Recommended

…is a crisp, elegant, fruit-driven wine with adequate varietal character, melony, honeyed fruit, good purity, and a flavorful, crisp finish.

Bright pale yellow. Medium-bodied. Moderately extracted. Zesty citrus aromas with textured mouthfeel shows a spicy note on the finish. Supple and balanced.

Clean and ripe, with a peachy edge to the citrus and nectarine, turning cedary.

Light gold. Medium-bodied. Balanced acidity. Moderate extract, mild oak. Apples, pears, minerals. Clean and crisp with bright fruit. Zesty finish.

Tropical fruit and tons of oak combine to offer a dramatic, heady, richly fruity Chardonnay.

Mildly fruit, mildly oaky...this mid-sized working turns to crispness as its slightly candied fruit flavors firm up. Its zesty imperatives steer it to service with milder seafoods, but it will do fine service with poultry in cream sauce as well.

Recommended

This blend is thick in black fruit, tobacco and leather, with a mighty presence of power and concentration. Baking spice, toasted oak and sturdy dusty tannins wrap around a core of rounded richness that will broadly appeal. Made from 85% Syrah with 15% Petite Sirah.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Estates is essentially a wine only available to the restaurant trade that sells for a strikingly low $15 a bottle. It is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest the other Bordeaux varieties. It is a well-made, straightforward, elegant wine with pretty black cherry and loamy soil notes intermixed with some blacker currants. Round, juicy and ideal for near-term consumption, at this price, it’s a steal.

Gewurztraminer has never done really well in California, but the 2006 Gewurztraminer from Saralee’s Vineyard is elegant, displaying a hint of rose water in a medium-bodied, dry style. Much better, in my opinion, is Dick Arrowood’s mastery of Viognier.

Arrowood's 2010 Chardonnay Reserve Speciale wraps around the palate with dried pears, spices, butterscotch and caramel. Nicely layered, the 2010 is attractive, but has only modest depth and complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2015.

Marsanne and Roussanne are two varieties that never gained as much attention out side the Northern Rhone as Viognier, although Roussanne has attracted some moderate interest. This 2009 from McLaren Vale was barrel fermented in French oak and remained on the yeast lees for four months. The color is a medium gold and the nose is closed-in but showing citrus rind and pears. It has good texture but the flavors are delicate and undistinguished, with 13.5% alcohol and some oak in the finish.

Slightly more concentrated, with hints of pineapple, hazelnut and orange blossom, the 2013 Chardonnay Russian River is a slightly bigger cuvée, and the wine also elegant, but offering more flavor, concentration and intensity. Both of these were aged nine months in about 50%-60% new French oak and another year in older barrels prior to being bottled.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Maggie Hawk and Boon Ridge Vineyards is a lean style of Pinot offering up notes of herbs, underbrush and sweet and sour cherries. Attractive in a lighter style, but somewhat austere, it can be drunk over the next year.

The 2013 Chardonnay Anderson Valley is a fresh, light-bodied style of Chardonnay with hints of pear and brioche, crisp acidity and a light to medium-bodied personality. Drink it over the next year

Firm, with compact dill and earth-laced currant, olive and blackberry. Turns tannic and leathery and reflects plenty of charred-oak aging, and while it's well-structured, the dry oakiness on the finish is a concern.

Some berry and cherry character with fine tannins and a fresh finish. Medium body. Light but pleasant. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Syrah. Best after 2006. 7025 cases made. -JS

Blackberry and toasted oak with hints of coffee follow through to a medium-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a light finish. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best after 2005. 455 cases made. -JS

Deep ruby color. Moderately full-bodied. Highly extracted. Cherries, earth, minerals. Dense and structured with impressive palate presence and firm tannins on the finish.

Good dark red. Cassis and game on the nose; a slight fumey quality quickly dissipated with aeration. Good weight and texture in the mouth, but the berry flavor seems rather pinched. Finishes with sweet notes of vanilla and toast, but the tannins are somewhat elevated.

Marked by earthy currant and leathery flavors; picks up herb and mineral notes on the finish, when the tannins kick in. A little age should soften it. (Also appeared 6/30/96).

Exhibits a big, smoky, woody bouquet intermixed with scents of cherry fruit.

Although the 2001 Merlot (30,000 cases) is acidic, with hard tannin in the finish, I enjoyed its heady aromatics (chocolate, mocha, and smoke). Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

"This wine typically requires years to open up; now it's very tight and only offers a modicum of leather, toast and black-currant aromas. The plum and blackberry fruit is hunky, not stylish. The acids are bold, and the tannins are bulky, which masks what charm might be hidden beneath.'