The 2005 Grand Reserve Meritage is lush and layered, and has such purity of fruit.

The K-J Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay -- it's iconic in its price category.

Price is always a factor in choosing wine. ...some good and widely available values are made. Try Kendall-Jackson's 2007 Vintner's Reserve.

If never less than aggressively ripe in character and always on the verge of being a little too hot, this mouthfilling Zin is charged with plenty of well-defined fruit and is surprisingly well-balanced for the very big wine that it is. It is firmed by lots of fruity acidity and stays bright and lively even as its alcohol flares just a bit at the finish. It will need pairing with appropriately rich foods, and its overall structure suggests that it will improve for several years.

Cambria winemaker, Denise Shurtleff has certainly done an admirable job with her wine. It's bright and spicy, with cherry and rhubarb, firm structure, a subtle herbal note and good concentration.

This Chard is California distilled. It's big, oak-laced and tropical, and finishes buttery. It's baked apple, mango, melon and honeysuckle on the nose - notes that are all mirrored on the palate and finish. This wine is not for newbies. It takes a palate that can appreciate the legacy of these vines and accept the French oak and malolactic fermentation. It's sensational for fans of this style. Pair it with something powerful: Try it as a foil to rich shellfish, juicy pork, or wild game.

The fruit of the 2007 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is cherries jubilee, propped up by alcohol and smooth, creamy tannins.

The 2007 La Crema Anderson Valley Pinot Noir is indeed pretty and feminine, and has tannins like silk.

The chardonnay is baked apple, baked pear, a little shortbread. Not flabby.

That's my favorite chardonnay --it's driven by lemon zest, minerality and a stony, minerally finish. It's my favorite Chard of the bunch, too--you want to think Burgundy, though you know it's California fruit in the heart of that river of midpalate flavors. The 2007 is La Crema's first Los Carneros Chardonnay.

Think lime zest, fresh green apples and honeysuckle with the 2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

Bright ruby-red. High-pitched, vibrant aromas of cassis, flowers and licorice. The palate offers terrific sappy cut and intensity, with powerful, mouthcoating flavors of cassis, violet, lavender, minerals, spices and crushed rock. This very young wine is most impressive of all today on the booster rocket of a finish, which stains the palate with flavor. This wonderfully deep and concentrated wine has fruit of steel and seems destined for a glorious evolution in bottle. As good as Napa's best cult wines at a fraction the price.

Saturated bright ruby-red. Cassis, blueberry and exotic tropical chocolate on the nose. Dense, sweet and extremely primary, with outstanding depth to the dark fruit, mineral and chocolate flavors. Wonderfully silky for such a young and fresh wine. The resounding, perfumed finish features perfectly distributed tannins and superb length. I'd love to show this merlot-based blend to some producers in Pomerol.

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice and cedar on the nose. Broad and round but backward, with a distinctly medicinal reserve to the flavors of black fruits, menthol and smoke. The middle palate is currently dominated by the wine's spine and yet the very long finish is lush and sweet. The least obviously minerally of these three 2006s today, but offers great potential.

It's been a pleasure to taste through Byron's 2006 Pinots, because they show that this winery hasn't lost the magic tough after all these years. This bottling, a barrel select from their best vineyards, is magnificent. Fully drinkable now for its lush berry-cherry and cedar flavors, it has rich Santa Maria spicy tannins that enable it to age effortlessly for up to a decade.

Full, saturated ruby. Superripe, almost liqueur-like aromas and flavors of black fruits, violet and dark chocolate. Wonderfully lush and dense, combining the firmness of its 44% cabernet franc component, with the broad, violety thickness of its 44% merlot. Spreads out to saturate the palate on the very ripe, classically dry back end, where the tannins melt into the wine. This has the highest pH of these 2007s but is still a moderate 3.71.

Voluptuous, with a buttercreamy texture housing ripe fruit flavors of pineapples, Meyer lemon pie filling, ripe kiwis and pears, enriched with the caramel, custard and smoke of new oak and lees. Cool coastal acidity provides a clean, tart balance. This is a delicious, upscale Chardonnay.

Bright ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of blackcurrant, black raspberry, coffee and graphite. Big, rich, minerally and classically dry, with a firm edge of acidity giving it uncommon spine for a wine with nearly 90% merlot. This exploded with minerality as it opened in the glass. Finishes rich, deep and long, with some new oak showing.

Deep red. Seductively perfumed bouquet of red berry preserves, five-spice powder and flowers. Juicy raspberry and cherry flavors are framed by silky tannins and gain weight with aeration. Richer black raspberry and kirsch qualities dominate the long, seductively sweet finish. Offers an impressive blend of power and vivacity.

Glass-staining ruby. Exotically perfumed nose evokes blackcurrant, violet, dried rose, iron and apricot pit. Stains the palate with sweet dark berry preserve flavors, picking up licorice, smoky minerals and candied flowers with air. This reminded me of a ripe vintage of Mouton-Rothschild! The finish echoes the sweet dark berry and floral notes and refuses to let up. This sexy wine is drinking well right now. These vines are reportedly 93 years old. (JR)

Saturated ruby. Mineral-driven aromas of crushed cassis, licorice and graphite. Much more backward than the Muse, and a bit angular and monolithic in comparison. But this brooding young cabernet-based blend also boasts terrific intensity to its crushed black fruit, licorice and violet flavors. Finishes with serious tannic clout.

(14.8% alcohol) Saturated bright ruby. Aromas of cassis, violet, licorice and menthol, plus a whiff of cocoa powder. Sweet and chewy but with lovely aromatic lift to the black fruit, brown spice and floral flavors. At once structured and silky, powerful and stylish. Finishes with firm tannins and noteworthy verve. From a vineyard planted at an elevation of 750 feet. The gravelly silt and loam soil here is a bit less firm than the sandy gravelly loam (volcanic ash) used to make the Helena Montana wine.

Saturated deep ruby. Crushed black fruits and minerals on the lively nose. The densest and richest of these 2006s, with a compelling sweetness to its extremely primary dark fruit and bitter chocolate flavors. Not yet complex but has terrific stuffing to support its big, chewy, broad tannins. Lay this one down.

Bright red. Exotic red and dark berry compote, cherry-cola and potpourri aromas are complicated by smoky minerals and herbs. Fleshy, seductively sweet raspberry and candied cherry flavors are strikingly pure and concentrated, with silky tannins adding support. Gains weight with air and finishes with excellent clarity and persistence. Put this one away for a couple of years, at least.

Deep red. Brooding aromas of cherry pit, licorice, dried rose and dark chocolate. Powerful, palate-coating dark fruit flavors slowly unfold to display sexy baking spices and flowers. The licorice note repeats strongly on the finish, which hangs on with great tenacity. I'd give this some time in the decanter or cellar.