The attractively priced 2001 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley is an elegant, dark ruby-colored Pinot offering a sweet perfume of herb-tinged black cherries, strawberries, and a notion of cranberries. Enjoy this lush, medium-bodied 2001 over the next 1-2 years.

The limited production 2001 Pinot Noir Nine Barrels was dominated by oak. The fruit quality is very good, offering notes of black cherries, strawberries and pomegranate. The oak should become more subdued with time, but Pinot Noir loses its fruit quickly.

Lastly, readers should check out the 1,400-case 2001 Syrah, a cool-climate offering revealing crisp underlying acidity as well as good sweet blackberry and black currant fruit. This medium bodied, superficial but tasty, easy going Syrah will drink well for 2-3 years.

The 2002 Vintner's Reserve Riesling is a classic example of this varietal, offering up aromas of peaches, apricots, and apple skins in a light-bodied, off-dry style. With good acidity as well as fresh, lively fruit, consumers can not ask for much more for $10. However, it needs to be consumed over the next year.

Also delicious, is the even less expensive 2002 Vintner's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. A crisp, elegant, fresh white, it reveals classic notes of melons, figs and dried herbs in a light-bodied, fruit-driven style.

The 2002 Grand Reserve Chardonnay exhibits a better balance between its fruit and oak. It offers notes of tropical fruits and orange marmalade along with medium body as well as good purity and ripeness.

Delicious...exhibits copious quantities of tropical fruits, subtle wood, medium body, underlying crisp acidity, and admirable purity. It is one of the two finest Chardonnay values in the marketplace.

Moving up a few dollars in price is the 2001 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, which is produced from Jess Jackson's vineyards on Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Sonoma. It possesses plenty of ripe tropical fruit, medium body, more oak but less charm than the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, largely because of the wood component.

The 2002 Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir is a blend of equal parts fruit from Monterey, Santa Barbara, and the North Coast. It offers pleasant currant, plum, and dried herb characteristics in addition to a pleasant, open-knit style, good fruit, and medium body. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

Leaner, more muscular.

Another brilliant effort...a blend of primarily Mt. Veeder fruit as well as a bit from Howell Mountain. Made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, it is an impressively built red exhibiting an inky/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of creosote, blue and black fruits, and mineral characteristics. It is extracted, rich, layered, and long with high tannin that suggests 4-5 years of cellaring is required. It should keep for two decades

a brawny, muscular, full-sized Cabernet revealing plenty of intensity, beef, and muscle. This chewy, thick 2002 possesses a lot of tannin, but also impressive levels of extract as well as intensity. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 15-18.

reveals honeyed tropical fruit, medium to full body, gorgeous freshness, and a lively, long finish. Drink this lovely white over the next 2-3 years.

This excellent effort reveals a deep purple color as well as big, sweet, black cherry and berry aromas with hints of earth, toasty oak, and chocolate in the background. Ripe and medium-bodied, with broad flavor penetration, it should drink well for 7-8 years.

In just 20 years of existence, Kendall-Jackson has become one of the California wine industry's most amazing success stories, with dozens of brands at all price levels. But the quality remains high, and its Great Estates wines are made from some of the winery's best vineyards. Try the 1999 Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and the 1999 Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon.

In just 20 years of existence, Kendall-Jackson has become one of the California wine industry's most amazing success stories, with dozens of brands at all price levels. But the quality remains high, and its Great Estates wines are made from some of the winery's best vineyards. Try the 1999 Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and the 1999 Alexander Valley cabernet sauvignon.

If I had to pick a favorite of the trio, it would be the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder (280 cases). A Chateau Margaux look-alike, it possesses superb intensity and tremendous perfume as well as elegance allied to power. The sweet nose of tobacco leaf intertwined with melted licorice, spring flowers, black cherries, creme de cassis, and blueberries is extraordinary. With great intensity, medium to full body, tremendous richness, softer tannin that its two siblings, and a finish that lasts nearly 60 seconds, it is a sensationally seductive, rich, multilayered Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 15-20 years.

Inky/purple/black in color, with a nose of graphite intermixed with acacia flowers, blackberries, cassis, and charcoal, this 2001 reveals profound intensity, superb purity, and a mulitlayered finish of more than 60 seconds. Aromatically, flavor-wise, and texturally, it is a spectacular tour de force in winemaking. More accessible than the structured, delineated 2001, the 2002 should be drinkable between 2005-2022+.

The 2002 Le Desir may be the finest example of this cuvee yet produced. A blend of 52.7% Merlot, 41.2% Cabernet Franc, and a tiny dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon as well as Malbec, it performs like a ballet dancer. Magnificently muscled, symmetrical, and stunningly proportioned, it is medium to full-bodied with explosive aromatics reminiscent of a charcoal fire combined with blackberry and currant fruit as well as violets. It possesses layers of concentration, a massive yet surprisingly light mid-palate, and a huge rich finish. Somehow, it does not come close to tasting over the top, heavy, or forced, but is clearly a blockbuster. This thrilling 2002 should hit its prime in 2-3 years, and last for two decades.

I was thrilled by the awesome quality of the 2001 La Joie, a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. Aromas and flavors of roasted espresso, grilled herbs, scorched earth, blackberries and cassis liqueur are accompanied by and unctuously-textured, full-bodied, expansive, dense, phenomenally concentrated, pure blockbuster. It should be at its finest between 2005-2020+.

The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain (473 cases) reveals a strikingly complex perfume of cedar wood, white chocolate, acacia flowers, creme de cassis, and hints of earth as well as truffles. Full-bodied, dense, and layered. with gorgeous sweetness and purity, tremendously intense flavors, and well-integrated tannin, acidity, and wood, this blockbuster, classically rendered Cabernet Sauvignon should hit its stride in five years, and last for two decades.

The 2001 Le Desir is another enormously concentrated, sweet yet elegant, medium to full-bodied effort revealing intense notes of red, black, and blue fruit intermixed with camphor, lead pencil shavings, and spice box characteristics. Rich and intensely flavored yet remarkably light on its feet for such power, with beautifully integrated wood, acidity, alcohol, and tannin in the long finish, it will provide immense pleasure if drunk between 2004-2025.

There are 393 cases of the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. Scents of bay leaves, lavender, blackberries and crushed rocks are in this steely, firm Cabernet. It boasts huge body along with hard, noticeable tannin, and a broodingly backward, muscular personality. The tannin is elevated, but so is the wine's extraordinary richness and intensity. It is a classic mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that requires 7-10 years of cellaring. It should keep for 2-3 decades.

Another brilliant offering is the 2001 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, a 520-case cuvee from the cool Green Valley. It possesses a fabulous texture, medium to full body, and potentially superb nose of flint, lemon oils, pineapples, background toasty oak, and a hint of caramel. Full-bodied, weighty and rich yet remarkably agile on its feet because of good underlying acidity, this stunning Chardonnay should drink well for 5-6 years.

The opaque purple-colored 2002 La Muse ( a blend of extremely sweet, concentrated bouquet of blackberries, blueberries, melted licorice, and smoky oak. Notes of espresso, incense, and Asian spices also make an appearance in this full-bodied, voluptuously-textured, sensationally extracted 2002. It may be more forward, riper, and headier than the 2001. Enjoy it between 2005-2020.