Aromas and flavors of ripe apricots, peaches, caramel; rich and creamy.

...enjoyable quaffer.

Aunt Ruby's Green Tomato Relish and Goat Cheese was paired with the 2005 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. The fresh tomatillos, vinegar and basil in the the tomato relish helped focus and soften the wine's melon, citrus and mineral character, while the wine's acidity echoed that of the goat cheese.

Cambria Estate Vineyards & Winery 2003 Santa Maria Valley Bench Break Vineyard Chardonnay: One reason bigger chardonnays are so popular, I suspect, is that their color is as deep, brilliant and hopeful as a brand new wedding band. A wine that golden just has to deliver intense flavor. The Cambria not only has the color, it delivers both a luxuriously creamy texture and a zesty citric fruitiness. It won best of class at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition early this year. The 2004 version of the wine is now in release, and given the success of the 2003 the style likely hasn't been altered.

This wine is full of intense flavours, black cherry, blackberry and black currant, giving it wonderful structure and a strong backbone, which helps the flavour to linger in the middle. It finishes with hints of vanilla. An affordable experience from a family-operated winery, which continues to create with increasing excellence.

La Crema (Los Carneros) 2004, Very Good - Great fruit, with charming, ripe flavors and real brightness. We also liked the less-expensive 2004 'Sonoma Coast' bottling.

2004 CARMEL ROAD MONTEREY PINOT NOIR Nicely balanced, this wine is aromatic (basil, plum, red cherry and pencil lead), softly fruity (pie cherry) and spicy, with a hint of tar on the lingering finish................

2002 RESERVE FUME As this effort amply demonstrates, there are advantages to a bit of maturity....It's a lot of wine for the money.

Cedar smoke nose, concentrated black fruit flavours, complex finish. Fruit sourced from Napa's To Kalon and Oak Knoll vineyards.

When one thinks of the Kendall-Jackson label, one usually thinks of decent, value-priced wines in quantity. But K-J, as it's known in California, also makes a $95 Meritage called Stature that drinks well young but has the qualities to age for many years.

Clean fruit and velvet tannins offer sleek California ripeness for steak.

Crisp, green apple, citrus, peach skin, pear and buttery lees flavours.

Bright yellow. Sexy, full-blown aromas of buttery lees, peach, cantaloupe, flowers and sweet oak. Fat, velvety and sweet, with very ripe tropical fruit and melon flavors and impressive palate presence. Not the last word in refinement but stuffed with flavor. Finishes with very good persistence.

Kendall-Jackson's super Tuscan is Cab-based and very ripe. It's black as coal, with leather, earth and dark-fruit aromas. It's more soft than steely, with blackberry and plum flavors softened by molasses and licorice. A real beast of a wine that includes 15% Merlot and Syrah.

Medium red. Strawberry, rose petal, smoked meat, gingerbread, earth and smoke on the nose. Smooth and smoky in the mouth, with a velvety texture and mellow but sappy flavors of red fruits, spices and earth. Finishes broad, musky and dry, with lingering notes of red berries, minerals and rose petal.

Deep ruby. Brooding aromas of blackberry, licorice, espresso and earth, along with some meaty reduction. Juicy and penetrating but smooth in the mouth, with cassis and smoked meat flavors firmed by the bright acids and complicated by nutty oak, smoke and flint. Finishes with dusty tannins and an enticing floral note. Very syrah.

Medium yellow. Tropical fruits, apricot and truffle on the nose, with meaty, smoky and gamey nuances.

From Kendall-Jackson, this Merlot is warm and toasty, with aromas of popcorn, roasted plum and leather. The palate is a bit more settled, and it's where you'll find dark cherry flavors resting on a bed of rubbery, lively tannins. Finishes with toast, vanilla and char, along with another dose of spiky tannins.

If a little bit on the quiet side in its aromas, the wine does offer pleasant suggestions of vanilla, citrus and melons with a hint of Meyer lemon sweetness...

With burnt popcorn as the lead scent and an herbal streak that can't be denied, Kendall-Jackson's attempt at Tuscan Cabernet Franc (with 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiove) requires too much sacrifice. The flavors are of rhubarb and raspberry, with spice and tomato sauce along for the ride. Has size and potency, but not much charm.

A sturdy style of Grenache, generous, but not as opulent as shiraz, burying its ripe cherry and pomegranate fruit under a light blanket of dusky spices and superfine tannins. Drink now through 2014. -H.S.

2004 CAMBRIA PINOT NOIR, SANTA MARIA VALLEY, JULIA'S VINEYARD -- Black cherry, tea leaves, clove and a trace of dried thyme - and a succulence that makes the wine superb with grilled salmon. Yet another example of a Jess Jackson winner, from another of his estates.