Deep, bright red. Redcurrant, cherry-vanilla and spices on the fragrant nose. Lively and precise, with very good energy to its sweet red fruit and spicecake flavors. Vanilla and smoky oak spices linger on the long, focused, seamless finish.

Bright ruby. Intense violet and licorice-tinged black raspberry and cherry aromas expand with air, picking up a sexy note of oak spices. Palate-coating cherry-cola and dark berry flavors show very good intensity and power but come off as quite elegant. Finishes long, spicy and fresh, with a lingering note of candied licorice.

Very ripe and skirting the edges of dried cherries in character, the wine never loses the needed vitality to be attractive, and its hints of dark chocolate and caramel add to its charms whereas they might have otherwise pushed it over the top. Full in body, fleshy in feel on the palate and slightly hot to finish, this wine is not for the faint of heart, but so too is it still Merlot at its heart and in its uses with food.

This wine wobbles along the line between superripe and overripe, at times seeming a bit raisiny, at others seeming just right. It's full-bodied, soft and expansive, with a lush, long finish, but drink it over the next few years.

Gleaning light green-gold, the variety speaks more of texture and structure than any particular flavour; a faintly flowery/blossom/nutty bouquet, then a distinctive minerally palate, although the nutty characters linger.

Add La Jota to the ranks of those producing ageworthy Merlot. This wine, for all of its dense and suggested fruitiness, reveals itself in layers as its tannins and bright acidity get peeled away. Our impressions are less about a long list of adjectives, although we certainly find ripe cherries, sweet soil influences and creamy oak, and more about textures and continuity and the sense that the wine builds and builds towards the finish.

Everything about this wine is substantial, including the hefty bottle, the full, voluptuous body, and the generous mouth-filling flavors. It seduces one's taste buds with a wallop of lemon and orange zest plus robust toasty, buttery elements. A clean, lingering finish keeps everything in balance.

A good value in a wine this rich and complex. It's very full-bodied and dry, with immensely deep blackberry, currant, black pepper, roasted meat, smoke and spice flavors that linger long on the finish.

The wine is slightly sweet in pineapple, orange and vanilla honey flavors, with the crisp acidity that comes from coastal grape sourcing.

Bright ruby-red. Cherry-cola, raspberry and licorice on the fragrant nose. Spicy, gripping red and dark berry flavors show very good energy and an exotic note of black cardamom. Picks up spiciness and a floral nuance with air and finishes with lingering sweetness. This youthful wine will benefit from an hour of aeration.

Ruby-red. Blackberry, licorice and cocoa powder on the nose, along with a smoky nuance. Sweet but tightly coiled, with peppery red and dark berry flavors gaining sweetness with air. Closes with refreshingly tangy berry skin and lingering smokiness.

A brightly coloured 41/38/21% blend, there are an attractive range of flavours...

Vivid red. Aromas of black raspberry and cherry, plus a hint of woodsmoke. Smooth but slightly loose-knit cherry and bitter chocolate flavors are lifted by a peppery element on the back half. Finishes with good grip and a lingering note of cherry pit. In a structured, somewhat brooding style; this would work well with hearty red meat dishes.

KJ's Mendocino County Zin has both red and black berry fruit flavor and the spiciness one expects from dry-farmed Mendocino County vineyards, though the tannins stick around a bit longer than one might like. Cedar definitely shows up on the finish.

A bright sauvignon blanc with layered flavors. Note of white peach, lemon, lime, melon and a hint of tangerine. Nice length.

This is a juicy, easy-to-like red. Fruit-forward, raspberried/blackberried, deceptively tannic and with attractive mineral edges. Excellent length. Perfectly well balanced. Has a sweetness to it but it’s not a heavy or syrupy style; it’s more like an old McLaren Vale Burgundy style. Spice notes top it off. Light-ish but good.

I can think of almost no instance when I wouldn’t trade whatever is on my plate for some truly great bbq ribs...lots of flavor, lots of juice, and, admit it, lots of fat—if wine is on the table, make it a big, brawny Syrah, like the robust 2008 Cambria Tepusquet Syrah ($19).

Why Sonoma County deserves the wine spotlight: Stonestreet has the ring of a contrived winery name designed to conjure rural imagery. But it’s the founder’s middle name, as in Jess Stonestreet Jackson. The wealthy land-use lawyer and prominent thoroughbred-horse breeder, who died in April at age 81, played a role in popularizing chardonnay in America with the country’s most popular bottling, Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve. This is a newer, super-premium label. I love the aggressive tannins in this full-bodied yet austere red. It shows cassis, black tea and mineral nuances along with a firm slap of acidity. Try it with steak or age it for up to 15 years.

A substantial, meaty chardonnay, this wine's fruit tone has deepened and darkened from its time in oak, developing flavors of hazelnut, vanilla bean and toasted croissant. It's sweet and soft in the end, with the richness to match veal roast.

Brisk acidity and lovely ripe black raspberry and juicy cherry; supple and zesty with nerve and good grip.