The 2005 Murphy-Goode Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend dominated by cabernet sauvignon (91 percent) with added petit verdot (for depth), merlot (for sweetness) and malbec (for a hint of blueberry flavor). Its deep blackberry and plum fruitiness has dried-herb notes and is well balanced by acidity and soft tannins.

Terra A Lago, Block 4 vineyard is in California's southern Alexander Valley and is the source for much of Murphy Goode's finest Cabernet fruit. This reserve-level Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with boysenberry aroma wrapped in toasty oak and layers of complex earthy, plumy, smoky goodness. The palate is rich with black cherry and blueberry flavors tightly held by firm tannins and notes of vanilla and bacon on the finish. Calling all meats from the grill!

100% cabernet sauvignon from a single-vineyard, aged in French oak with a little American oak. Vibrant purple-ruby color. Mature and complex aromatics. Lacks the up-front fruitiness of its youth. Balanced with blackberry and spice notes and well-integrated oak. Nicely matured for a 12-year-old cabernet.

The Terra A Lago Vineyard, off the Alexander Valley's southern bench is the winery's prime cab real estate. a dark-colored bold and highly concentrated wine with lots of dark fruit, it should age very well.

Murphy-Goode, Alexander Valley (Sonoma county, California) Cabernet Sauvignon Murphy Ranch, Sarah Block 2002: If you wanted to find a textbook Cabernet Sauvignon, this would be a prime candidate. It has aromas and flavors of black currants and blackberries, very concentrated, very ripe and yet fresh. The wine's firm oak tannin on the rear palate is ably balanced by the wine's concentrated fruit character on the fore palate. Concentrated fruit on the finish indicates a potential for aging. A splendid Cabernet. 90 POINTS> Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Murphy-Goode, Alexander Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2002: I am keenly searching for California wines that offer distinctive character and competitive value in the world marketplace, and this is one of them. It offers fresh, flavorful, fleshy berry fruit that really shows the signature of Alexander valley, with very soft tannins and a juicy core of the fruit that could enable this to work well in all sorts of applications. As an aside, I don't care to drink red wine as a cocktail, but it is quite evidently the case that many people do, and this is a Cabernet that can be enjoyed in this mode while also being up to the challenge of pairing with serious food. 89 POINTS. Michael Franz

Murphy-Goode, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County. Plump, polished, ripe plum, mulberry, blackcurrant. Plush, gorgeous, silky dark fruit. Up to 5 years.

92 Murphy-Goode 2002 Terra A Lago #4 Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley) This block selection combines the richness of the winery's Adams Knoll Cab with the tannic inaccessibility of the Sarah Block. The result is a wine that needs age. It displays its appellation's herbal, tobaccoey personality, with a solid core of cherry and blackberry fruit. Best to cellar until 2008, and should hold beyond that.

Wines of the Week Murphy-Goode co-founder Tim Murphy was the architect of their Zinfandel program, conceived, in part, through “consultation” with Sonoma County Zinfandel growers over breakfast games of Liar’s Dice. Roll the bones with this bright and flavorful Zin, featuring aromas of blackberry and floral perfume leading to spicy berry and cedar on the palate.

Murphy-Goode co-founder Tim Murphy was the architect of their Zinfandel program conceived, in part, through “consultation” with Sonoma County Zinfandel growers over breakfast games of Liar’s Dice. M-G 2013 Zin is a juicy, celebratory wine with dark cherry and blackberry fruit, a jammy palate and notes of oak from a combination of American and French oak aging.

This near-perfect growing season gives the wine even more intensity and juicy fruit. Aromas roar with dark berries, spice, brown cooking spices and an infusion of cedar. Flavors are juicy, acidity is firm; alcohol and toasty oak are woven into the fruit. Flavors and mouthfeel are broadened with the addition of 4 percent Petite Sirah. Alcohol is 15.4 percent. The producer calls it a second-glass Zin: If you have one glass you’re certain to have another. It’s perfect for pairing with grilled burgers and steaks.

Always a pleasure to drink, the Liar’s Dice is blended with a bit of petite sirah to give it more color and depth. It’s very juicy with sweet, jammy raspberry and blackberry flavors.

The Reserve takes things up another notch. There’s more oak roaring through the aromas; flavors are intense, and dense, and really approachable — yet it’s still holding back some of its full potential. It’s a wine with subtle power — alcohol is 15.6 percent yet it does not flaunt that. It’s a sipping wine — something to enjoy with creamy Roquefort on a cracker or a fat juicy steak on the grill. Fruit is from the Ellis Ranch owned by fifth generation Alexander Valley grower Nancy Dalziel. Winemaker Dave Ready Jr. puts it nicely: “The finish is long and will leave your mouth happy.”

This is the kind of wine European visitors stow in a suitcase to take home to friends. The vintage, of course, 2012, is one of the best in recent times and the wine speaks to that. Tannins are smooth as silk; this baby has no rough edges. Flavors are dark berries, plum, spice, vanilla with a sweet toasty note. It’s so smooth and approachable. Murphy-Goode always gives the “Snake Eyes” designation to the best Zinfandel vineyard of the vintage, in this case, the Trusendi Vineyard in Alexander Valley, which is one of the original sources of Liar’s Dice fruit. The owner, Mike Mazzoni, was one of the regulars for the Murphy-Goode founders’ dice games in Geyserville.

Murphy-Goode Snake Eyes Zinfandel 2012. You won't find a more juicy zinfandel to accompany those smoked ribs or grilled hamburgers. Perfect for the grilling season because of the jammy flavors, this zinfandel is packed with lively raspberry, blackberry fruit.

This one has been a fan favorite for decades — and it just gets better. It’s a beauty from the spectacular 2012 vintage produced off Alexander and Dry Creek Valley vineyards. Flavors are like liquid raspberry, cherry, plum and spice — and throw in some molten dark chocolate and espresso beans. Tannins are like silk. Acidity gives it edge. It’s delicious.

2011 Murphy-Goode “Liar’s Dice” Zinfandel, Sonoma County: hearty, with black raspberry flavors, big, smooth tannins and a long finish; $21. Winery co-founder Tim Murphy conceived the wine over 20 years of breakfasts and games of “liar’s dice” at a farmer’s restaurant in Geyserville. It’s a dice game for two or more players requiring the ability to deceive and to detect an opponent’s deception.

Great blackberry and black raspberry nose and flavors with just a hint of oak. This wine leaves a great impression in the mouth and pairs very well with barbecued meat dishes.

Soft and sweet, with aromas and flavors of black cherries and black coffee).

Crafted from grapes grown in both the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, Liar’s Dice Zinfandel offers the juicy, jammy side of Zin with a full-bodied palate and ripe aromas of blackberry, currants and black cherry. The winery suggests pairing Liar’s Dice with sweet and spicy meats like baby-back ribs or pulled-pork sandwiches. Liar’s Dice is a bluffing game made famous by Capt. Jack Sparrow in the Pirate’s of the Caribbean movies, arrrrgh!

A soft, simple but pretty wine, with slightly sweet, pie-filling cherry, raspberry, Dr. Pepper cola and baking spice flavors. Drink now.

Liar's Dice Zin blends wines from both Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley, the combination offering ripe black raspberry, currants, cherry and blackberry jam. Try this rich and fruity red for your final backyard cookout of the season. By the way, matey, Liar's Dice is the game played in Pirate's of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest where Will Turner plays the ghost for his soul. No such dire consequences await the wine drinker, although there is a variant of the game involving drinking when you lose...

Fresh, with aromas of dark fruit, earth and plenty of oak.

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