There's brisk, firm fruit behind this wine, but for now it presents oak, tough and wooden as a tobacco store Indian. It's tight, with a spiciness that lasts. The fruit should come forward with time.

Bright lemon and honey notes are at the core of this spicy wine. It moves to reveal some peach and apple at the end. Enjoyable but lacking balance.

A big, dark, intense and earthy style, with rich currant and berry fruit laced with green olive, herb and mocha-shaded oak. Finishes with a potent aftertaste, too, with dry, chewy tannins. Needs time. Best from 2005 through 2014.

Doesn't quite give you the goods you might expect from a grand reserve status wine, but it's well-balanced, showcasing dusty currant, mineral, cedar and spice, finishing with mild tannins and moderate depth.

Smooth and simple, with modest cherry and currant flavors that finish with an herbal, menthol note and modest tannins.

This chardonnay, celebrating K-J's 20th anniversary, is a wonderfully rich wine with tropical fruit and pear flavors. Lush mouthfeel and good depth of character.

Packed with mineral, black cherry, and lots of spice.

Dense and extracted, with lots of flesh, spice, and rich plum fruit.

Lovely sage, apple and hazelnut nose. Lots of ripe stone fruits on palate. Creamy, textural and bold peach fruits.

Violet aromas, dark fruit, juicy, succulent, powerful.

Powerful, complex, and voluptuous; filled with explosive raspberry fruit.

An extraordinary wine, and not just because it wears its 16.4% alcohol so well. The raspberry and cassis flavors are rapturously delicious. It seems almost a crime for wine to taste this good. At the same time, the round soft mouthfeel and dry dusty tannins are textbook perfect.

They say these vines are 121 years old, and certainly, the wine they produce is concentrated. The winemaker, Van Williamson, finds nutmeg, fir, white pepper, tobacco, raspberry and strawberries, which sounds about right. It's also a little more tart than the magnificent Zeni bottling.

Certainly a step down from Edmeades' single-vineyard Zins from the Ridge, but not by much. Rich and earthy and dry, with berry and tobacco flavors and a spicy finish that lasts for a long time. The wine has a plush smooth mouthfeel that's sheer pleasure.

Good ruby-red. Cassis, licorice, espresso, Dark chocolate, leather and mint on the slightly binary nose. Chewy and dense, with good breadth and underlying mineral spine. Finishes a tad tough, with firm tannins and an herbal element.

Very different in character from the Zeni and Ciapusci bottlings reflecting another terroir. From the slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains, a brambly, jammy wine with clove and tobacco notes, and a rough-and-tumble mouthfeel. Finishes a bit earthy and sharp.

Serves up a lot of flavor, with mocha-laced currant and black cherry fruit that's sweet tasting and supple, before firming and flexing its tannic muscles on the finish.

Intense, with a complex mix of dry, dusty berry, currant, black cherry, cedar, mineral and anise. Depth and richness to the flavors.

A muscular Syrah that's balanced and delicious. Notes of black plum, licorice, cassis and coffee.

Jammy, sweet & lush /dark spice; cranberry, rose petal nose w/black pepper, spice, deep berry fruit; moderate tannin; rich, soft, lush in the mouth.

Because it is a bit out of fashion, top-grade California Chardonnay is under priced. Sonoma has the edge on Napa here.

Typically shows zippy raspberry and cherry fruit, up front and in your face. Seasoned with cinnamon from the nearly half new French oak, and sporting a velvety texture, Holloway says the idea is to preserve the fruit. as much as possible and achieve a mouth-filling opulence.

Completely different again, if not downright untypical. It shows a spearmint core character, along with apple, lemon zest, unripe peach and stone fruit flavors as well as dried apricot. Aged in 100 percent new Francois Frere oak, it shows a big, rich, well-rounded mouthfeel and palpable acidity, which makes it perfect for food.

More Californian in style, sort of a Katherine's taken to the next level. The nose and palate reveal a tropical fruit essence, like it had been boiled down and concentrated, with some apple and pear too. Viscous and creamy, it also shows roasted nuts, vanilla, wood spice, and baked apple nuances in the background and a lingering finish. Both this wine and the 2000 Bench Break spent more time in 100 percent new French oak than the Katherine's, which utilized one third new French oak.