Cabernet Franc has always done well on Howell Mountain and La Jota's 2012 Cabernet Franc (100% Cabernet Franc aged in 80% new French oak) exhibits attractive notes of forest floor, brambleberries, truffles, licorice and blue and black fruits. Medium-bodied and dense, with terrific fruit intensity, lots of glycerin, but no sense of heaviness or astringency, it should drink well for a decade.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair spent 18 months in 58% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This elegant, stylish Cabernet Sauvignon, created from four different sources in Napa, exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as textured, blueberry, red and blackcurrant fruit, cedarwood and background toast, and a medium to full-bodied, plush style. There are 1,100 cases of this beauty that sells at a realistic price. Drink it over the next decade or more.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Latro from Knight's Valley exhibits a more opaque purple color as well as more meaty characteristics intermixed with blackberry and cassis fruit. This unfined and unfiltered 100% Cabernet Sauvignon spent 19 months in 50% new French oak. Coffee bean, lead pencil shavings, chocolate, forest floor, underbrush and blackcurrant notes emerge from this medium to full-bodied, plump, supple Cabernet. Consume it now and over the next 10-15 years.

Interestingly, I did not taste the 2012s, but the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard is an outstanding wine offering notes of crushed rocks, graphite, blueberries and blackcurrants. With lots of tannin as well as surprising density and richness, it is a successful 2011 that requires 3-4 years of cellaring. It should keep for 15 or more years.

Light and silky, with a nose of raspberry and cherry, hinting at green peppercorn on the deftly taut finish.

There are 1,800 cases of this new cuvee from Kendall-Jackson winemaker, Laura Diaz-Munoz, who hails from Madrid, Spain. Created from 100% Sauvignon Blanc from several Napa vineyards (Pope Valley and St. Helena), it was aged sur-lie in neutral French oak (50%) and 50% in stainless steel. Crisp and elegant with lots of floral, melon, wet rock and caramelized citrus notes, this terrific dry, fresh, medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc is best drunk over the next several years.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard comes from a vineyard at the end of Bella Oaks Lane. A blend of 83.1% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot aged 27 months in barrel, only 43% new oak was utilized for this cuvée. An excellent 2011, it possesses a deep ruby/purple color along with notes of cedarwood, baking spices, Christmas fruitcake and red as well as blackcurrants. Enjoy this medium-bodied 2011 over the next decade.

The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Naissance (2,500 cases) is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, half of which is aged sur-lie in neutral French oak and half in stainless steel barrels. Aromas of honeyed melons, grapefruit and citrus emerge from this medium-bodied, fresh, lively, intriguing, delicious dry Sauvignon Blanc. It should drink nicely for 2-3 years.

The just-released 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard (2,000 cases) will undoubtedly suffer in comparison to the 2012 (which I have not tasted). The 2011 is a well-made, more angular style of wine than the 2012s, revealing notes of cedarwood, spicy oak, black cherries and blackcurrants. Made in a medium-bodied, palatable, drinking style, it should be consumed over the next decade.

Another project overseen by the Jackson Family's brilliant winemaker, Chris Carpenter, Mt. Brave has fashioned a straightforward, lush, rich 2012 Merlot offering notes of underbrush, mocha, black cherries and dark fruits. This 100% Merlot, aged in two-thirds new French oak, is soft, round, easygoing, and best drunk over the next 5-7 years.

Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, 16% of the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Equitem was fermented in new and old French oak pungeons, and the rest split between neutral French oak and stainless steel. This is a steely, Bordeaux-styled Sauvignon offering notes of grapefruit, lemon and lime blossom, a hint of licorice and attractive minerality underlying the medium-bodied flavors. Drink this dry, crisp, zesty white over the next several years.

A pleasant quaff, with easygoing flavors of ripe cherry, sweet toasty oak and spice. Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignane.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder is as compelling a Cabernet Sauvignon as one could ever hope to taste. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a high-elevation site boasts an inky/purple color, and smells of ink, blueberry liqueur, blackberries, black raspberries, mulberries, licorice, charcoal and camphor. With magnificent fruit richness, a layered, full-bodied mouthfeel, and incredible length, this seamlessly constructed 2012 should provide immense pleasure for 25+ years. Kudos to winemaker Chris Carpenter as he is clearly at the top of his game.

This new release of Homefront Red leans to Zinfandel filled out with Merlot, Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. It has depth of flavor, nice complexity, firm acidity and soft tannins. It dances with berry flavors, spice and dark chocolate — dry but still approachable for even novice wine enthusiasts. Set this bottle on the table and you will make a statement.

Perfect Bordeaux copy, perhaps because it's made by the daughter of a renowned Bordelais winemaker? California fruit, French breeding.

This Sonoma County producer does everything with class, including chardonnay. Using grapes from Alexander Valley, this savory chardonnay has a broad palate and good balance. Citrus and peach-pear flavors dominate with a nice mineral thread to give it distinction.

Dependable, consistent and predictable, this workhorse Cabernet is true to its consumer base who look for the same signature each year. Smooth, full-bodied with mocha and dark chocolate from oak aging.

Floral aromas, flavors of ripe peaches and oranges.

Toasty oak, aromas of pink grapefruit and mango, lush.

Dark color, aromas of red raspberries, flavors of black plums, full body, ripe tannins.

Hard to find good pinot at this price, but here it is: buoyant red fruit, soft tannin and juicy texture.

Dense, ripe and juicy with notes of earth, spice and plum; intense and complex, layered and rich with tangy, vivid style. Give it time.

Silky and toasty with bright plum and soft herbs; dense, stylish and balanced; long and generous.

Matanzas has always done right by Sauvignon, even before the grape variety gained popularity with the discovery of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc a generation ago. There are elements of this Sauvignon -- pungent grapefruit, fresh acidity -- that those fond of New Zealand Sauvignon will identify with, but there's also a whiff of peach and fig that is more typical of Bordeaux, a citrus and herbal notes that are more common in France's Loire Valley. In other words, it's a complex Sauvignon, delicious and what we've come to expect from Matanzas down through the years.

A big-shouldered pinot, yet poised; gobs of fruit, many grace notes of herbs and flowers; big in tannin but also generously acidic.