Intense black cherry and mocha flavors dominate this well-balanced wine with a long finish.

This is a pretty nice, average Cabernet, dry and balanced, with good fruit flavors.

On the smooth side. Flavors of cherry, dark plum, cassis, oak, spice and licorice. Balanced. Chewy tannins.

Polished fruit, plush on the palate and long finish.

Lovely fragrant, ripe berry fruit. Bright and breezy, juicy style with good concentration and balance. Very drinkable up to 3 years.

Intense and concentrated, if a bit dry and tannic. I'm left wishing there were more fruit to offset the tannins. Hints of currant and mocha peak through. Drink now.

Brawny, with blackberry, plum and currant tones folding into cedary oak, herb accents and chewy tannins that clamp down on the finish. Drink now through 2009.

Great with wild boar.

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.

Large-scale, lovely ripe black fruit, bold flavoured with oak.

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.

Tight cassis, earthy nose; immense and deep, layered flavours.

The 2001 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the more fascinating wines I have tasted in a long time, an excellent value for its rich fruit, perfect varietal character and finesse.

Made in the wine-blessed trinity of Northern California counties, this serious wine requires the drinker's patience and attention. Structured with firm but ripe tannins, it is built to last, with powerfully focused flavors of cherry, plum, blackberry, cedar, leather and toasty oak that slowly reveal themselves in the glass. Drink it now with a sirloin and a side of sauteed wild mushrooms or leave it in the cellar to enjoy later with some of California's artisinal cheeses.

Vintner Jess Jackson owns some of Northern California's most coveted vineyards, extending from the Pacific Coast to the inland valleys. This wine serves up a complex collage that comes from vines growing in three different region: Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. Soft Napa Valley tannins make it smooth and lush, while the flavors range from blackberry, cassis and chocolate to coffee and herbs--often found in Napa and Sonoma grapes. On the finish, the wine shows a hint of bright-edged anise, surely a mark of the cooler Mendocino climate.

K-J is anything but a boutique winery, but because of its nearly unlimited resources, it has pulled out all stops to craft a wine more akin to a small-production, high-quality-oriented facility. The fruit for this blend comes from hillside vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino Valleys. The wine has a deep purple/black color, a deep nose of black currants, chocolate, mint and toasty oak. On the palate it is full-bodied and creamy, with concentrated fruit, soft texture and just enough tannic structure to give it focus.

Reserved nose. Strong cassis characters. Rich, juicy...has a tannic backbone and fair acidity, cassis finish. Quite good length.

Great colour, cedar and ripe blackberry, some tannins to be resolved but classy.

a medium-bodied and balanced interpretation of the varietal that captured harmoniously the grape's minty, violet, licorice and pipe-tobacco components. Unfortunately, Kendall-Jackson's winemakers made just 150 cases of the wine, using Howell Mountain and Oakville fruit left over from its high-end Stature cabernet sauvignon. The cabernet franc is available only at the winery's tasting room in Santa Rosa and through its wine club.

Again Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve tops the chart here, mainly since the winery reduced production of the wine and improved quality with its 2001 vintage.