Smooth, bright and fresh with restrained fruit; lively balanced and long.

A bit untamed, but loaded with personality, showing cooked black cherry and smoky sage aromas, as well as superripe plum, licorice and cracked pepper flavors. Drink now through 2014.

Jammy and appealingly briary, featuring boysenberry and woody herb aromas and ripe black cherry, dried jalapeno and pepper flavors. Drink now through 2016.

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice and minerals on the nose. A dense, rich midweight with slightly chunky flavors of blackberry, currant, dark chocolate and menthol. Boasts very good stuffing but could use a bit more verve and lift. Finishes with nicely ripe, chewy tannins.

Ripe, jammy and a hint sweet, showing notes of cherry pie, sage and spice. Drink now through 2015.

Purply red, with a spicy cinnamon nose, this wine has a sweet cherry flavor spiked with a sprig of mint. Not a lot of tannins, but the structure is there.

Outstanding '08s: densely packed with fruit but still elegant.

A charismatic white blend for warm days. Relatively new to the market is Kendall-Jackson Summation, a charismatic kitchen-sink concoction of eight different grapes from five different California wine regions (mostly Lake, Mendocino and Santa Barbara counties). Sauvignon Blanc gives it a crisp backbone and minerality, Viognier and Chardonnay add body and a lush texture and Rousanne, White Riesling and Muscat Canelli add bright fruit and floral aromas.

Round, cherry/berry fruit.

A blend of Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley fruit results in jamminess and well-rounded, soft tannins.

There is something to be said for wines blended from different appellations. The climate and geology of each area provides fruit that varies in aroma and flavor, giving the winemaker more artistic potential in creating a perfect wine. Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve offers elegant black cherry and raspberry aromas with notes of plum and toasty oak. The palate shows rich fruit flavors with a fruity finish graced by notes of vanilla and cedar.

Aromas and flavors of green apple, pear, vanilla and toast. Rich texture. Elegant.

Look for aromas of cherry and raspberry with notes of vanilla and floral perfume. Frill your Copper River salmon to accompany flavors of black cherry, brown spice, vanilla and smoky, toasty oak. Tannins are soft and yielding making this a great sipping wine as well.

Aromas and flavors of melon, pear, herbs, toffee and spice. Oak lovers will really go for this. Good length.

Golden apples and spice, with a tart lemony finish.

Menthol, celery salt, barnyard, tea, herbal, sour cherry aromas. Round, supple, full palate with good textures and acidity. Celery, cherry jam, strawberry, coffee, resin, tea, tobacco leaf flavours. ..the palate has good texture and balance for current drinking.

The '08 California Summation ($17), the first release of a rich and honeyed, floral and nutty blend of nine white grape varieties.

Blended with cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, this interesting merlot has plum and blackberry flavors and coffee, chocolate aromas.

Filled with black and red berries and stone fruits that have a smoky, grilled edge, this dramatic Cabernet based Bordeaux blend hails from several great vineyards, mainly Stagecoach, which is up on Atlas Peak. It drinks well now at the age of four-plus years, showing lush fruit that's just beginning to dry out and achieve bottle bouquet. Feels sweet and soft in the mouth. A compelling, complex and nuanced wine of great elegance and allure.

Superb, opulent, just wonderful. Hard to exaggerate the beauty of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fantastically ripe and rich in black cherries, currants, sandalwood and spices, with a grounding streak of herbs. Beyond the flavors is the near-perfect structure, marked by smooth, complex tannins. Finishes sweet but completely dry, the paradox of a great wine.

Drier and earthier than many Napa cabs these days, this wine has subtle sage and sweet licorice that grounds its fruitier flavors of blackberries, cherries and raspberries. Very beautiful are the tannins, which are rich and pure, suggesting perfect ripeness. The small Bosche bottling has been a premier one for the winery for many years, and this '05 in one of the best in memory. Should age effortlessly for at least a dozen years.

Very spicy, floral, incense, chocolate, cherry, coffee, prune, briary, light barnyard aromas. Round, rich, elegant, supple, dry palate with good acidity and intensity. Chocolate, vanilla, black cherry, wild strawberry jam, spicy, celery salt, cooked carrot, mineral, briar flavours. Great intensity and fruit with food finesse for current drinking. Fine effort.

From the steep Sonoma slopes of Mount St. Helena comes this tannic, concentrated young 100% Cabernet. Dramatic in structure and flavor, with massively packed blackberries, dark chocolate and pain grillé. the wine was aged in 49% new oak, which adds smoky, spice overtones.

Beautifully soft and limpid. So pretty and polished now, with ultrafine tannins framing ripe, dry flavors of black and red cherries, currants, chocolate, herbs and smoky sandalwood. Dramatic and opulent, this 100% Cab was aged in 40% new French oak.

Marked by strong, dry tannins now, which lock it down and make it astringent through the finish. Yet beneath the toughness is plenty of ripe fruit, with waves of blackberries and black currants. Oak shows up as toast, and also contributes to the tannins. Nowhere near ready, this wine should begin to come into its own after 2011.