Smooth, rich and deep with minerals and good acid structure; long and lush.

Glass-staining ruby. Spicy red and dark berry aromas are complicated by floral and smoke accents, with a hint of vanilla in the background. Juicy and precise in the mouth, showing understated blackberry and cherry flavors that gain sweetness with air. A graceful rendition of zin that finishes with very good clarity and energy.

Good bright red-ruby. Cherry, red currant and flowers on the nose. Supple on entry, then a bit youthfully clenched in the middle, showing good grip to the flavors of cassis, minerals, licorice and herbs. Not hugely rich or fleshy but has good structure. A tad dry and peppery on the finish. This wine was to have been bottled in April.

Bright gold. Fresh citrus fruits, fig and white flowers on the fragrant nose. Juicy and smooth in texture, with good heft to its candied orange and pear flavors. Finishes on a racy note, with good clarity and lingering spiciness.

Good dark red. Currant, graphite and loam on the nose and palate, plus a whiff of chocolate. Supple, sweet and ripe, with harmonious acidity and suave, sweet tannins giving the wine considerable early appeal. A pinch of herbs perks up the wine's finish.

This ripe, moderately full-bodied offering reminds that ripeness does not necessarily come at the expense of good balance, for, while it claims a 15.5% abv on the label, it is a deep, impressively fruity wine that shows surprisingly good manners. Marked by a keen sense of berries from beginning to end and holding on for a long finish, this is one to serve alongside richer foods such a slow-roasted pork shoulder.

Bright ruby-red. Lively, floral-accented aromas of red berries and rose, with a subtle peppery nuance in the background. Silky and round on the palate, offering fresh red currant and raspberry flavors and a sexy floral pastille nuance. Pure and focused, with good finishing clarity and lingering spiciness.

Ruby-red. Pungent aromas of dark berries and cherry, with a smoky topnote. Densely packed black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors unfold slowly, picking up floral and spice character with air. Finishes with gentle tannic grip and lingering lavender and anise notes.

Light gold. Melon, nectarine and orange on the fruity, expressive nose and in the mouth. Plump and broad, showing a silky texture and good concentration. Picks up a subtle smoky nuance with air and finishes bright, spicy and with good persistence.

Light gold. Aromas of candied citrus fruits and yellow apple are complemented by bright floral and mace notes. Offers zesty lemon and bitter apple skin flavors that become sweeter and deeper with air, picking up a smoky, leesy nuance on the back half. Closes with good cut and length, leaving a trace of smoke behind.

Good bright red. Spicy aromas of raspberry, blueberry and cocoa powder enlivened by a peppery nuance. Juicy, savory and dry, with enticing floral lift to the red berry and spice flavors. Finishes with firm, slightly dry-edged tannins.

This wine's deep and defined aromas key on berries, briar, tobacco and tea, and its generous flavors are rich and fruity rather than overly ripe-tasting despite a fair bit of underlying heat. While no shrinking violet, the wine is quite well-balanced given its ripeness and shows promise for a least a few years of improvement.

Aromas of dark cherry, blueberry, licorice pastille, chocolate, menthol and smoke. Smooth and supple but a bit dry, with restrained flavors of red currant and spicecake showing some alcoholic warmth. Finishes with firm, slightly drying tannins.

Tangy and spicy, showing cherry and meat; ripe and dense.

Smooth ripe and round; balanced, fresh and long.

Fully ripe and wide open with nothing held in reserve, this wine follows the family style in being both balanced and fruity even while showing a fair bit of heat. Like its partner from Shamrock Vineyard, it stays fixed on berryish fruit and steers clear of any raisined desiccation, and its grippy last-minute tannins make a good case for a few years of age.

Intensely varietal as far as its rugged tannins and sinewy feel on the palate go and long on tobacco-leaf herbacousness, this big and very gutsy wine claims a small measure of success by way of its compact, still-nascent black cherry fruit and its considerable complement of very rich oak. It is a dense, ageworthy Cabernet Franc for patient fans of the grape and it will not be ready for a least another five to ten years.

...panelists considered this lightly oaked chard a safe choice. It's an easy-to-drink, middle-of-the-road wine that's sold at many stores...It's not monster-buttery, not leesy-cheesy. It's right in the middle, Tidwell said.

This French outpost of California's Kendall-Jackson empire has produced an extracted, dense ruby/purple-colored 2011 that is big, burly, hard and tannic. There is no doubting its level of extract and richness, but the tannins are severe and the oak treatment is elevated. If the wine comes together with time, it could turn out to be outstanding, but I have serious reservations.

This wine comes from one of California’s truly unique vineyards on the Santa Maria bench in Santa Barbara County. Each of 34 different blocks of Chardonnay are farmed individually allowing nuances of fruit to emerge. Wines are blended to create this complex and tempting bottling offering aromas and flavors of tropical fruits, spicy oak, creamy vanilla and tangy citrus/mineral on the finish.

...the 2007 Monument Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon ($45) uses grapes from special blocks ranging in elevation from 800 to 2,400 feet. Dark in color, it has huge black cherry and plum flavors with a touch of dried herbs and mineral.

Named after Jackson’s only son, the vineyard, planted in 1991, is at the highest elevation on the estate, some 2,400 feet up. The wine is an iron fist in a velvet glove: graceful yet powerful. It had concentrated plum and boysenberry flavors with a good dose of spice and a hint of dark chocolate.

The 2009 Broken Road Chardonnay is made from grapes grown 1,800 feet up the mountain in gravel soils that give the wine a mineral character. It is intensely fragrant and has good acidity.

The 2009 Bear Point Chardonnay has more texture with soft peach and apricot flavors and a hint of citrus and vanilla.

Ripe and a touch figgy. Similar on the palate with dark chocolate bitter sweetness. Fresh but a little tough on the finish.