One our perennial favorites in this grape variety, Matanzas knows how to make sauvignon blanc. They always have crisp acidity and complexity that you don't often find in sauvignon blanc. If you want a real treat, try the Helena Bench version for $38 - loads of layered, rich fruit character and blended with 25 percent of the musque clone that adds rich dimension.

This multi-regional blend from a collection of Northern California vineyards was aged for nine months in mostly French oak barrels. It has a light cherry-red color, cherry-berry aromas with traces of pepper and dark plums, nicely textured flavors, accented with cedar...

A tropical chardonnay with bright acid. Aromas and flavors of pineapple, apricot, lemon and mineral. Lush.

Joshua Greene, our critic for California sauvignon blanc, rated 16 as exceptional (90+).

If we hadn't been tasting blind, you might call this a sentimental pick to memorialize Jess Jackson, who died recently. I loved the wine's smoky notes and bright red fruit, pegging its price at $50. Buy it: $14.99.

Bright ruby-red. Intensely perfumed bouquet of fresh red berries, cherry-cola and Asian spices. Sweet raspberry and gingerbread on the palate, with silky tannins adding shape. Gains sweetness and intensity with air, picking up black raspberry and floral character while maintaining superb clarity. This very elegant pinot is balanced to age.

Inky purple. Highly perfumed aromas of raspberry, cherry, Asian spices and potpourri, with a note of cracked pepper in the background. Juicy, precise and palate-staining, with impressively deep red fruit liqueur flavors giving way to darker fruits with air. Rich but surprisingly light on its feet, finishing with excellent clarity and persistence. These vines are reportedly 96 years old.

Glass-staining violet. Deep, floral-accented aromas of blackberry, cassis and cola, with a strong violet pastille quality and a touch of allspice adding interest. Palate-coating dark berry flavors are given spine by fresh acidity and show a seamless, velvety texture. Dense and weighty on the finish, leaving behind a sweet dark berry preserve note. I'd serve this with a strongly seasoned, grilled steak.

Opaque ruby. Explosive aromas of black and blue fruit preserves, cola, licorice and violet, plus an intense spiciness that builds with aeration. Broad, sappy and sweet, with potent blackberry and mulberry flavors lifted by tangy acidity. Ample but in no way heavy, this zinfandel finishes with strong thrust and resonating spiciness.

Inky ruby. Expansive, flamboyant bouquet evokes dark berry preserves, cola, incense and violet, with hints of smoke and fruitcake building with aeration. Lush, creamy and broad, with dense dark fruit and floral flavors enlivened by zesty spices. Very rich but almost shockingly lithe, with intense finishing spiciness and repeating florality.

This wine ups the ante a bit in terms of ripeness, richness and size, but it impresses most for its very deep and well-defined fruit. It is fairly full-bodied and wonderfully balanced with lots of flesh and nicely placed acids. Although some may find it to be a little too much of a good thing, it is in no way excessive or over the top, and, if a fine match for a savory pork roast in the nearer term, it is built for keeping and should improve for another five or six years.

Deep ruby. Sappy aromas of red currant, cherry, licorice and minerals. Sweet on entry, then pungently mineral and smoky in the mid-palate, with terrific grip and structure to its bitter cherry and red berry flavors. Finishes with youthfully gripping tannins and superb breadth and length, with the cherry note repeating.

Glass-staining ruby. Cool, complex aromas of blueberry, mulberry and dried flowers, complemented by a hint of minerality. Creamy and sweet, but with firm acidity leavening the wine's dark fruit preserve-like flavors. Wonderfully sappy and expansive zin, finishing with smooth tannins and excellent length. These vines are 93 years old, according to Don Hartford, and the wine was raised in two-thirds new oak.

Bright ruby. Aromas of blackberry, violet and licorice pastille, with a subtle meaty nuance. Juicy, minerally and penetrating but tightly coiled and on the youthful side, with medicinal red and dark fruit flavors showing a slightly bitter edge. Finishes on a note of licorice, with excellent clarity and serious grip.

From a block on the Alexander Mountain Estate at 2,200 feet, Rockfall has the pungent mineral savor of a high-elevation cabernet. There's plump and plummy fruit to smooth over all the mineral tannin, all wrapped together in tight restraint. Quiet and unyielding for now, this lasts on the flinty scent of crushed rock. For the cellar.

A strong Cabernet that's so tightly wound in tannins, it's hard to appreciate, despite plenty of fruit. There's also a green olive earthiness to the sweet blackberries and cedar. Showing its immaturity now, so give it a good six years in the cellar.

Nicely defined cherryish fruit is aligned with a bit of sweet oak and accented by a touch of milk chocolate in the inviting and moderately rich aromas here, and the wine follows suit on the palate with youthful, fairly deep flavors that are at once both juicy and bright. It is tasty now, but has room to grow and is sure to reward a few years of keeping.

Although this wine flirts here and there with hints of minerals and a touch of oaky richness, its primary focus is on juicy, well-ripened, appley varietal fruit. It is slightly oily and fairly full in feel upon entry, yet its neatly placed acids provides a nice sense of lift and brings a cleansing bit of crispness to its lengthy finish. Rich enough for service with salmon, but never so heavy as to be unwieldy with milder fish dishes, it is a wine of considerable versatility at the table.

Deep violet. Blackberry and boysenberry aromas are complicated by white pepper, mocha and licorice. Sappy, palate-coating dark berry flavors show liqueur-like richness and a touch of bitter chocolate. Quite full in the mouth, with good finishing breadth and persistent black and blue fruit nuances. I'd serve this with a strongly seasoned piece of grilled lamb.

Bright, deep red-purple; has the tannins one expects from the variety, but at the other end of the fragrant bouquet has red berry fruits that lead into the fore-palate. The only problem is lack of line.

Shows lots of flamboyant pineapple, pear and green apple flavors, with a deft touch of smoky oak. But the wine is uplifted by a firm, steely minerality, as well as fine acids.

Convincingly keyed on fresh, fully ripe cherries and judiciously sweetened with vanillin oak, this intense, deeply filled youngster is arguably a touch of simple now, but its extract, its balance and its very fine focus are stuff of which bright futures are made. It is still slightly grippy with a bit of acid-pushed tannin coming on at the finish, but its fruit never once wavers and both polish and increased complexity await some three or four years down the line.

Soft and round with flavors of pear, nectarine and lemon candies, this wine's oak contributes a darker tone of toasted wheat and crème caramel. It's a gentle, slightly sweet style of chardonnay to pair with grilled fish and fruit salsa.

A lovely wine for those who like a touch of sweetness. It's rich and vibrant in honey, green apple, golden apricot, peach and vanilla cream flavors, accented with fine acidity.

Made in an off-dry, almost sweet style, this polished Riesling is marked first and foremost by ripe fruit. Green apples, tangerines, Key lime pie and golden mangoes flood the mouth, made bright and clean with citrusy acidity. The alcohol is refreshingly low 13%.