From vines planted in 1906, the wine has plummy aromas, and a dense, taut palate that's vigorous and long.

The bottle, the cork, (indifferent) and the price all have the Us written on them, but this is in fact a seriously good grenache, with great colour and mouthfeel to its perfectly ripened, deep and luscious fruit.

The vineyard is in Fulton, a cool part of the southwestern valley heavily influenced by fog, and the vines are about 100 years old. This is great, classic Zinfandel. It should be in a museum. Despite high alcohol, it has a silky, Pinot-esque suppleness, balanced with crisp acids, and is profoundly rich in Zinny flavor. Currants, mushu plum sauce, anise, crushed black pepper, dark chocolate and rich Asian spices last forever on the finish.

The winery's most expensive wine comes from very low-yielding Martini selection grapes planted in 1975. The '07, tasted at a bit more than one year of age, was pronounced in smoky oak and robust tannins, showing jammy flavors of blackberries, cherries, blueberries, anise, cloves and cedar. Hold this powerful wine until 2011.

Dense colour, a high-quality regional style with an assemblage of black fruits, dark chocolate and a dash of licorice on the supple, medium-to-full bodied palate; extract and tannins well balanced.

This deep, generously fruited look at the grape achieves an extra measure of richness when compared to the field, and its involving interplay of ripe figs, fresh herbs and toasty oak spice is spot on in terms of varietal expression. Both weighty and very well-balanced, it is a wine of evident range and substance, and it will make splendid drinking with entrees that range from meaty, full-flavored white-fleshed fishes to savory herbed chicken.

A Wine that can be drunk now or cellared for a decade or more is the brilliant 2007 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard. This vineyard tends to provide a graphite-like character along with minerality and earth. The wine is full-bodied and powerful with striking concentration as well as a terrific perfume of flowers, plums, black cherries, and black currants. Deep, full, rich, still young and promising, it should be even better with another 1-2 years of bottle age.

The 2007 Pinot Noir Sierra Madre is dark plum in color, has earthy, berry, underbrush notes, medium to full body, serious depth as well as texture, and a long promising finish. It will evolve for 6-8+ years.

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.