The 2001 Pinot Noir Monterey is a limited cuvee of 226 cases... it possesses a Morey-St.-Denis like bouquet of forest floor, strawberry, cherry, plum, and fig aromas. This medium-bodied, elegant, subtle but intensely flavorful Pinot Noir will drink well for 5-7 years. There are no hard edges to this youthful 2001.

...a beautiful bouquet of popcorn intermixed with orange rind, lemon oils, honeysuckle, and crushed rocks. Excellent texture, medium to full body, terrific acidity, and a long finish characterize this high class Chardonnay. Enjoy it over the next 3-4 years.

The very good 17,500-case 2002 Chardonnay displays elegant notes of lemon zest, orange marmalade, subtle wood, and a hint of butter in its attractive, well-delineated style. It should drink well for 2-3 years.

Very ripe in tone throughout and deep enough black cherry fruit to win the day, this wine boasts a nice dollop of sweet oak and a background note of herbs in its overall attractive mix of elements. It is a bit ragged at the finish, but it can serve well now and over the ensuing three to six years with well-seasoned hunks of red meat.

Tropical fruit flavors (particularly papaya) make the wine bright and crisp on the palate. Those same acids prevail over efforts to soften, including barrel and malolactic fermentation and lees aging, so that the wine maintains a steely, hard backbone. It is not lush, but it is intense.

The 2001 Pinot Noir Sevens Bench Vineyard offers aromas of sweet apple skins and raspberries in its elegant, mid-weight, attractive personality. Still tightly wound, it requires 1-2 years of cellaring; it should last for 5-6 years.

Quiet yet substantial, this is full of dark cassis flavor, clean and fresh. It's plush in the mouth and ends softly padded, with a pleasing perfume of blue and purple fruit, ready for prime rib.

Richer and more interesting is the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. This dense ruby/purple-colored offering's bouquet includes scents of smoke, melted licorice, chocolate, espresso, black currants, and plums. Medium-bodied, with excellent depth and moderate tannin, it needs 2-3 years of cellaring, and should last for 15.

The 2001 Sauvignon Blanc Upper Barn reveals aromas of figs and melons along with crisp, tart acidity in a pungent, medium-bodied style. Drink it over the next year.

Ripe black cherry fruit is matched in intensity by mineral, loamy notes in the nose and flavors of this somewhat gruff Cabernet, and while the fruit holds up well against the pushy tannins, it is a bit dried out by the astringency of the finish. The wine might need a decade of patient cellaring to age out, but we suggest drinking it up in half that time rather than risking that is fruit begin to drop out.

More sassafras characteristics along with sweeter fruit and underlying acidity are found in the 2002 Pinot Noir Seascape. There appears to be more to this vintage, but the wine was closed and unevolved when I tasted it.

Although the 2001 Merlot (30,000 cases) is acidic, with hard tannin in the finish, I enjoyed its heady aromatics (chocolate, mocha, and smoke). Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

The 2001 Syrah exhibits deep colors, but had hard tannins, a certain austerity, and a noticeable lack of texture as well as persistence on the palate.

The 2001 Pinot Noir Seascape exhibits medium ruby color along with sweet and sour red cherry aromas with hints of currants and wood smoke in the background. The closed, pinched finish reveals tart acidity.

The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits deep colors, but have hard tannin, a certain austerity, and a noticeable lack of texture as well as persistence on the palate.

The 2001 Merlot exhibits deep colors, but has hard tannins, a certain austerity, and a noticeable lack of texture as well as persistence on the palate.

offers attractive currant and mocha-infused fruit. Drink this medium-bodied Merlot over the the next 4-5 years.

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.

Vanilla aromas, sweet golden-apple flavors, rich, fat, sweet.

A ripe pinot, with complex flavors of concentrated cola, cherry, mint and eucalyptus. Lean texture. Tasty with turkey.

Curse the common quality of this wine, but it's more than luck that makes the Vintner's Reserve the second-most popular restaurant chardonnay and the top-selling chardonnay in stores. You get a lot of flavor for your money and a touch of sweetness that so many consumers love. Forward fruit flavors include peaches and tropical fruit. It's quite a mouthful.

Mainly from Rutherford, a beautiful wine. Opens with alluring aromas of blackcurrant and cassis and the tilting perfume of French Oak, with its smoky vanillins. In the mouth, supple and polished, long on Cabernet flavor, with rich, sumptuous tannins. The tannins are already melted, making it drinkable now.

This lovely Cabernet is rich and polished, with firm tannins supporting a sleek core of sweet, juicy currant and blackberry fruit. Shows a touch of fresh leather, plum and lavender, hints of cedar and spice and a firm backbone. Excellent balance.

Zingy, spicy raspberry and coffee flavors, very crisp, very fruity, medium body.