Fragrant, spicy and dense with meaty blackberry fruit and power; ripe and long; showing elegant complexity.

Smooth, polished and ripe, this is a blend of Alexander Valley and Sonoma Valley. Those are both warm appellations, and in this warm vintage, the wine is extremely ripe. It brims with chocolate, cassis and licorice flavors. Almost too fruity, this is saved by a dry finish.

Fresh and citrusy and white peach and minerals; bright, long and complex with lovely balance and nerve.

Creamy oak and a hint of cinnamon-like spice overlie lesser themes of red plums and cherries in the mid-density aromas of this correct, but never compelling Merlot...

A finish of sugary sweetness marks this Chard. It was grown in prime coastal regions, which accounts for the crisp acidity and long hangtime flavors of pineapples, green apples, Meyer lemons, kiwi fruit and spicy oak.

Nicely full-flavored, with herbs and good acidity. Big yet restrained. Easy to drink.

Deep red, with black cherries, anise and cinnamon; smooth and rich; $20, Recommended

A toasty, tropical chardonnay. Aromas and flavors of apricot, mango, apple, vanilla and honey. A popular pick.

Stunning; bursting with black raspberry and cassis; racy, intense, long and delightful.

Rich and spicy, with good fruit concentration; sweet fruits and a little spice; good acid and fine-grained tannins; bright focused red fruit on the finish.

A super-rich, ripe and concentrated array of prune, plum, dark chocolate and leather with considerable structure reflecting the high alcohol.

Deep colour, with complex savoury aromas to complement the vibrant red cherry fruits; quite silky, and a touch of spice on the finish.

There is a sense in this wine and in the winery's Chardonnay, that something is afoot at Kendall-Jackson as regards the quality of their entry level wines. Even in Pinot Noir, the single most ornery of the highbrow grapes, the winery has captured solidly varietal aromas and flavors of middling depth and easy accessibility. It is all one could ask of a wine that is so broadly available.

Bright, fresh, maybe a touch candied in an appley, lemony sort of way, this wine is very easy on the palate and holds onto that frontal, sweet fruit from front to back. Even a touch of coarse edge at the end does not detract from its attractiveness.

The vignot, a collaboration of California's Jess Jackson and wife Barbara Banke and Frenchman Pierre Seillan and wife Monique is robust, with that French gusto behind the flavors and tannins. IT's a blend of predominantly MErlot and Cab Franc, with a dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has precocious fruit, a la California, but the acidity and tannin to remind you it's grown in France. It's certainly a novelty to be such an international production. It's made at Chateau Lassegue, on the right bank of the Gironde River in Bordeaux, in Saint Emilion. It's sister wine is Lassegue Grand Cru. Catch the Review on April 3.

Very oaky in the nose, with a good smoky backnote. Posh, mostly oak-driven wine.

Lean and mildly smoky, this wine's light red hue belies some modest intensity, with a bright berry scent and clean, strawberry flavors. The finish hints at green herbs and a taste of the sea.

An elegant merlot with a soft texture. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, red fruits, toast and spice. Showy.

Verite is french for the word truth. La Muse--French vigneron Pierre Seillan's seventh vintage--is Merlot-based, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec; aged 16 months in 100% new oak. Aromas of violet, sweet berry, red fruit, pencil lead and iron hints; huge dry tannic grip is offset almost enough with lifted blackberry bramble and cherry. Verite is the flagship red of Jess Jackson's Jackson Family Farms, which uses only prime hillside fruit, experimenting with terroir, distinctive rootstocks and clones; to create blends modeled after the Bordelais.

This Pinot is all about cherries: scented red cherry at the outset, then a spicy, satisfying red cherry flavor marked by a hint of soil-scented earthiness in the finish.

Lovely cedary fruit, black fruit too. Round, high acid, plump, fruity, modest. Lovely balance. Tannins integrated. Good. 5 years.

Plum jam and vanilla oak. Dark spicy plum fruit. Well balanced. Dryish finish. Nice length. Nice effort. Fine flavour. 3-6 years.

The 2005 vintage was particularly successful throughout Sonoma; the Chardonnays were especially rich and concentrated, but well balanced with excellent acidity. Look for impressive 2005 Hartford Court Stone Côte Chardonnay, from the cool Sonoma Coast region.