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.

Bright ruby-red. Almost mute on the nose today, with a lightly dusty quality to the black fruit and mineral aromas. Then suppler, sweeter and more pliant than the Christopher's but with a bit less spine and energy than that wine. Here the slightly medicinal tannins arrive earlier.

(from vines at 1,000 feet): Palish yellow with a green tinge. Cool aromas of lime ice, menthol and dusty stone, with a lightly metallic quality. Supple and quite dry, with subdued flavors of citrus peel and dusty stone. Very laid-back today, with the metallic quality carrying through in the mouth. This uncompromising chardonnay offered a hint of fresh apricot with air but its rather forbidding texture did not loosen up even after 24 hours in the recorked bottle.

Bright ruby. Cherry, dark berries and minerals on the nose, with hints of licorice and pepper. Offers a restrained sweetness and good depth to its dark fruit flavors. Shows a youthful, medicinal quality, a hint of black cardamom and dusty tannins on the long, incisive yet broad finish. This could use a bit of time to stretch out.

Bone dry, fruity and tannic, this pleasant Syrah has complex flavors of berries, cherries, grilled meat, pepper and smoky oak. Substantial in body, if a bit tough and astringent in tannins. Needs rich meats and cheeses. Could even improve in the cellar for a few years.

Bright yellow. Textbook viognier aromas of peach, pear, anise and pungent flowers. Graceful and precise in the mouth, offering juicy pit and orchard fruit flavors and a lively touch of bitter lemon zest. This delicious wine is very fragrant and shows no excess fat.

Light gold. Complex aromas of dried pear, iodine, white flowers and smoky peat. Densely packed, spicy and complex, with very good energy to the citrus, mineral and iodine flavors. This deep chardonnay finishes firm and smoky, with strong suggestions of minerals and anise.

(from an altitude of 820 to 1,000 feet): Bright medium yellow. Reticent aromas of peach, nutmeg and coconut, with a note of marzipan emerging with air. Broad, plump and silky; full without being heavy, but showing more oak and spice elements than primary fruit flavor.

Saturated ruby. Cherry-vanilla, red currant, smoke and licorice on the nose. Lush and chewy, with deep flavors of bitter cherry, dark chocolate and cracked pepper. Focused and linear in the mouth, finishing brisk and quite long. This offers attractive energy and freshness.

Greenish yellow. Assertive grapefruit and green apple aromas are complicated by lemongrass and white flowers. Dry, bracing and surprisingly concentrated, offering firm citrus and orchard fruit flavors, nervy minerality and a long, racy finish. A grown-up, low-fat, sharply focused style of the variety that I find utterly captivating.

A big, vital, dramatic wine, one of the finest Cab Francs of the vintage. Dazzles with blackberry, black cherry, mocha and spice flavors, wrapped into thick but finely ground tannins, and enriched with smoky oak. Beautiful now and for the next 4-5 years.

Rich berry-cherry, cola and raspberry fruit flavors mark this young wine. It's dry and stylishly elegant, and shows a certain aloof complexity. Almost rustic in scoury acidity and tannins, but it could develop bottle finesse in another 2-3 years.

Bright yellow. Subdued but pure, fruit-driven aromas of fresh pineapple, nectarine, peach and candied ginger. Then smooth and velvety in the mouth, with a firm mineral spine supporting the vibrant pit fruit and spice flavors. Fleshy but precise chardonnay, finishing focused, dry and quite youthful.

A fine, complex Merlot, appealing for its array of cherry, smoked meat, balsam, soy and pepper flavors. Shows lots of class and finesse for the price. Easy to find...

Shows good, deep, classic blackberry and cassis flavors, richly oaked, as well as some hard tannins.

A firmly structured, dry Cabernet whose thick mountain tannins frame classic Cabernet flavors of blackberries and cassis, elaborated with smoky new oak.

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