The 2007 Wente Clone exhibits orange blossom, lemon oil, honeysuckle, pear, and mango notes, medium to full body, good acidity, a hint of minerality, and a long finish. It, too, should drink well for several years.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard comes from high density blocks planted with Dijon clones. Its dark ruby/purple color is followed by sweet black cherry and blueberry aromas interwoven with notes of damp earth and forest floor. Vibrant, pure, full-bodied, and beautifully textured, it should drink nicely for 5-7 years.

A very good bargain. The sexy 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Maria offers sensual, soft, floral, berry, and plum fruit notes intertwined with a subtle notion of smoke. This silky-textured, medium-bodied endearing Pinot smells good, goes down easy, and should have many fans among both neophytes and connoisseurs. Enjoy it over the next several years.

Uncompromisingly varietal sweet fruit from the 60-year-old vines is not overly confection-like, but nor is it in the mainstream of McLaren Vale grenahce; that said, its flavour has to be respected.

Very spicy/savoury and with more grenache confection from the High Sands or Old Vine 100% grenache; however, the wine has length thanks to its tannins.

68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot. Voluminous aromas of black cherries, roast coffee and caramel join rich, forest-floor spice in making for a genuinely head-turning start here, and the wine lives up to that promise once in the mouth with positively plush, highly-oaked flavors of varied black fruits. Its richness begs early drinking, but its back-end tannin cautions of age, and four to five years of patience would seem the best idea.

This is a beautiful pale ruby red pinot. Expect aromas of ripe Strawberry and rhubarb fruit, with beet, cinnamon and some floral notes. Dry, medium weight with gentle soft tannins, creamy with the fruit well balanced by lively acidity. Nicely integrated oak shows up a little more on the finish. Very good to excellent length. Will gain complexity and integration with another year of bottle age. Roast beef would work well. Best 2010 to 2014.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Monument comes from three clones, Joseph Swan, Dijon Clone 115, and the Wadenswil Clone (which is well-known in Oregon, but is less prevalent in California). This deep ruby/purple-colored wine's big, earthy, beefy, leafy, raspberry, and black cherry-scented nose is followed by crisp, cool climate berry fruit flavors intertwined with notions of herbs, tobacco, and spice. A beautiful, but restrained 2007, it is not as impressive as either the Nielson or Bien Nacido cuvées at present, but it will provide lovely drinking for up to a decade.

A very good value in Chardonnay is the 2007 Santa Maria. Although completely barrel-fermented and put through malolactic, it retains a crisp, elegant style with the wood clearly pushed to the background. Revealing abundant amounts of honeyed citrus along with hints of tropical fruit and crushed rocks, in addition to beautiful freshness and vibrancy, it can be enjoyed over the next several years.

Deep red. Raspberry, blackberry and candied cherry aromas are complimented by baking spices and dried flowers. Fleshy and broad, offering sweet black raspberry and cherry preserve flavors, soft tannins and a late note of anise. This is drinking very well right now, and the finish is seamless and sweet, if just a touch jammy. This will be a real crowd-pleaser.

Has an abundance of stone fruit and citrus/grapefruit flavours on a lively palate, something of a surprise.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard exhibits notes of beef bouillon, root vegetables, earth, and a hint of cherry cough syrup. The softest of the single-vineyard offerings, it is a round, attractive, medium-bodied Pinot to consume over the next 3-4 years.

Inky ruby. Cassis and boysenberry on the nose, with a vanilla bean quality gaining strength. Cherry-vanilla and dark berry liqueur flavors are broad and soft, turning sweeter with air. A real fruit bomb, with the material to support its fairly strong oak component. Finishes soft and broad, but with good cling. This won't make any converts among those averse to Aussie shiraz.

Deep, rich cherry flavors, with notes of roasted coffee, chocolate and a hint of rhubarb. Great acid. Complex.

A wine with few peers when it comes to out and out value.

The Carmel Road Arroyo Seco 2006 is a keenly balanced bottling of fine fruity precision, and it is joined on our roster of Best Buys.

A toasty chardonnay. Lush aromas and flavors of apple, pear, melon, caramel, vanilla. Hint of butterscotch.

Accessible, eminently fruity.

The 2007 Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay, a citrusy wine with green apple and some oak.

Supple, apple-like.

A bright fume blanc with aromas and flavors of grapefruit and tangerine. Crisp and lively. A refreshing quaff.

A nice little 2004 replay that reminds us that the vintage was one of the greats in recent Napa history. This one shows all of the mountain-grown breed we have come to expect (and crave!) from this very special terroir of Mount Veeder. Here, all of the generous fruit we love from Napa collides with olive, earth and tobacco in one complex and beautiful package. Superlong and special.

Hillside fruit rocks! Thanks to thinner soils, the vines planted on the slopes of Napa's Mount Veeder have to work harder than those on the valley floor. The end result is flavor-packed, balanced fruit from vineyards over 1,250 feet above sea level and a 100 percent Cabernet whose limited production yields an alluring wine that reveals a myriad of pleasures - black currants, cassis, eucalyptus, chocolate, spice, roses and violets - sip by sip.

The Highland Estate Vineyards are mountain, hillside or ridge vineyards - all producing small quantities of concentrated, flavorful wines. This one on Mount Veeder is a powerful Cabernet Sauvignon that has an almost impenetrable deep color. With dark, heady aromas of meat, smoke and blackberry, its very seductive nose promises full flavor and complexity. On the palate it's a big, rich mouthful of wine. This is a true structured Napa Cabernet that requires roasted meats, venison or game.

Kendall-Jackson's 2008 Vintner's Reserve Summation is a blend of 10 white grapes (sauvignon blanc, at 31 percent, is the main variety) from up and down the coast. It's quite racy, with citrus and stone fruit notes, a slight creamy note and persistent acidity.