. Acidity is firm, kind of like biting into fresh raspberry, and the tannin is pretty strict and dry, but gives the wine a forceful slaty texture and drives it along beautifully. Great wines have great length, and this is no exception. It's a remarkable wine.

This zin is vibrant. It has bright, concentrated fruit, coupled with crisp acidity. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, cherry, clove and cracked black pepper. A generous zin that manages to be balanced. A smart pick.

Light and lively, with aromas and flavors of ripe pears and cinnamon.

Light and crisp, with aromas and flavors of grapefruit and herbs, long finish.

A full-bodied, well-rounded, buttery wine with lovely balancing acidity and citrus fruit notes. Ideal for roast chicken or seafood with cream sauces, as well as lobster in butter. The Chardonnay grapes for this Californian white wine are a regional blend from vineyards in the Russian River valley. Finishes with nuances of fresh golden apple, pear and crème brûlée. Pair with roast chicken.

Full-throttle Californian Chardonnay from the heart of Napa Valley. This is such a well-known (and respected) winery. Aromas of toasty oak, pear and smoke. There's no secondary (malolactic) fermentation to preserve the fresh acidity which is nicely balancing. Primary fermentation took place in a combination of stainless steel and French oak barrels to lend creaminess. Only about 15% new French oak, the rest is second use to not add too much oak flavour. Pair with game meats and fowl.

A good sip for the money, this North Coast chardonnay is simple, balanced and tasty.