Made in a rich, opulent style for near-term consumption, Yangarra's Roussanne features exotic notes of toasted hazelnuts, bananas Foster and ripe pineapple. It's full-bodied without being overly heavy, with a long finish redolent of tropical fruit and citrus.

From a far-coast vineyard near Occidental, this Chardonnay is all curves - a renaissance still like of buxom pears and peaches. It feels smooth and soft, with the peppery warmth of alcohol that comes in a wine of this ripeness. But it hasn't lost the detail that defines its scents of wildflower honey, of loquat and Meyer lemon. Serve cellar temperature with grilled black cod.

This Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend is from Jess Jackson-owned vineyards high above Alexander Valley. Made solidly in the modern style, it's very ripe, very soft, and extraordinarily rich in chocolate-infused cassis, cherry, date and violet flavors that are liberally treated with new oak. It's a delicious, seductive wine that should ride out the next 8 years with ease.

Rich and succulent, this mountain-grown Cabernet offers concentrated black currant, cherry, red licorice, date-nut cake, vanilla and smoke flavors that are wrapped into firm, complex but gentle tannins. It's lovely now, with the focused balanced to age for several years.

Cadenzia is a name coined by the McLaren Vale wineries to describe their blended red wines; Yangarra's 2006 version is 68% Grenache, 27% Shiraz and 5% Mourvèdre. The ripe plumminess verges on pruniness, accented by hints of cola and toasty, vanillin oak. This full-bodied but relatively unstructured wine should be consumed over the near term.

This is the first release of this new wine from Stonestreet. It's Merlot with some Cabernet, Syrah and Cab Franc. Grown in Jess Jackson's high mountain vineyards, it's rich and soft in black currant, cherry, mocha and smoky oak flavors, with smooth, easy tannins. Best now and through 2010.

Complex crushed wild blackberry and raspberry fruit has a nice mineral and pebble edge, and this gains momentum and depth on the finish, holding its fresh fruit character while remaining elegant and stylish. Drink now through 2012.

A citrusy sauvignon blanc that's a great value. Notes of stone fruit and spice, with a hint of grassiness. Balanced.

Boasts balanced oak and a hint of botrytised fruit, and it can star with chicken or pork in a creamy mustard sauce.

Longtime California producer Matanzas Creek is best known for its elegant Bennett Valley Merlot, but this savory, black-peppery Syrah is just as impressive. Its blackberry fruit and orange-peel acidity gain backbone from the inclusion of 14 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.

Forest floor and leafy herb notes with bold, well-ripened black fruit, with spice, coffee and anise.

Black cherry, sweet blackberry jam, tobacco, green pepper and a slightly sweaty cedar box aroma grace the nose of this delicious California cab. Firm tannins, with big and lush fruits which are true to the nose. Big acid, but very well balanced wine. A perfect complement to marinated red meats. Drinking now, but will improve easily over 5 to 7 years.

Good Value. Among the better white wine values to come our way in some time, this moderately sweet, well-balanced bottling is absolutely bursting with juicy, optimally ripened peaches. It goes beyond simple sweetness, however, and shows complexing suggestions of honey and marzipan, and it is enlivened by keenly fit acids all the way through. It will make a most amicable quaff when well chilled, but its richness and depth point the way to service with milder curries and shellfish in spicy sauces.

Good Value. Limited in varietal grassiness yet clean, fruity and well-balanced, this mid-sized Sauvignon smacks of sweet lemons with a touch of green melons in the mix. It hints at candy, is fairly frontal and narrows a bit at the end, but it maintains good focus and is a satisfying, eminently drinkable wine for the price.

Rich - but not over the top - aromas of banana, pineapple and cream soda, with sophisticated spice notes. A big wine with significant flavors of oak and vanilla that are balanced by a cavalcade of tropical fruit.

A good merlot, rich and elegant. Aromas and flavors of black plum, toast and spice. Medium-bodied. Balanced.

Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay is a generally well-regarded midpriced Chard.

An inexpensive sauvignon blanc that should be easy to find is the 2007 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve, a juicy, slightly grassy version of the varietal.

Another good value in this category, the KJ sports simple pear, citrus and kiwi notes.

During their search for a property in Bordeaux, California vintner Jess Jackson and his business partner, French vigneron Pierre Seillan, were particularly impressed with Saint-Emilion's Chateau Lassegue. The estate's roughly 83 acres of vineyards boast nine different soil types (one of the region's most diverse plots) and 30- to 45 year old vines. Both vintners felt the property could produce wines of first-growth quality. In the Chateau Lassegue Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2004, their instincts are vindicated. Seillan's exacting method of separately harvesting, vinifying and blending small blocks of vineyards known as micro-crus has resulted in a complex and unusually detailed wine in a vintage that challenged most producers. The nose is redolent of strong roasted coffee and spicey licorice, while the velvety and voluptuous palate reveals ripe black plum, wild berries and vanilla bean before the lengthy finish of orange zest and cardamom.

This is one of the more New Zealand-like Sauvignon Blancs out there, and that's a compliment. The wine is thoroughly dry and very crisp in acidity, with a grassy, lemony, minerally profile that makes it savory. Approximately one-fifth was barrel fermented, adding just the right touch of cream and smoke.

Deep red. Dark berries and candied cherry on the nose, with slow-building oak spice and mocha character. Fleshy red fruit flavors are a touch candied but offer good straightforward appeal. Finishes with good length and an echo of jammy berry fruit.

Lots of blackberries with spicy notes in this McLaren Vale offering. Very extracted. Great Value, too.

A zesty Zin, aromatic and vibrant with great tannin and structure. Nice fruit flavors, with notes of dill and toasty oak spice. Long finish.