A keen bite of acidity works in this flashy Chard’s favor, balancing the richness and giving the finish life and zest. It’s tremendous in tropical fruit, peach jam, honey and buttered toast flavors. A fancy, impressive wine for drinking now.

With a heady bouquet of berry and peppery spice, new Edmeades winemaker Ben Salazar is showing great talent with Mendocino Zinfandel, producing a fairly large-scale bottling full of intense spice and soft tannins. Graham crackers and oak play gingerly in the background. This is a wonderful wine and a new beginning for Edmeades.

There’s a mellow, honeyed richness to this Chardonnay, with apricot, orange, mango and vanilla flavors making it especially tasty. It’s a flamboyant, complex wine at a great price, and easy to find, with 84,000 cases produced.

With sweetly ripe pineapple, tangerine and mango fruit, this Chard is brightened by a squirt of lemony acidity. It’s very fine, but seems a little less defined and complex than Stonestreet’s other new Chards. Don’t drink it too cold.

This wine's black tannins provide weight and grip, yielding scents of tea leaf and black olives. Its bitter edge will benefit from a braise.

Lots of exotic tropical papayas and guavas in this soft, honeyed Chard. It’s rich and creamy, yet shows enough acidity to lend it balance. Great to drink with lobster, crab, scallops.

New Zealand-like in style, with brisk acidity highlighting gooseberry, spearmint and Meyer lemon flavors. Elegant and clean for drinking now, especially with Asian fare.

Rich and opulent, with the Sémillon adding depth and roundness to Sauvignon’s lemon, lime and floral notes. Tastes like there’s some residual sugar in the finish, but balanced with zesty acidity.

A blend of merlot (64 percent) with cabernet sauvignon (29) and petit verdot, this is soft and casual. The structure has been polished to a milk-chocolate richness though the flavors remain fresh, with scents of plum and woodsy pine.

The black raspberry flavor of this wine cuts through the thickness of its texture, saturated, almost unctuous in its weight. The flavors suggest that the wine could transform in the company of a rich, beefy braise.

K-J’s basic Cab has gotten pricier over the years, but quality has kept up. This wine still offers excellent value. It’s elegant in construction, with tailored tannins and acids and fine flavors of blackberries and currants that lead to a spicy finish.

Here’s a rich, flashy Chardonnay. It has a fat, butter-and-cream mouthfeel, with waves of pineapple tart, lemon meringue, buttered toast and honey flavors that finish soft and lush.

Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel, this blend is stylishly dry and smoothly balanced. It offers upfront blackberry, cherry, cassis, chocolate and licorice flavors for drinking now.

This wine, from the Green Valley subsection of the Russian River Valley appellation, showcases the dark-fruit character of pinot noir from this region, with Bing cherry and black berry flavors. Monument/Republic National: Available in the District at Calvert Woodley, Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Harry’s Reserve Fine Wine & Spirits, Pearson’s, Wagshal’s Deli, Whole Foods Market (P Street); on the list at Marcel’s. Available in Maryland at Balducci’s, Beer Wine & Co. and Georgetown Square Wine and Beer in Bethesda; Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits and Bin 201 in Annapolis; Bin 604 Wine Sellers and the Wine Source in Baltimore; Highland Wine & Spirits; Montgomery County Dispensary in Potomac; Roots Market in Olney; the Wine Rack in Ocean City. On the list at Black’s and Grapeseed in Bethesda. Available in Virginia at Out of Site Wines in Vienna, the Tasting Room Wine Bar & Shop in Reston; on the list at L’Auberge Chez François in Great Falls.

An intriguing blend, featuring smoky black cherry and spice aromas, with notes of zesty plum, toasted anise and tar. Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Grenache and Petite Sirah.

Deep, dark red colour, with purple and black tinges. Smells overripe. And oaky! Fruitcake and raisins. Rich, opulent, extravagant wine, with lush flavour and masses of tannin. A very warm-grown, sunny wine, just a shade overripe and there's also an element of 'dead fruit'. Oaky throughout the nose and palate. Not to my taste, but others will love it.

A pinot with a seamless texture. Notes of red fruit, mineral and spice. Earthy.

This Bordeaux-style blend is a tantalizing spin on sauvignon blanc. Using mountain-grown grapes, it has a range of aromas and flavors. Fig, mango and lemongrass are just a few.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 115 is one of the more fragrant wine in this range of single clone Pinots. The Clone 115 wafts from the glass with sweet red berries, dried flowers, spices and mint, all in a high-toned, feminine style that is all about grace. Today the Clone 115 is firing on all cylinders. Here, too the wine's balance is simply impeccable.

All the elements come together in the 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 23, a wine that speaks first and foremost about total balance and harmony. The 2011 has everything; from expressive aromatics, plenty of mid-palate pliancy and impeccable proportion. A creamy, textured finish supported by plenty of underlying material rounds things out nicely.

Smoke, crushed rocks, apricots and dried pears are some of the many notes that jump out from the glass in the 2011 Chardonnay Bench Break. A layered, textured Chardonnay, the 2011 blossoms on the palate with tons of depth. Even with all of its richness, the 2011 remains light on its feet and a model of pure grace. There is so much to like here, including the exceedingly fair price.

Plums, dark cherries, tar, licorice and some all wrap around the palate in the 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 4. A big, succulent wine, the Clone 4 is the most structured, powerful and intense of these single-clone Pinots. Accordingly it could use another year or two in the cellar to come together more fully. The future appears to be very bright.

Dark red cherries, menthol, cinnamon, licorice, plums and sweet spices all flesh out in the 2011 Pinot Noir Bench Break. Translucent and weightless, yet full of flavor, the 2011 is an exceptional wine loaded with class and pedigree. A racy, ripe finish supported by vibrant saline notes leaves a lasting impression.

A rich, round wine the 2011 Pinot Noir Clone 2A wraps around the palate with serious depth. Dark red cherries, cola and spices all flesh out in this radiant, generous Pinot. The style is enveloping, textured and beautifully perfumed throughout. This is one of the showiest wines in the range, and it is very, very pretty.

Juicy, expressive and layered, the 2011 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard impresses for its silky fruit, perfumed aromatics and lovely overall balance. Absolutely nothing is out of place in a gracious, mid-weight Pinot with tons of near term appeal. A high-toned, floral-infused finish nicely balances the exuberant fruit. This is another fabulous value from Cambria.