Composed of 49% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, this is one of the more monolithic Le Desirs produced. Although an outstanding effort, in the company of some of the great vintages, it comes across as a one trick pony. Though there is plenty of fruit and body as well as good size, power and an aging potential of 10-15 years, it lacks charm and complexity at this stage of its evolution.

Produced from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2010 is still very primary, but it exhibits lots of fruit and concentration. It looks to be a stronger effort than the 2000, a vintage with similar challenges.

Made entirely from Sonoma fruit, this soft, round, fully mature blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc is unlikely to improve any further. From a more challenging vintage (perhaps similar to 2010), this seductive 2000 is one of the most drinkable and charming of these offerings at present. Herbs, underbrush and coffee as well as red and black fruit comprise the bouquet and flavors of this medium-bodied wine.

The small, 351-case production of the 2001 Cabernet Franc (93% Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon) is made from one of Napa's oldest Cabernet Franc vineyards. Aromas of cedar, berries, tobacco leaf and flowers are followed by a spicy, medium-bodied wine with a front end loaded personality. This fully mature offering is best drunk over the next 4-5 years.

Juicy black cherries and black currants intermixed with white flower and crushed rock-like notes characterize the fresh, medium-bodied 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. With good power and richness, this nearly fully mature 2001 is capable of lasting another decade.

Kendall-Jackson's 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve comes from an assortment of vineyards from Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon (98%), it was made by K-J's longtime winemaker, Randy Ullom. Approaching full maturity, it offers up notes of cedarwood, black currants, roasted coffee and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied with beautiful ripeness and balance as well as a long finish, it should be consumed over the next 10-12 years.

Made by Verite's brilliant Bordelais winemaker, Pierre Seillan, this 2001 Merlot Jackson Park Vineyard (100% Merlot) is a sexy, soft, fully mature wine offering up notes of roasted herbs, coffee beans, sweet mocha and black cherries. This sexy, dark plum/purple-colored effort also reveals hints of chocolate and espresso in its round personality. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years.

Young and tight, with an earthy, leesy touch to the concentrated apple, pear and honeysuckle flavors. Still a bit raw and pithy, but give this a little time.

The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's (named after Jess Jackson's son) is currently all tannin and acid. It possesses a dense purple color, a powdered rock component and such a ferocious personality that I can't begin to predict when it will fully come together ... if at all. Certainly it needs to be forgotten for ten years at the minimum and will definitely last 30-40 years. However, it could be like some of those old style Italian Brunellos that last for 40-50 years, but never become pleasurable to drink. Time will tell. All of these Stonestreet offerings were made under winemaker Mike Westrick. Before his death, Jess Jackson as well as his wife, Barbara Banke, agreed that there was often too much tannin and wood in the wines. Those mistakes have been corrected over the last five or six vintages under the guidance of South African winemaker, Graham Weerts.

The 2001 Legacy, a proprietary red wine blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (90%) and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, exhibits the best balance between tannin and fruit. It does not have the intensity of the Black Cougar Ridge or the ferociousness of the Christopher's, but it might be better for it. Not the most complex or concentrated of this trio, it appears to have struck a sweeter note between the wine's structure, fruit and charm. All of these Stonestreet offerings were made under winemaker Mike Westrick. Before his death, Jess Jackson as well as his wife, Barbara Banke, agreed that there was often too much tannin and wood in the wines. Those mistakes have been corrected over the last five or six vintages under the guidance of South African winemaker, Graham Weerts.

2001 was the first truly great vintage for Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan, and that is evidenced by the utterly perfect 2001 La Muse, a blend of 87% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Over three-fourths of it came from the Alexander Mountain estate of Jess Jackson, and the rest from Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, and a tiny bit from Bennett Valley. This dense purple-colored effort exhibits notes of licorice, creme de cassis, plum sauce, violets and truffles. Full-bodied with magnificent density, overall equilibrium, stunning purity, sweet but abundant tannin and a fabulous finish, this profound wine remains a baby at age ten. Give it another 5-6 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 35-40+ years. It is very French in style even though one could argue that this level of concentration can only be achieved by a handful of wines from Pomerol and St.-Emilion.

The fruit for this blend of 61% Cabernet Franc, 31% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec came from Chalk Hill (58%) and Alexander Valley (42%). Pierre Seillan believes the Chalk Hill fruit provides a truffle-like character and the Alexander Valley gives minerality, structure, tannin and intensity. The 2008 will be fascinating to taste next to the 2007 over the next 30+ years. Sweet mulberry, blueberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with notions of black truffles, damp earth and forest floor emerge from this beauty of stunning intensity, purity and texture. The alcohol is 14.4% and the relatively elevated pH is 3.76.

A blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec (52% Chalk Hill, 45% Alexander Mountain Estate and 3% Bennett Valley fruit), the 2008 may have even greater intensity and richness than the 2007. Still young and unformed, it exhibits phenomenal richness and equilibrium as well as a finish that lasts nearly a minute. Its dense plum/purple color is accompanied by notions of black fruits, forest floor, truffles and spring flowers. It should age for 25-30+ years.

A profound blend of 44% Cabernet Franc, 44% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec, with 56% of the fruit from Chalk Hill, 26% from the Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 14% from Knight's Valley and 4% from Bennett Valley, the 2007 is a wine of unbelievable intensity. It boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as notes of acacia flowers, graphite, licorice, blackberries, blueberries and a hint of burning embers/charcoal, superb intensity and purity, and abundant tannin in the finish. This massive wine needs 5-6 more years of bottle age, and is meant for 35-40 years of cellaring.

A perfect wine, this blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec emerges from Chalk Hill (48%), Knight's Valley (21%), Alexander Mountain Estate (21%) and Bennett Valley (10%). Another prodigious effort, its extraordinary sweet notes of caramelized herbs, mocha, coffee, blackberries and cassis are followed by a multilayered, full-bodied wine revealing a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood, and an opulent, voluptuous finish that goes on and on. It is thrilling to smell, taste and drink. Moreover, it possesses a similar seamlessness also found in the 2002 and 2001. Because of that, it can be drunk now for its primary attractions or cellared for another 30+ years.

Composed of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, the 2007's fruit came from four sources, Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, Knight's Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennett Valley. This utterly perfect, flawless wine reveals great intensity along with a wonderful perfume of roasted coffee, blueberries, blackberries, spring flowers, forest floor and crushed rock. Full-bodied and viscous without being heavy, the wine possesses admirable precision as well as good acidity and balance. This stunning wine is developing beautifully. It contains 14.4% alcohol (one of the highest amounts) and a final pH of 3.64. It should last another 30 years.

A riveting blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and a dollop of Malbec, the 2005 is developing gorgeously, revealing everything a profound, world-class wine should. It boasts a dense plum/purple color along with an extraordinary bouquet of subtle barbecue smoke intermixed with truffles, black currants, black cherries, licorice and earth. There are thrilling levels of intensity, a skyscraper-like mouthfeel and a phenomenal finish lasting 50-60 seconds. This full-bodied beauty is a perfect, haut couture, seamlessly constructed wine that is still a pre-adolescent in terms of development. It is capable of evolving 30+ years.

An utterly perfect wine that exemplifies this extraordinary vintage for North Coast Bordeaux varietals is the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder, which comes from the Jackson family's Veeder Peak Vineyard. Unfortunately, slightly less than 300 cases were produced, so availability is limited. A dense opaque blue/purple color is followed by notes of lead pencil shavings, ink, blueberry liqueur, raspberries and black currants. The wine is super intense as well as extremely full-bodied and opulent with great structure, purity and density. (I know this sounds weird, but when I smelled and tasted it, it reminded me of the 2010 La Mission Haut Brion that I had tasted a month earlier, no doubt because of its volcanic/hot rock-like character.) This phenomenal wine is a modern day legend from Napa. Still a youngster in terms of its development, it should hit its peak in another 5-6 years and keep for 30+. Winemaker Chris Carpenter, who has worked for the late Jess Jackson for many years, hit pay dirt at Lokoya in nearly every vintage. Certainly these 2001s have aged magnificently over the last decade. These 100% Cabernet Sauvignons are aged for 18-22 months in 100% new French oak and are bottled with no fining or filtration.

Another great showing for a wine from this vintage, the 2004 La Joie is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. The majority of the fruit came from the Alexander Mountain Estate, followed by Knight's Valley, Bennett Valley and Chalk Hill. Full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, it is richer than either the 2003 and 2001, and comes closer to the 2002's personality. Sweet notes of caramels, espresso roast, forest floor, camphor, plums, chocolate and blackberries emerge from this full-bodied, unctuously textured, chewy, fleshy 2004. It requires another 3-5 years of bottle age and should keep for three decades or more.

A first-rate Cabernet, with deep, dark berry fruit flavors, echoes of cedar and tobacco offering secondary complexity, and just a hint of vanilla-laden sweetness from oak barrel aging, this wine offers extremely impressive depth and length. How nice to see red wines from Freemark Abbey tasting this good. A leader twenty-five years ago, this venerable Napa Valley property lost direction for awhile due to changes in ownership and management. Now part of the Jackson Family group of California wines, it seems to be running on all cylinders.

A delicious chardonnay, this wine has expressive tropical fruit and pear flavors, a creamy texture and a long finish.

K-J released the Avant 2009 Chardonnay just this year, a crisp, clean and light chardonnay for only $14, sourced from a multitude of vineyards along the California coast, the majority of them in Monterey. It's an amazing value, ideal for summer parties, tropical through and through, with tangible acidity and plenty of fruit to please a wide array of chardonnay palates.

Deep red-purple. Clean, deep aromas but shy and slightly closed. Palate is dry and savoury, full and slightly chewy in its tannins. The grip closes out the finish. Dense, slightly chewy flavour; lots of guts here but not a lot of subtlety. Big wine with oodles of flavour and character.

A great value, this California pinot grigio has simple peach and pear flavors and a hint of spice.