The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is another huge, intense wine with tons of fruit and equally imposing tannins. A host of dark cherry, blackberry, spice and menthol overtones make an appearance, yet the 2013 remains tight, powerful and very much closed in on itself. Ideally, the 2013 should be cellared for at least another year or more. Most of the fruit is from vineyards in Alexander Valley.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner’s Reserve (175,000 cases) shows silky tannins, classic tobacco leaf and blackcurrant fruit, medium body and a dark purple color. This is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest the other Bordeaux varietals, aged in primarily French oak, with some American barrels utilized. It should drink well for 4-5 years.

A fairly dry and tannic offering, dense and chewy, with dark berry notes and earth-laced fruit buried underneath.

Tight and tannic, this majority Cab wine is distinguished by a thickness of black fruit and herbaceous back palate that gives it density, separated by bursts of vanilla and oak. Give it time to open and notes of mocha chocolate should also come through.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner’s Reserve (260,410 cases) is surprisingly European in style for a K-J wine. Nearly all Cabernet Sauvignon with just tiny dollops of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec, it comes from Sonoma (88%) and Mendocino with a little bit from the Central Coast and Napa. Aged eight months in French and American oak, it offers up hints of licorice, bouquet garni, roasted herbs, and red and black currants, and medium-bodied, pretty, soft fruit. This wine could easily pass for a very good cru bourgeois from Bordeaux. Enjoy it over the next 2-3 years.

Dependable, consistent, good. Dark fruit, almost full-bodied.

This has polished blackberry and black currant flavors, touched with oak. It shows real elegance and class.

A solid Cabernet, dry and full bodied, that shows the structure and flavors of more expensive bottlings. Rich in blackberries, currants and cedar, with hints of coffee and toffee and a touch of new oak.

Muddy, tobacco leaf, prune, blackberry, riparian, black olive, cedar, leather and five spice aromas. Dry, fresh, elegant but slightly tannic palate. Cedar, earthy, tobacco, black olive, green bean, cassis, spicy, coffee, dried herb and leather flavours. Solid, slightly rustic style to go with grilled meats.

Similar to the previous version, this 52/32/16 blend of Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino fruit is dry and reserved, with flecks of spice resin and olives. Again tighter and drier than the merlot, with lean peppery, blackcurrant fruit. Solid.

The 2006 Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the finest examples of this wine I have tasted. It exhibits good elegance as well as a spicy, berry, black currant, roasted herb, and spicy oak-scented nose.

This silky, plush Cab, which contains some Mendocino and Napa fruit, is ready to drink now. Dry and tannic, it has chicory and sage herb notes framing riper flavors of blackberries and cherries.

A true North Coast cabernet, with a rich spicy nose mixing cassis and vanilla aromas with flecks of leather, olive and spice. Dry, round, lean on entry, with more peppery, black olive, black currant fruit and vanilla flavours...

Real nice, real smooth Cab. It's almost like a good single-malt scotch, with that light-heavy, rich, velvety mouthfeel and a tangy, iodine and peat tinge to the cherries and oak. Dry and polished.

Costs a buck or two more than it used to, but the quality of VR has risen, as the winery's grape sources are entirely from estate coastal grapes. This Cab is very ripe and soft, with lavish cherry, cassis and chocolate flavors. The finish is dry and clean.

The 2004 Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is primarily from Sonoma, Mendocino, and Napa County vineyards. There are about 161,000 cases of this cuvee. Elegant, sweet red and black currant notes intermixed with spicy vanillin are found in this excellent, medium-bodied Cabernet. With sweet tannin and good underlying freshness, it will provide tasty drinking over the next 4-5 years.

Reveals a juicy, spicy, earthy, red berry and black current-scented bouquet, sweet tannin, a good texture, and a strong varietal character.

Ruby-red. Dark berries and chocolate on the nose. Creamy but firm-edged in the mouth, with complex flavors of cherry, mocha, espresso, tobacco leaf and fresh herbs.

A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 16 months in French oak, of which 51% is new. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of vanilla, crushed rocks, black currants, spice box, and tobacco smoke. Medium-bodied, with fine ripeness as well as moderate tannin, it will age nicely for a decade.

Nicely focused aromas of black cherries and oak are followed on the palate by equally attractive flavors that combine ripe fruit and sweet oak with a hint of rich, loamy note. It has decent staying power and will serve well over the next few years.

In a blind tasting of California Cabs that for the most part displayed baked-fruit dullness and syrupy sweetness, this wine stood out for its freshness and brightness. It's fruity without being sweet or ponderous, and its concentration of fruit on the finish speaks to its quality.

Another surprisingly strong effort, which comes from a combination of Napa and Knight's Valley vineyards. A French oak-aged (16% new) blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, it exhibits big, ripe, black currant notes intertwined with cedar smoke licorice and earth. Medium-bodied, with ripe fruit as well as fine balance, this value-priced Cabernet will drink well for 5-7 years.

Ripe and juicy, with fleshy plum, blackberry and wild berry fruit that's well-centered and supple in texture, with a touch of leather and mineral. Drink now through 2007.

Ripe and juicy, with fleshy plum, blackberry and wild berry fruit. Supple in texture, with notes of leather and mineral.

We wonder in quiet amazement at this winery's ability to make such attractive and affordable wines in such sizeable lots...this well-polished and brightly balanced offering is nicely fruited, deftly sweetened with oak and gets the job done at a very fair price.