The 2006 Chardonnay Alexander Valley is a beautiful wine that exhibits notes of honeysuckle, poached pear, and tropical fruit in a medium to full-bodied style, with crisp acidity and a long, very subtle, smoky oakiness. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

This 1,500-case blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot comes from two vineyards on Jess Jackson's Alexander Mountain estate at a relatively high elevation. The wine offers notes of cedar, graphite, black currant, sweet cherry, and smoky oak. It is quite tightly knit, full-bodied, moderately tannic, with good acidity and definition. It should be given several years of bottle age upon release and should evolve for at least 20+ years.

The 2006 Cote de Lune Blanc is a sensational barrel-fermented blend of 34% Grenache blanc, 28% Viognier, 27% Roussanne, and the rest Marsanne. It is a terrific wine, but unfortunately, there are just under 300 cases of it. Please make more! From Saralee’s Vineyard, it is a great bargain in dry white wines, with hints of rose petal, lychee, white peach, and honeysuckle. The wine is dry, medium to full-bodied, with loads of personality and fruit. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

The 2006 Chardonnay Broken Road, which comes from an even higher elevation of around 1,800 feet, and is treated the same way, offers more minerality, broad orange blossom, nectarine, and guava notes, some hints of hazelnut and brioche, but very full-bodied richness, and slightly more acidity and definition than the Red Point.

From a 1,000-foot elevation, the relatively cool-site 2006 Chardonnay Red Point (which spent 11 months on its lees and went through 100% barrel and malolactic fermentations) exhibits medium to full body and terrific honey and citrus-like fruit as well as orange blossoms. The wine is ripe, pure, and well-delineated.

The 2005 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench is a richer, fleshier species of Pinot Noir, with hints of spring flowers intermixed with black cherry and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, outstanding ripeness, and a long, layered finish, it is a beautiful Pinot for drinking over the next 4-6 years.

The two Chardonnays are both brilliant wines, with the 2006 Chardonnay Four Hearts a multiple-vineyard blend exhibiting loads of tropical fruit, some poached pear, and apple marmalade notes followed by full-bodied flavors with subtle wood, nice, leesy, chewy texture, and a good finish with fresh acidity and depth. It is best drunk in its next several years of life.

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (10,582 cases) is an outstanding value in Napa Cabernet. With prices on almost every Napa Cabernet now well in excess of $50.00, a $35.00 wine that merits 90 points is big news. Deep ruby purple in color with loads of licorice, black currant, cedar, and spice, this wine has beautiful texture, medium to full body, and a heady finish. The velvety texture and opulence of the wine speak to drinking it over the next 10-15 years.

A lush and round Napa Valley cabernet, this is all about soft ripeness of black fruit and rich, espresso-roast tannin. A pretty floral note adds to the wine's simple, delicious flavor. A steakhouse pour.

The grapes are from all parts of the valley, cool as well as warm, and the wine shows a complex structure and rich fruity flavors. The tiers of pineapples, tangerines, sautéed bananas, green apples and butterscotch have a honeyed, botrytisy richness, although the finish is thoroughly dry.

This is a beautiful 2006 Zinfandel that sells for a song. This has got to be one of the better values, and of course, 2006 looks to be a vastly superior vintage to 2005 for Zinfandel. This wine, which has some Petite Sirah, Merlot, Syrah, and Grenache blended in, exhibits deep ruby color and a big, sweet nose of peppery black cherry and raspberry liqueur intermixed with spring flowers and earth. The wine is medium to full-bodied, ripe, and altogether a hedonistic mouthful of big Zinfandel. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

The 2006 Viognier Saralee’s Vineyard is 100% barrel-fermented and 100% malolactic-fermented, yet always seems to retain crisp acidity. It has the exotic lychee and tropical fruit notes of Viognier, but more minerality and definition than most wines made from this varietal tend to possess in California. The wine has good fruit and should drink nicely for another 1-2 years.

Here's a polished Chard with an elegant balance to a variety that often lacks both. Everything is here, from the ripe tropical fruit and rich oak to the crisp acidity and mineral trimmings, all poised in perfect equilibrium.

The deepest of the three Pinots is the 2005 Pinot Noir Ahmen Vineyard. Denser, deeper ruby than the other Pinots, with a broad, savory mouthfeel, some hints of pomegranate, black currant, and cherry, with some forest floor and roasted herbs, this wine is fresh, savory, rich, and actually might improve over the next year or two.

The 2005 Pinot Noir Falk Vineyard has intense aromatics which reflect the cool Anderson Valley. Plum, strawberry, cherry, and even a scent of blueberry jump from the glass of this wine, made all from the Dijon clones 115, 667, and 777. This is an attractive, floral, elegant, yet flavorful Pinot Noir to drink over the next several years.

The 2006 Chardonnay Russian River is a beauty. Tropical fruit notes of pineapple and a hint of white peach in a restrained yet powerful style are followed by a palate that has gorgeous precision, purity, and ripeness. It is elegant, subtle, yet substantial. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

This is a polished, really likeable Chard. It offers everything the variety should: a rich, creamy texture, brisk acidity, and ripe, delicious flavors of pineapples, apricots, peaches and kiwis coated with vanilla.

In some ways, this is the richest of the Highland Estates triplets because it comes wrapped in generous layers of rich and creamy oak, and while it displays plenty of fruit in its lavishly sweet and concentrated aromas, it is also unremittingly tannic in its texture and dry and tough as it finishes. Because its ripeness is controlled and its fruit and acid are balanced and youthfully energetic, it is entirely possible that the wine will hold up for the decade and more required for it to open.

Cabernet yields powerful tannic extract in this mountain vineyard, here worked into a soft, luxurious texture. The cherrylike fruit is merely a backdrop for the tannic complexity. An accessible mountain red to serve with prime rib.

Not to be taken for less than exciting is this ripe and somewhat rugged bottling from the very top of the eastside mountains above the Alexander Valley. Like its cellarmate from Napa, it is deep and tasty and in need of cellaring. It is perhaps a bit less polished in feel and exhibits a bit of a dried leaf overlay, but its depth and sheer mass will make it a fan favorite for those whose palates prefer Cabernets in need of bottle age.

The 2005 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s comes from a vineyard in the well-known Petaluma Wind Gap, which is a funnel for winds coming off the Pacific and churning into the Russian River Valley. It is a very cold area, and the wine reflects that in its hints of sassafras, pomegranate, cherry, and strawberry. The wine is dark ruby, medium-bodied, with zesty acidity, and a heady finish.

The 2005 Pinot Noir Hailey’s Block comes from Green Valley’s Arrendell Vineyard, one of the coolest places for growing fruit in northern California. This vineyard, which is at a modest elevation, has produced a wine with medium ruby color, notes of cranberries, strawberries, and red currants with hints of pomegranate and earth. The wine has tart acidity, beautiful fruit purity, and a fragrant bouquet. It is definitely a cool-climate Pinot, but an impeccably well-made one. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

The 2006 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard comes from 92-year-old vines that are farmed biodynamically. A gorgeous briery, peppery, raspberry, and blueberry nose soars from the glass. The wine is deep ruby/purple-tinged to the rim, full-bodied, and almost Pinot Noir-like in its delicacy and nuances, but the power and heady alcohol (15.9%) in the finish reinforce the Zinfandel’s personality. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

The 2005 La Muse was completely closed when I tasted it. Dark ruby/purple, this elegant blend of 86.5% Merlot, 11.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2.4% Malbec has some notes of black fruits, dusty earthiness, and subtle new oak. It seems lighter than previous vintages, and also more austere, but I wonder if the wine was just going through a pre-bottling stage of hardness and a closed personality. This wine will make old bones, but it is austere at present. I look forward to tasting it in twelve months.

The 2005 Zinfandel Chase Vineyard has an intense black cherry and raspberry nose, a dark ruby/purple-tinged color, surprisingly full body and depth, and is quite a complete wine, even in such a difficult vintage.