Oak aromas; flavors of apricots and minerals, crisp and firm.

Is a rich and satisfying as its Cabernet cousin, though composed in a slightly darker key. Aromas of blueberry and sweet pine greet one's nose, while the palate offers blackberry fruit blended with dark chocolate, vanilla, and sassafras.

An extraordinary wine; silky and rich with racy, jammy, spicy blackberry and blueberry fruit; pure, intense acidity and elegant flavors.

Shows the impeccable balance you expect from this master winemaker, even in this hot vintage, where supermaturity was a challenge. The wine is certainly ripe, offering a mouthful of blackberries, cherries and currants. But it never loses its elegant tannin-acid architecture. Beautiful now, and should develop through 2014.

Richly fragrant, smooth and luscious with velvety texture, ripe blackberry fruit and hints of new oak; 68% Grenache, 27% Shiraz, 5% Mourvèdre.

Fresh and lively, with a beam of citrus-infused acidity and intense pear, apple and spicy oak. Elegant and balanced, this ends with a clean, complex finish. Drink now through 2011.

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.