Jess Jackson picked a difficult vintage to make his first Saint Emilion but his new chateau has yielded a lovely, ripe (but not too ripe) wine bursting with clean plum and fresh acidity; it is long, pure and beautifully balanced and showing rich fruit, soft oak and excellent breeding. An auspicious debut. Gorgeous package.

Spicy aromas, with red raspberry flavors. Moderate oak. Medium-complexity. Medium-bodied. Soft, easy texture.

Red delicately balanced, elegant and graceful, with a firm, supple beam of black cherry, mineral, mushroom and forest floor. The tannins and acidity give it a great backbone, making it tempting to drink now. Drink now through 2011.

Murphy-Goode, Alexander Valley (Sonoma county, California) Cabernet Sauvignon Murphy Ranch, Sarah Block 2002: If you wanted to find a textbook Cabernet Sauvignon, this would be a prime candidate. It has aromas and flavors of black currants and blackberries, very concentrated, very ripe and yet fresh. The wine's firm oak tannin on the rear palate is ably balanced by the wine's concentrated fruit character on the fore palate. Concentrated fruit on the finish indicates a potential for aging. A splendid Cabernet. 90 POINTS> Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Murphy-Goode, Alexander Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2002: I am keenly searching for California wines that offer distinctive character and competitive value in the world marketplace, and this is one of them. It offers fresh, flavorful, fleshy berry fruit that really shows the signature of Alexander valley, with very soft tannins and a juicy core of the fruit that could enable this to work well in all sorts of applications. As an aside, I don't care to drink red wine as a cocktail, but it is quite evidently the case that many people do, and this is a Cabernet that can be enjoyed in this mode while also being up to the challenge of pairing with serious food. 89 POINTS. Michael Franz

Good as ever, this vintage of the Yangarra Shiraz doles out plenty of juicy blackberry and blue berry fruit accented with fresh but subtle vanilla bean notes. Full and bouncy on the palate, and long on the finish. Winemaker Peter Fraser just doesn't know how to make bad wine.

Pierre Seillan made five different blends at Arceno in 2003; this one, based on cabernet franc, is the most elegant and impressive (the blend also includes 24 percent cabernet sauvignon and 17 percent merlot). Franc seems to pick up on the same kind of Tuscan tannin that well-grown sangiovese can, staunch and spicy with the feel of the earth. The fruit has a green peppercorn edge and a crushed stone minerality. Give this a few years to absorb some of the oak, then decant it for pepper steak.

Harvested from bush vines planted in 1946, this grenache has a range of fruit flavors. It starts off bright with wild strawberry scents, then darkens to black cherry and fig. The deep, savory finish tastes rich and ripe. A smooth grenache for rustic sausages or other fatty meats

Sleek and smoky, this wine has a rich velvet feel that draws out the sweetness of the tannins. A classic California style based on clean, ripe fruit, this is built for a New York steakhouse.

This 70-30 Grenache-Shiraz blend is full but very dry. Yangarra's first Rose has a strong core of minerality, dressed up with blackberry and raspberry fruit and a light orange-peel accent. Roses have reputations for being fun wines, and this one is too, but in this case, fun and serious aren't mutually exclusive.

This blend of grenache and shiraz with mourvedre is thick with black cherry flavor. An edge of tannin cuts the density, and brisk acidity cleans up the finish. For grilled lamb chops.

Smooth, black, herbal cabernet sauvignon dominates this blend with small amounts of merlot (10 percent) and syrah (5 percent). It's rich and simple, the flavors of new oak and blackened fruit lasting in the end. For chopped sirloin with a char off the grill.

Warm, smoky oak and cherry skin flavors meld with tannin to give a bitter chocolate flavor. Give this a few years for the fruit to come forward.

A vivid red, rich and velvety, brimming with plum, blackberry and cherry flavors wrapped in a veil of very fine tannins, weaving a dark chocolate note through the long, generous finish. Best from 2008 through 2015.

88 POINTS Murphy-Goode Fume Blanc Alexander Valley Reserve 2002; Ripe, with very good concentration to fig, pear, peach, tangy quince and honeysuckle tones. Refreshing lemony acidity folds into subtle vanilla tones on the finish. Drink now.

2003 Chteau Vignot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru: light, dry and aromatic with flavors of raspberry and cinnamon; soft tannins; intensely fruity; $35. Miami Herald July 20, 2006 WINE Wandering but grounded, he's `a servant of the soil' Fred Tasker ftasker@MiamiHerald.com Pierre Seillan seems a little too down-to-earth to be a globe-trotting, jet-setting ''Flying Winemaker'' -- one of those charismatic characters who flits about the world running winemaking operations at a dozen wineries in half a dozen countries. But he seems like one to his wife, Monique, who says she seldom sees him at their homes in California and France. ''If his mistress were a woman, I could compete with that,'' she sighs. ``But his mistress is his job. What can I do?'' Seillan began to wander in 1997 after 30 years of winemaking in France's Bordeaux region. That's when he met Jess Jackson, who, with his wife and fellow lawyer, Barbara Banke, has create a far-flung empire of wine operations in the United States, France, Italy, Chile and Australia, including notably Kendall-Jackson in California. The winemaking styles of Jackson and Seillan proved sympathetic, and Seillan today oversees red wine operations at several of Jackson's wineries as consultant or winemaker. He makes a red wine called ''Le Désir,'' a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, at Jackson's Vérité winery near Healdsburg in California's Sonoma Valley. He makes the red wine called ''Arcanum,'' of the same grapes, at Jackson's Tenuta di Arceno, in Italy's Tuscany region. Now Jackson and Seillan have teamed up to buy Chteau Lassgue, a 60-acre grand cru vineyard and winery in Bordeaux's Saint-Emilion region. ''Saint-Emilion is the most serious appellation in Bordeaux,'' Seillan says. ``It's not one of your generic Bordeaux areas.'' Seillan and Jackson were impressed with the vineyard's limestone soils, which give wine that French hint of minerality, and its perfect southwest sun exposure, which is crucial to getting grapes fully ripe. There's also a beautiful old chteau on the property, where the Seillans live part of the year. At the chteau, Seillan is turning out two wines from different plots with different soils. One is $35, the second is $50. Neither is a ''second wine,'' he insists, simply ``another wine.'' Reflecting Seillan's style, both are subtle wines based on merlot, with a French restraint and minerality. ''I am a servant of the soil,'' he says. ``It's not the other way around. I want wines that are fruity, with power but finesse and elegance, not too much tannic astringency.'' Visiting Miami, Seillan also was showing off wines he has made at Jackson's Verité and Tenuta di Arceno wineries. Both show his subtle touch, his ability to create intensity and complexity without bombast. And next year -- maybe later -- Monique hopes to slow down her flying winemaker and spend more time in France, fixing the plumbing and redoing the paint on their 18th century chteau. ''It needs repair, but all the money must go into the wine,'' she says, sighing again. ``Someday . . . ''

2003 Lassegue, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru: intense flavors and aromas of black cherries, minerals and spice; firm tannin; tart, fruity finish; $50. Wandering but grounded, he's `a servant of the soil' Fred Tasker ftasker@MiamiHerald.com Pierre Seillan seems a little too down-to-earth to be a globe-trotting, jet-setting ''Flying Winemaker'' -- one of those charismatic characters who flits about the world running winemaking operations at a dozen wineries in half a dozen countries. But he seems like one to his wife, Monique, who says she seldom sees him at their homes in California and France. ''If his mistress were a woman, I could compete with that,'' she sighs. ``But his mistress is his job. What can I do?'' Seillan began to wander in 1997 after 30 years of winemaking in France's Bordeaux region. That's when he met Jess Jackson, who, with his wife and fellow lawyer, Barbara Banke, has create a far-flung empire of wine operations in the United States, France, Italy, Chile and Australia, including notably Kendall-Jackson in California. The winemaking styles of Jackson and Seillan proved sympathetic, and Seillan today oversees red wine operations at several of Jackson's wineries as consultant or winemaker. He makes a red wine called ''Le Désir,'' a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, at Jackson's Vérité winery near Healdsburg in California's Sonoma Valley. He makes the red wine called ''Arcanum,'' of the same grapes, at Jackson's Tenuta di Arceno, in Italy's Tuscany region. Now Jackson and Seillan have teamed up to buy Chteau Lassgue, a 60-acre grand cru vineyard and winery in Bordeaux's Saint-Emilion region. ''Saint-Emilion is the most serious appellation in Bordeaux,'' Seillan says. ``It's not one of your generic Bordeaux areas.'' Seillan and Jackson were impressed with the vineyard's limestone soils, which give wine that French hint of minerality, and its perfect southwest sun exposure, which is crucial to getting grapes fully ripe. There's also a beautiful old chteau on the property, where the Seillans live part of the year. At the chteau, Seillan is turning out two wines from different plots with different soils. One is $35, the second is $50. Neither is a ''second wine,'' he insists, simply ``another wine.'' Reflecting Seillan's style, both are subtle wines based on merlot, with a French restraint and minerality. ''I am a servant of the soil,'' he says. ``It's not the other way around. I want wines that are fruity, with power but finesse and elegance, not too much tannic astringency.'' Visiting Miami, Seillan also was showing off wines he has made at Jackson's Verité and Tenuta di Arceno wineries. Both show his subtle touch, his ability to create intensity and complexity without bombast. And next year -- maybe later -- Monique hopes to slow down her flying winemaker and spend more time in France, fixing the plumbing and redoing the paint on their 18th century chteau. ''It needs repair, but all the money must go into the wine,'' she says, sighing again. ``Someday . . . ''

2000 Verité ''Le Désir,'' Sonoma County (cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot): cedar aromas; flavors of black cherries and black coffee; medium body; complex; shifting flavors; hugely rich; $150.

2003 ``Arcanum,'' by Tenuta di Arceno, Toscana (cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot): black raspberries and black plums; big, rich, generous and spicy with tart finish; $95.

Lovely, classic, luscious fruit exploding from the glass. Drink from 2010.

This generous, richly textured, barrel-fermented Chardonnay comes from benchland vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley. It has aromas and flavors of ripe tropical fruits and citrus, with honey and toasty oak accents, and has a weighty, full-bodied but soft presence in the mouth. To the wine's credit, its fruit character far outweighs its oakiness.

When it comes to Chardonnay, the name Kendall-Jackson is synonymous with this grape. While Kendall-Jackson is more known for its Vintner's Reserve and Grand Reserve wines, it is worth noting their commitment to terroir-driven, small-production, high-quality wines as well. This Chardonnay from the cool Santa Maria Valley is limited to only 4,000 cases. It is typical of Chardonnay from the region, expressing tropical and citrus fruit aromas, soft notes of vanilla and papaya, and good balance. Bravo to Kendall-Jackson for making a commitment to a high-quality, small production wine.

The year 2004 was a great vintage for Camelot Highlands, endowing this Chardonnay with the region's classic tropical fruit character, most specifically pineapple, as well as honeysuckle, vanilla beans and just a touch of sweet oak. Though rich and full-bodied overall, this powerhouse also possesses a Burgundian sur lies minerality that manages to keep the potent layers of ripe, juicy pear, apple and melon fruit nicely in check. The smooth, creamy finish goes on and on.