The oak is pretty strong on this Chardonnay, dominating the fruit with buttered toast and butterscotch flavors. Still, it has some fat, unctuous tropical fruit and pear flavors that are quite pleasant.

There are basic flavors of oranges, apples, pears and oak in this Chard. There’s also a sea-salt tang that makes it savory and suggests pairing with seafood.

Medium garnet-purple in color and intensely scented of kirsch and warm red currants with an alluring peppery undercurrent, plus suggestions of dried roses, cloves, garrigue and dusty earth the medium-bodied 2011 High Sands Grenache is still a little angular in the mouth at this youthful stage with chewy tannins and crisp acidity supporting the pronounced pepper and spice flavors. It finishes with excellent persistence. Drink it 2015 to 2022+.

The rare Zinfandel that favors structure and focus over bold flavors yet doesn't sacrifice a rich and zesty character. The aromas of wild berry, mineral and fresh fennel lead to flavors of boysenberry, white pepper and dried herb. Drink now through 2020.

Rich and supple, balanced by good structure, offering wild berry and spicy caramel aromas that lead to ripe and jammy cherry flavors, showing accents of dried herb and licorice. The tannins tighten up on the finish. Drink now through 2020.

Elegant, supple and well-structured, with raspberry and spice aromas and appealing cherry, tart blueberry and vanilla flavors, finishing with crisp minerality. Drink now through 2020

Offers distinctive fresh thyme and boysenberry aromas, with complex but slightly tight blueberry, spicy dried sage and mineral flavors. Finishes with ripe yet firm tannins. Best from 2015 through 2020.

Medium garnet-purple in color and redolent of warm black cherries and ripe black raspberries alongside nuances of black and white pepper and a touch of anise, the medium to full-bodied 2012 Grenache offers plenty of mouth-filling black and red berry preserves flavors, it has a good backbone of medium level, sandy tannins and a refreshing acid line before finishing long and peppery. Drink it now to 2018+.

A blend of 54% Grenache, 28% Shiraz,18% Mourvedre, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2012 GSM exudes a pretty perfume of red berry coulis and potpourri with hints of white pepper, cinnamon toast and violets. Medium to full-bodied with plenty of warm red berry flavors and complementary baking spice highlights, it is structured by medium level, rounded tannins and lively acid then finishes long. Drink it now to 2018+.

Offers a contrast of fleshy ripeness and firm, minerally tannins, with aromas of berry pie and spice leading to rich yet dense boysenberry, loam and caramel flavors. Drink now through 2020.

Mourvedre presents pronounced aromas of black plums, crushed blackberries and fertile soil with suggestions of tar, tree bark and rare beef. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a style defined by a firm structure and savory, earthy flavors. It finishes with very good length. Drink it now to 2018+.

Dark garnet, rich cherry, cedar, chocolate. Juicy, rich, cherry, plum, chocolate, long. Great acidity.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Small Pot Whole Bunch Shiraz presents aromas of blueberry compote, prunes and preserved black cherries with nuances of mocha, dried Provencal herbs and underbrush. Medium to full- bodied with muscular blackberry and earthy flavors, it has a firm structure of grainy tannins and balancing acid through the finish with excellent length. Drink it now to 2022+.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Small Pot Sand Block Shiraz is intensely fragrant of warm blackcurrants and blackberry pie with touches of chocolate, aniseed, lavender and wild thyme. Medium-bodied and endowed with loads of taut, youthful fruit, it has an age-worthy backbone of firm, grainy tannins and refreshing acid. It finishes with great length. Drink it now to 2022+.

A tropical chardonnay that's a steal for the quality. Floral, with notes of pineapple, herbs and spice. Well-integrated. Nice length. Well done.

Deep red/purple colour. The bouquet is dominated by toasty oak, the palate is rich, dense and fleshy with again lots of oak character and a firm oaky-tannic finish that lingers long. Rather straightforward flavour at this stage, but has potential. Good, but oaky, and the rich flavours linger on the finish.

There is nothing shy about this wine — it’s a bold, dry, fruity Merlot braced with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Malbec. You pick up the dark cherry, dark currant, ripe dark plum character right away. I love the little dance in the finish by the Cab Franc – dried cranberry and bell pepper. It’s a dark, brooding wine packed with smoke and spice off the mostly French barrels. It was aged 17 months in wood. Alcohol is 14.5 percent. It’s a satisfying mouthful — a wine to sip and enjoy with a charred steak, lamb chops or a hearty red pasta dish.

Cozy up to this robust, concentrated black beauty with a pan-fried steak or sauteed lamb chops. Swirl and savor the aromas of cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate, and cedar. In the mouth it has acidity and good tannic structure to balance the fruit. This wine was off a challenging cool, rainy vintage in California — a rarity. This unusual vintage created a Cabernet more in the style of France – rustic and tight.

Let this golden beauty sit in the glass a while to warm up and relax, and release the intense, rich aromas. This is a big wine with fruit that is enhanced by French oak — toasty wood that imparts texture in the mouth and gently infuses smoke and spice into the flavors. The wine has lush texture and a firm backbone of acidity. Aromas are green apple, pear, apricot and creme brulee. There is a spicy sweet note on the midpalate. It’s a wine to sip and study in the mouth. Grapes are off hillside vineyards in Monterey County and Santa Barbara County. It is handcrafted from the top 7 percent of all Kendall-Jackson wine lots. This is surely artisan winemaking.

An exotic, nuanced beauty, the 2010 La Muse offers up an exotic concoction of white truffle, cassis, cloves. Captivating and totally beguiling, the 2010 takes over all of the senses and never lets up. A rush of blue and black-hued fruit flows through to the enveloping, deeply resonant finish. The 2010 shuts down in the glass, so it is best left alone in bottle for a number of years. What a gorgeous wine this is, especially if readers can be patient.

Mocha, bittersweet chocolate, tobacco, menthol and savory herbs meld together in the 2010 Le Desir. Like all of the 2010s here, the Desir is going to need time to unwind and fully come together. There is wonderful definition in the flavors, along with vibrant structure and plenty of intensity. Savory herb and tobacco are some of the notes that inform the powerful finish. Like all of the 2010s, the fruit is a bit suppressed by the wine's imposing structure today. There is no shortage of personality, though. All the 2010 needs is time.

Graphite, plums, smoke, licorice and incense jump from the glass in the 2010 La Joie. Rich, sumptuous and beautifully layered, the 2010 captures the essence of the vintage. The fruit is intense and super-concentrated, but at the same time, there is plenty of vibrancy and sheer verve in the glass. The 2010 needs at least a few years in bottle for the Cabernet Sauvignon tannins to start softening.

Verité's 2012 Le Desir is huge and bombastic today. The 2012 has the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc of any of the three vintages in this tasting, which may be the reason it comes across as not fully put together at this stage. The aromatics are nowhere near expressive at this stage, instead, what stands out is the intensity and primary quality of the fruit, along with the wine's dense, full-bodied personality. Time is going to be of the essence with the 2012.

The 2012 La Muse is a bit darker, richer and more powerful than the 2011. Black cherries, plums, smoke, tobacco and earthiness meld together in a structured, intense wine that is going to need quite a bit of time to fully come together. Hints of chocolate and mocha inform the dark, imposing finish.

The 2012 La Joie presents a much racier, silkier expression of fruit, with fewer of the savory notes found in the 2011, but more overt fruit. Raspberry jam, wild flowers, mint and sweet spices flow through to the finish. The 2011 is a dark, masculine wine, while the 2012 is more feminine, sensual and red-toned. It will be interesting to taste the two vintages side by side in a decade. My hunch is that the 2012 will prove to be slightly less complex than its older sibling, but time will tell.