One of my favorites is the 2012 Chardonnay Upper Barn, which boasts remarkable intensity as well as lots of tropical fruit, a stony-like minerality, and a full-bodied, layered mouthfeel. This is a multi-dimensional, profound Chardonnay (as it often was when made by Helen Turley) from a vineyard planted with an Old Wente clone as well as the Hyde clone of Chardonnay. It should drink well for 5-6 years.

Made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec, the 2012 Le Desir should turn out to be one of the most explosively fragrant wines in this portfolio (primarily because of the significant Cabernet Franc in the blend). A sensational black/purple color is followed by gorgeous aromas of blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings, incense and camphor. With excellent concentration, a full-bodied mouthfeel and an amazingly long finish, it should be cellared for 5-7 years, and drunk over the following three decades.

The 2012 La Muse, a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec from Bennett Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Knights Valley, reveals wonderful sucrosity along with a sexy, up-front perfume of plums, graphite, licorice, Christmas fruitcake, kirsch, black currants and blackberries. This big, full-bodied, opulently-styled wine will probably be the easiest to drink early on, although it certainly needs at least 5 years in the bottle to reach its peak. It should keep for 25+ years.

The 2009 La Muse (86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec; 14.5% alcohol) is a blockbuster offering complex, intense notes of Asian plum sauce, figs, black currants, white chocolate and cedar. The wine reveals an extra level of texture and richness along with full body, an unctuous texture, and a super ripeness and richness that does not go over the top. The tannins are noticeable, but well-integrated as are the new oak and acidity. This big, backstrapping, Merlot-based wine is meant for long-term cellaring. Give it 4-5 more years in the bottle and enjoy it over the following 30 years.

The 2009 La Joie (14.5% natural alcohol, and a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec) boasts an opaque purple color along with abundant notes of wood spice, barbecued meat, new saddle leather, creme de cassis and forest floor. Rich, full-bodied and powerful with moderately high tannins, it needs to be forgotten for 5-7 years, and drunk over the following 25-30 years.

Nearly as good as the 2012 Chardonnay Upper Barn is the 2012 Chardonnay Gravel Bench, which exhibits lots of wet stone-like notes intermixed with Corton-Charlemagne-like honeyed citrus, quince and white peach characteristics, and a finish that lasts for 40+ seconds. This killer Chardonnay can be consumed over the next 6-7 years.

The 2012 La Joie, 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, comes primarily from the Jackson-owned Alexander Valley Mountain estate as well as higher elevation vineyards in Knights Valley. At 14.3% alcohol, it is the most powerful wine in this portfolio, revealing a masculine, muscular style with an inky/purple color and a big, sweet nose of licorice, unsmoked cigar tobacco, forest floor, blackberry, creme de cassis and toasty oak. This full-bodied, powerful effort is more structured and broodingly foreboding than La Muse. Forget it for 5-6 years and drink it over the following three decades.

The 2012 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes from a site located on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross. Like its siblings, it was fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled unfined and unfiltered after spending 15 months in one-third new oak. It’s alcohol is among the lowest at 14.1%. A blockbuster Chardonnay, it boasts intense aromas of mangoes, Mandarin oranges, pineapples and wet rocks along with noticeable minerality, full body, and stunning purity as well as symmetry. This is another great Chardonnay from proprietor Don Hartford and his winemaking team. Enjoy it over the next 5-7 years.

From a panoramic ridge top parcel west of the village of Occidental, the 2012 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard reveals the lowest alcohol at 14%. It possesses great balance, a burgeoning complexity, good freshness and lots of honeyed tropical fruits intermixed with notions of wet gravel, spice and oak. With fabulous fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a long finish, it should drink well for 6-7 years.

From the lowest elevation (1,000 feet) vineyard, the 2012 Chardonnay Bear Point reveals lots of orange and apricot marmalade, pineapple and honeysuckle notes along with wonderful acidity and a fresh, lively style. Enjoy it over the next 5-7 years.

The 2012 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard, a site that is half head-pruned and half on a high wire trellising system, sees more new French oak (52%), and achieved 15.5% natural alcohol. A dense ruby/purple color is followed by a rich, full-bodied wine displaying lots of boysenberry, black raspberry and cherry fruit intermixed with hints of incense and Asian spice. Supple tannins and a big, pedal-to-the-metal, juicy, succulent style suggest it will drink well for 5-6 years.

Equally powerful is the broodingly backward, foreboding, opaque purple-colored 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher’s, which comes from the highest elevation vineyard at 2,400 feet. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon spent 19 months in 70% new French oak. Another behemoth with a blue/black color, it possesses lots of creme de cassis, graphite, spring flower and new oak characteristics. This rich, full-bodied, muscular, powerful wine is oh, so backward, even in the forward, precocious 2011 vintage. Forget it for 5 years and drink it over the following 20 years.

The 2010 Cenyth is composed of 54% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol is 13.4% and the fruit was sourced from the same vineyards. Very Bordeaux-like (no doubt due to the lower alcohol profile), it offers up notes of red and black currants, cedarwood, spice box, vanillin, licorice, underbrush and unsmoked cigar tobacco. The wine reveals fine-grained tannins and beautiful density and richness. Compared to the 2009, which is a Medoc-like blend, the 2010 is more of a right bank St.-Emilion-styled wine.

The 2010 La Muse (14.4% alcohol) is a blend of 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the more soft, opulent, precocious wines I have tasted from this estate, it exhibits abundant notes of spicy oak, plum, Asian soy, new saddle leather, barrique, black cherries and black currants. Round and generous with considerable fat and succulence, it can be drunk in 2-3 years or cellared for 15-20.

The 2012 Chardonnay Cougar Ridge exhibits mineral-laced wet stones, tropical fruit such as pineapple and mango, and hints of white peaches and white currants. It should drink well for 5-6 years.

From high elevation estate vineyard blocks in the Alexander Valley, the 2012 Journey Chardonnay was 100% barrel-fermented and aged in barrel for 10 months prior to being bottled. A stunning effort, it boasts abundant notes of candy corn, white peaches, apricots and honeysuckle. Full-bodied, pure and loaded with fruit, with the wood component pushed to the background, this long, rich, authoritative Chardonnay should drink nicely for 4-5 years, possibly longer.

The late-released 2011 Chardonnay Nine Barrel is exactly what its name says – a selection made from the winery’s top nine barrels of Chardonnay. This stunning, light gold-colored 2011 offers complex, evolved aromas of white peach, pineapple, hazelnut and honeysuckle. It possesses terrific fruit intensity, medium to full body and well-integrated oak. Drink this beauty over the next 1-2 years.

The 2012 Chardonnay Stone Cote Vineyard (a block within the Durell Vineyard planted on gravelly riverbed soils) is 100% barrel-fermented and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Made from a combination of Old Wente clones and some of the newer Chardonnay clones, it exhibits a terrific wet rock/powdered stone-like minerality along with beautiful aromas of exotic fruits (mangoes and tangerines), great intensity, full body, terrific acidity, and 14.8% alcohol. This beautiful Burgundian-styled Chardonnay should be enjoyed over the next 7-8 years.

The 2009 Cenyth is a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec that achieved 14% alcohol, and was aged in 100% French oak for 15 months. Many 2009s are in the process of shutting down slightly, especially wines made from Bordeaux varietals. This wine shows sweet tannin and a more open knit personality, no doubt due to the 28% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by notes of licorice, incense, forest floor, mulberries, black cherries and black currants. Pierre Seillan believes that using four separate Sonoma County terroirs balances the wine beautifully, with high tannins from the mountain top vineyards and softer, silkier tannins from lower elevation sites. This full-bodied, attractive red is approachable, but should age effortlessly for 15-20 years.

A blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that came in at 14.1% alcohol, the 2010 Le Desir is soft and rich. As Pierre Seillan said, the huge heat wave at the end of September seems to have made the 2010 Verite wines more approachable and front end-loaded than usual. This effort displays lots of black currant and black cherry fruit along with hints of asphalt, incense and licorice. The tannins are ripe and well-integrated, and the wine is round, full-bodied and generous. It should drink well for 15-20 years.

Another big red is the 2009 Le Desir, a blend of 74% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. The densest, most tannic, and most forbiddingly backward of the 2009s, it exhibits an inky/purple color along with copious aromas of graphite, spring flowers, blackberries and blueberries as well as a crushed liqueur of chalk-like character, and a huge, multilayered and multi-dimensional finish that lasts nearly 50 seconds. It requires 4-5 more years in the cellar, and should keep for three decades. If you have not yet experienced the wines of Verite, they are true connoisseurs’ efforts that should be purchased by those with cold cellars and long lifelines.

The brilliant 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall, from a high elevation vineyard planted at 1,820 to 2,400 feet, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 19 months in 55% new French oak. There is not a hint of herbaceousness in this opaque purple-colored Cabernet. It exhibits notes of acacia flowers, blackberries, blueberries and a chalky, powdery minerality. Full-bodied with monster tannins, this massive Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be forgotten for 5-7 years and drunk over the following two plus decades. In that sense, it is atypical for a 2011.

The 2012 Chardonnay Broken Road, made from Dijon clones, is the most tropical of these Chardonnays, revealing lots of pineapple, mango and a hint of bananas. A wet rock-like component provides minerality. It should drink well for 4-6 years.