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.

From a slope of Mount St. Helena overlooking this small valley appellation comes this very dense, young 100% Cab. It's an impressive wine, not only for the sheet concentration of blackberry, currant and plum fruit flavors, but for the plush mouthfeel, which has a gorgeously soft quality. K-J's winemakers really rock in the science of tannin management.

Wonderfully deep ruby hue. Youthful scents of dust, cedar, black currant and dark cherry. Lots of berry and plum flavors, clean oak with food-friendly tannins through to the finish.

Deep ruby-red. Musky, very ripe aromas of roasted dark fruits, beefsteak tomato and maple syrup. Then almost surprisingly bright in the middle (this actually has a relatively low pH of 3.55 and high total acidity), with powerful chocolatey fruit and a strong tannic backbone. In fact, today the wine's big sandy tannins cut off the fruit. Winemaker Seillan predicts that this extremely young wine will age for 50 years; it will certainly require six or eight of them to become more approachable. But subsequent vintages are more suave.

Chunky, intense and concentrated, with wild berry, spice, mineral and hints of fresh earth. Focused, with an aftertaste of leather and berry. Drink now through 2012.

Ripe, rich, spicy flavors of peach and nectarine have great focus and intensity, with juicy citrus notes and a lingering finish.

A limited cuvée of 289 cases, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain (100% from Mt. Veeder) is a gorgeous California Cabernet Sauvignon reminiscent of the Graves wine La Mission Haut-Brion. A scorched earth and volcanic ash character intermixed with loads of smoky cassis, blackberry, and blueberry jump from the glass of this full-bodied wine that is powerful, rich, and built for the long haul. This is a fabulous wine that is actually a super value for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Give it 3-4 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 30 years.

Even better is the exceptionally complex 2006 Chardonnay Seco Highland Estates, which is a brilliant Chardonnay from Monterey. This is a more limited production cuvée of 560 cases, but the price is certainly fabulous for a Chardonnay of this quality. It has that nice greenish hue to the straw color, a gorgeous nose of orange blossoms intermixed with brioche, leesy waxiness, and some superb tropical fruit, with beautiful acidity and minerality. This is a stunner that could easily pass for a great French grand cru in a blind tasting.

The last and most expensive wine in the entire Kendall-Jackson hierarchy is the 2004 Stature. A proprietary blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, most of this comes from three separate vineyards in Napa Valley. Dark ruby/purple in color, with notes of creosote, graphite, blackberry and cassis with some pain grillé notes in the background, this wine has beautiful purity, full-bodied power, high tannin, but is balanced by equally impressive levels of fruit and extract. It definitely needs 5-6 years of cellaring and should keep for two decades.

The 2006 Chardonnay Camelot Highlands Estates from the Santa Maria Valley is a stunning Chardonnay with light gold color and a gorgeous nose of honeyed tropical fruits intermixed with hints of hazelnut and subtle oak. The wine is fleshy, rich, pure, and a total delight to drink. It should be consumed over the next 2-3 years.

The 2005 Syrah Alisos Hills displays the smoky lard and bacon fat notes of this varietal. Dark ruby/purple-colored with some charcoal, pepper, and spice, the wine (all from Santa Barbara) should drink nicely for 5-7 years.

A brilliant example of 100% estate-grown Merlot, the 2005 Taylor Peak Merlot from the high-elevation (1,200-1,400 ft.) Bennett Valley vineyards of Jess Jackson's Jackson Park Vineyard, exhibits a fabulous nose of red and blue fruits intermixed with crushed rocks, strawberry jam, and some subtle oak. The wine is full-bodied, opulent, rich, but also structured in the finish. This a Merlot that is going to be a keeper. Give it another two or so years of bottle age and drink it over the following 15+.

One of the finest values in Chardonnay in the market is the 2006 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, which is aged 8 months in a combination of French and American oak, and put through malolactic fermentation. It is a cross-appellation blend of 55% from Monterey and 45% from Santa Barbara. Gorgeous tropical fruits, pineapple in particular, as well as honeysuckle and some floral notes jump from the glass of this pure, rich wine that exhibits subtle oak but is dominated by its fruit. It's a beauty that should drink nicely for several years.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge, a Knights Valley cuvée that is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, offers nice chocolatey, black currant notes with some underbrush and forest floor. The wine has excellent texture, zesty acidity, and the vintage's tell-tale tannin and almost Bordeaux-like structure superimposed on the exuberant fruit of northern California. It should drink nicely for a decade or more.

The 2005 Grand Reserve Meritage, a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc all aged in French oak, comes from the Sonoma estate of Jess Jackson. This is a wine that could turn out to be outstanding. Deep ruby/purple with notes of graphite, cedar, pain grillé, black cherry, and mulberry, the wine is medium to full-bodied, has pure fruit as well as nice texture. It has a Bordeaux-like personality and good length.

There are some terrific values in this portfolio, none better than the 2006 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. It is certainly one of the best Chardonnays for the money. This wine, which comes from coastal vineyards owned by Jackson, is 90% barrel-fermented and put through 100% malolactic, which is remarkable given the quantity of wine made. The wine is also consistent unless it is beaten up in the distribution chain or by retailers with questionable storage. Crisp orange marmalade and lemon oil notes as well as some tropical fruits always characterize this wine, which seems to show very little evidence of oak, with gorgeously lush fruit, and zesty acidity in a fresh, lively style. It's a remarkable value...

The 2005 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is also mostly from Sonoma. A deep ruby-colored wine with a pure cassis nose intermixed with some lead pencil, spice, and earth...but shows high potential and needs 2-3 years of cellaring.

I did like the 2004 Vintner's Reserve Meritage, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. The wine exhibits medium body and good black cherry fruit intermixed with some cedar and loamy, earthy notes. The wine is soft, medium-bodied, and a stylish Californian take on a good Bordeaux. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.