An attractive wine, the 2014 Merlot (Alexander Valley) is fresh, floral and nicely lifted, with good brightness to the red berry fruit. Drink this light to medium-bodied, refreshing Merlot over the next few years. This is an especially fragrant style. A little more depth of fruit would be nice though.

The producer sources fruit among several appellations for this varietal wine, coaxing a wealth of full-bodied flavor and succulence into its mix of cedar, sage, black cherry and oak. The firm tannin profile provides a structured foundation.

I tasted four separate Merlots from the great 2013 vintage for Bordeaux varieties. The 2013 Merlot Sonoma is their largest production cuvée of 11,500 cases. It is 98.5% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 27% new French oak. The wine is excellent, with notes of charcoal, chocolate, mocha, black cherries and plums, medium body, low acidity and soft, silky tannins. Drink it over the next 7-10 years.

The 2013 Merlot Alexander Valley is earthier, with more grip, tannin and less forward fruit and ripeness. This excellent wine, which is nearly all Merlot, has slightly higher potency at 15% natural alcohol and was aged in all French cooperage, 40% of it new. This wine should drink well for 12-15 years at the minimum.

Sleek and focused, with notes of red currant, cedar and herb.

Offers good structure and focus, with floral red currant and spicy brown tea aromas and flavors of cherry, cedar and dill. The tannins build toward the finish.

Opaque ruby. Spice-accented cherry and blueberry aromas are given depth by licorice and a tarry nuance. Energetic and precise but somewhat pinched in the mid-palate, offering bitter cherry and dark berry flavors and a touch of succulent herbs. A smoky note builds on a finish firmed by dusty tannins.

The 2011 Journey Proprietary Red is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. Like the Chardonnay, the fruit for this cuvee comes from a high elevation mountain vineyard block of the Alexander Valley estate. An elegant example of a Bordeaux-styled red wine, it exhibits notes of lead pencil shavings, red and black currants, loamy soil, damp earth and gravel. Medium-bodied with good depth and richness, this excellent red should drink well for 10-15 years.

The 2006 Merlot Jackson Park reveals slightly more concentration, depth, and structure. It should be even better with several more years of bottle age, and last for 10-12 years.

Made by Verite's brilliant Bordelais winemaker, Pierre Seillan, this 2001 Merlot Jackson Park Vineyard (100% Merlot) is a sexy, soft, fully mature wine offering up notes of roasted herbs, coffee beans, sweet mocha and black cherries. This sexy, dark plum/purple-colored effort also reveals hints of chocolate and espresso in its round personality. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years.

A ripe medley of fig, nectarine, vanilla and melted butter notes are highlighted by crisp acidity. The intensity lingers through the finish.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages Blended of 90.3% Sauvignon Blanc and 9.7% Sémillon, the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Alexander Valley is scented of ripe peaches, green apples and passion fruit with hints of dried herbs and struck flint. Medium-bodied with a racy line cutting through the intense tropical flavors, it finishes on a mineral note.

Broad, with orange zest and orange blossom highlights to the core of pear and peach notes. Effusively fruity and expressive, offering a juicy finish and touch of almond skin. Drink now. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 88 points. Very good.

Citrus and floral notes give the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc (Alexander Valley) its bright, crisp personality. This is the leanest and most taut of the four Sauvignon Blancs I tasted from Matanzas Creek.

Scented of grass, lemon peel, grapefruit and bell peppers with a waft of green apple skins, the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is medium-bodied, delivering crisp, clean flavors and a slight yeastiness on the finish.

Aromatic and distinctive, with a touch of green papaya and dried pineapple adding a tropical note to the core of citrus and dried chamomile flavors on the finish.

Fermented in both stainless steel and a mixture of French and American barrels, then blended with 7% Sémillon, this wine impresses in grassy pea shoots and ripe peach. Tingling acidity provides stylistic freshness and a pleasant texture.

The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc (Sonoma County) is fresh, vibrant and very pretty. Lemon peel, grapefruit, mint and white flowers are nicely delineated throughout in this brisk, vibrant Sauvignon Blanc. Best of all, the 2015 is a terrific value.

The largest Sauvignon Blanc cuvée is the 20,880 cases of the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma. Coming from all the estate vineyards, this wine is partially fermented in neutral oak and has a touch of Semillon and a clone of Sauvignon Blanc (Musqué) added for more flowery and exotic notes. The wine offers up light to medium body and pretty caramelized grapefruit and floral notes along with melons in the mouth. It is dry, crisp, zesty and ideal for drinking over the next several years.

The incisively grassy side of Sauvignon Blanc is on full display here, yet this vividly varietal effort is also filled with bright, very lively, slightly pineappley fruit, and its “greener” traits are never allowed to become its singular voice. The wine is medium-bodied and quite firmly balanced with a few ragged edges that need a little more time before being smoothed, and, if we like its chances to grow into better over the next two or three years, this one will drink nicely with meaty fish of all kind in the shorter term. GOOD VALUE

The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Helena Bench Knights Cross Vineyard, with nearly one-fifth of its component part the fragrant Musqué clone of Sauvignon Blanc, is my favorite by a slight margin. It is more exotic, showing white peach, honeysuckle, ripe grapefruit and tangerine notes in a perfumed, medium-bodied style. Drink it over the next two years.

Apricot fuzz and grapefruit burst first in this white, surrounded by handfuls of generously high-toned tangerine. The oak presence is minimal, providing texture without impeding flavor. Refreshing, the wine’s finish suggests thyme and lemon verbena. Under 10% Sémillon is also in the blend.

Journey's 2012 Sauvignon Blanc shows good intensity in its white stone fruits, sage and tomato leaf. This is a solid effort overall, but some rough edges remain. Frankly, I prefer the Matanzas Creek Sauvignons. The Journey is 90% Sauvignon and 10% Semillon.

Offers spicy pear and apple flavors on a medium body, with robust accents of lemon zest, grapefruit and nectarine. Spicy and juicy on the finish.

Shows a good hint of minerality to the lemon, grapefruit and green apple flavors, with spice and tobacco leaf details, followed by a mouthwatering finish.