Solid, well-made merlot from California. Jammy strawberry flavors, sweet vanillin oak.

Has a wonderful sense of freshness to the blueberry and plum flavors, shaded with peppermint and a touch of espresso as the finish lasts and lasts against mildly grippy tannins. Has style without sacrificing purity. Best from 2006 through 2015.

Very good and a panel favorite. Earth, wheat, blackberry, plum, cherry, toast, licorice and spice on nose and palate; ripe flavors; velvety tannins; long finish; a big wine.

2002 CHARDONNAY - SONOMA COUNTY Dry and acidy-tart, this is a wine of great structure and balance. The flavors veer toward lime custard, mangos, apricot, vanilla and slate, with a gentle overly of toasty oak. It's quite a sophisticated Chardonnay, and a great value.

Grown predominantly on Central Coast hillside, mountain and benchland vineyards, this gentle syrah has a voluptuous texture enriched by red and blue woodland berry fruit. Pretty remarkable at the price given its layers of aromatics, from licorice to dark-roast coffee and earthiness. A restrained style of syrah for grilled meats.

Supple, with a delicate mix of ripe cherry, plum and raspberry fruit, it wins points for its understated nuances, gaining complexity on the aftertaste. Drink now.

Thick and warm with the black smoke and graham cracker spice of oak, this syrah shows a little anise flavor with air. It may take more shape with time; for now, its a one-glass-at-a-time Philly cheesesteak wine.

This tight, black syrah is thick and spicy, with blueberry flavors that drape over the tannins.

Hang on to this for a while. The fruit is good suggesting blackberries and coffee.

Medium-deep ruby color; ripe cherry and plum aromas with some spice; ripe and rich with nice cherry and plum flavors, spicy, silky mouthfeel, nice touch of oak; good balance and structure; lingering finish. This Pinot has a lot of the ripe, rich flavors of Monterey County Pinot and is nicely balanced.

Medium-deep ruby color; spicy, stewed cherry and plum aromas, a hint of smoky oak; stewed cherry and plum flavors, silky on the palate, some smoky oak notes; good balance; lingering finish. This is a nice Pinot with some good developed fruit character.

Medium-deep ruby color; spicy, stewed fruit and pepper aromas; rich and ripe with stewed cherry and plum flavors, notes of pepper and some oak; good structure, lingering finish. A ripe and tasty Pinot with good balance and a nice middle of the road style for the table.

Red wines from Mendocino County generally are sleek and supple, but this one comes from fruit grown high on a mountain, giving it rugged tannins.

Made from grapes grown in Sonoma County's cool Bennett Valley, this merlot is much more accessible than the Grizz Ridge, with lush plummy fruit and well-modulated oak.

One other new Kendall-Jackson wine deserves attention, the 2001 Stature, the winery's aromatic, complex and long entry in the Napa Valley's cult-wine sweepstakes. It shows here that it can turn out a meritage wine as deep and layered and with even better balance than some cult wines with higher profiles. The fruit is from several of the finer vineyards in Napa Valley, including To Kalon, Oak Knoll and Stagecoach.

Sonoma County's Alexander Valley, where the fruit for this wine was grown, is celebrated for cabernet sauvignons with an enviable combination of strong spine and supple tannins, and this sweet juicy, cherry-flavored and long-lingering take on the varietal lives up to that standard with authority and flourish. It's a big wine, but drinkable now.

Made with fruit grown largely on Mount Veeder, this cabernet needs about a decade of cellar age before its resonating cherry fruit and chocolate icing can be enjoyed.

This Santa Barbara wine was barrel fermented and long aged in wood, but what stands out is its refreshing tropical-fruit and melon flavors, with a touch of brioche.

Great with wild boar.

Signature K-J chardonnay with maximum treble and base. The tri-county blend represents only three percent of all K-J chardonnay. The nose is a mix of honey, orange, floral, mango notes mix with green apple skin and melon aromas. Round, elegant, supple style with plenty of texture.

A big step up from the 2000 VR. Black peppery, earthy, licorice, black fruit-cassis nose. Round, supple, dry and rich with very spicy, black peppery, vanilla, meaty, cassis flavours and a black olive, licorice, blackberry finish. Good texture and concentration and lovely mid-palate weight.

Interesting notes on this wine, with one reviewer admiring the lovely fruit and pretty aromas of licorice, blackberry and spice, while another found the oak unintegrated and distracting.

With KJ's vast grape sourcing, getting ripe fruit obviously wasn't a problem. This wine is ripe and juicy, with somewhat candied berry flavors and sweet caramelly notes. Soft and easy to drink.

Boasts a dark flavor profile, combining well-done toast, black cherries, asphalt and leather. Low acidity gives it a smooth mouth-feel, but some drying tannins stick out on the finish giving it a rough edge.