Deep ruby. Powerful cherry and blackberry aromas display suave, smoky complexity and slow-building licorice character. Lush, creamy and sweet, with densely packed dark berry preserve flavors, harmonious tannins and a late note of tangy minerals. The smoky note comes back on the long, spicy finish. For a rich wine this is attractively seamless and energetic.

Bright gold. Musky, highly complex aromas of lemon pith, candied ginger, pineapple and smoke. Fat and palate-coating but shapely, with deep, tactile flavors of fresh pineapple, pear and gingerbread. As powerful as this is, there's surprising restraint and focus here. Finishes taut and gripping, with persistent spiciness and energy.

A rich, vital, complex Pinot Noir. Completely dry, with a savory scour of acidity, it treads a fine line between ripe cherries and pomegranates and earthier notes of mushrooms and dried herbs. Lots of terroir in this fine wine, which will take a few years of bottle age.

A wonderfully good wine, especially at this price. Easily the best K-J Vintner's Reserve ever. Inky black, full-bodied and dry, it houses rich, complex blackberry, plum and smoky oak flavors, wrapped into finely ground, firm tannins. Run, don't walk, to find this affordable beauty.

Very fine Chardonnay, marked by brisk, racy acidity and a steely tang to the lemon, lime, white peach and honeysuckle flavors. Very complex and lively, an alluring wine that will take a few years in the bottle.

A beautiful, racy Chardonnay, with a streamlined structure that could almost be a fine, barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc. It's marked by mouthwatering acidity, with savory lemongrass, hay, vanilla and white pepper flavors. First class and elegant as a cocktail sipper.

Vivid ruby. Pungent aromas of cherry, black raspberry and violet. Lively dark fruit flavors are lifted by lively, integrated acidity. Dense but nicely delineated, with a sexy floral nuance emerging with aeration. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and notes of candied rose and mocha. This benefits a lot from air.

Bright ruby. Musky, sappy nose and palate evoke wild strawberry, raspberry, Asian spices, minerals and orange zest. Sweet, sappy and mineral-driven, with lovely clarity and cut. Shows admirable refinement and finishes very long, with silky tannins spreading out to coat the palate. Very nicely balanced.

Vivid ruby. Highly perfumed nose offers raspberry, Asian spices, flowers and a sexy vanilla note. Suave and supple, coating the palate in sweet red fruit and floral nuances without giving any impression of weight. Finishes sweet and persistent, with noteworthy clarity and cut.

Bright gold. High-pitched aromas of orange zest, green apple, nutmeg and wet stone, with a building suggestion of exotic fruits. Dense and chewy but also fine-grained and bright, conveying a strong impression of extract without weight. Offers considerable immediate appeal, but also has the backbone for mid-term aging. Finishes long, with resonating mineral and spice notes.

Vivid yellow-gold. Floral, mineral-accented nose displays fresh orchard fruits, spices and a strong jasmine quality. Shapely and focused, with noteworthy purity and cut to its pear, nectarine and floral flavors. Fine-grained and gripping on the back end, finishing pure, stony and very long. Quite concentrated and tactile but there's nothing heavy about this. This got 20% new oak, the lowest amount of this year's releases.

There's not much Chardonnay grown on Howell Mountain, but here's one to check out. It has an unusually pungent earthiness, leading to rich flavors of yellow apricots, lemon tart and kumquats, with a complex touch of mushroom. Bone dry and crisp, it should develop bottle complexities over the next 5-6 years.

Deep red. Red currant, dried cherry, cedar and smoke on the nose. Rich and supple on entry, then more taut and solid in the mid-palate, with ripe, delineated flavors of bitter red fruits, chocolate, chewing tobacco and anise. The finish is focused, smoky and quite long, with dusty tannins and lingering red fruits. Comes across as old school in the best sense, with the structure to age.

Bright gold. Peach nectar, honey and orange marmalade on the nose, with notes of candied ginger and smoky herbs adding complexity. Juicy, palate-coating pit fruit flavors are very sweet-verging-on-syrupy and first, but pick up a spicy note in the mid-palate that provides lift. Finishes with very good, clinging persistence and resonating ginger and herbal notes. This fully botrytized fruit was harvested at 33.5 degrees Brix.

Vivid gold. Pungent, perfumed aromas of orange pith, pear, lees, flowers and iodine. Juicy and deep but surprisingly energetic, with an alluring sweetness and a smoky accent to the candied grapefruit, pear and honeysuckle flavors. Finishes with firm cut and impressive length, the smoke and mineral nuances repeating.

Dramatically rich and full-bodied in blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate and oak flavors. With thick, fine tannins giving it a youthful astringency, this Bordeaux blend needs to be cellared. Should develop bottle notes over the next ten years.

Medium yellow. A hint of quince is overshadowed by brown spices, iodine and charred oak on the nose. Plush and seamless, with an attractive restrained sweetness to the flavors of peach, brown spices and crushed stone. Glycerol but shapely thanks to firm acidity. The tactile finish features very good grip.

Dark red. Expressive aromas of plum, red currant, tobacco and minerals, with a strong black cherry quality emerging with air. Ripe and pliant but firm, with intense dark berry and licorice flavors framed by harmonious acidity. Offers lovely sweetness with restraint. Very suave and fine-grained on the horizontal finish.

Deep ruby. Pretty aromas of blackberry, blueberry and bitter chocolate; smells riper than the basic cabernet bottling. Then denser and sweeter in the mouth, with the concentration of chewy black fruit flavor to support the wine's powerful tannins. Medicinal but not green or aggressive. An excellent example of Howell Mountain cabernet.

...it has deep, fine blackberry and cherry fruit flavors, and should have a good future. The score reflects the possibilities after 5-7 years of aging.

Deep ruby-red. Very ripe, fragrant aromas of cherry-cola, blackberry and licorice, with sexy oak spice and floral notes emerging with aeration. Deep and concentrated but vibrant, with ripe, penetrating cherry and dark berry flavors and good back-end lift. Finishes chewy and long, with firm tannins and a strong kick of bitter cherry. This will reward patience.

Here's a classically rich, barrel-aged Chardonnay. With a beautiful golden color, it brims with pineapple, golden mango and lemon custard flavors, enhanced with bright, citrusy acidity. Very fine and classy, at a great price.

Dry, racy and clean. Shows real class, with plenty of zesty lemon and lime acidity, brightening the citrus, lemongrass, white peach and mineral flavors.

Bright yellow. Restrained but focused aromas of pear, dusty stone, jasmine and vanillin oak. Broad, dense and tactile, with good mineral lift to the urgent flavors of white peach, orchard fruits and white flowers. The long, energetic finish displays admirable finesse and clarity.

Good deep ruby-red. Aromas and flavors of black fruits, bitter chocolate and licorice, with a pronounced gravelly quality. Ripe and chewy but medicinal and backward today, with density building toward the back. Just a bit of tannic dryness but this is still a baby. There's very little topsoil at this site, notes winemaker Graham Weerts, and the diurnal shifts are more pronounced here than at Stonestreet's higher-elevation cabernet vineyards. This should reward bottle aging.