A truly expressive take on merlot, its lush cherry-berry fruit punctuated with a note of eucalyptus.

Despite its marked alcohol of 14.1%, this wine smells of dried grapes with a bent to late harvest concentration. What it lacks in aroma, and does not find on the palate either, is a strong center of fruitiness. Its tannins remain robust, and there is no evidence of early senescence here, yet, for all of its sinew, it is a wine that seems to us to have arrived at its showy best. Further aging may bring additional softness, but there is no guarantee that its fruit will maintain.

Buttery and almondy, really very sweet. Ripe and full and really good, balance after sweet ripe fruit. Well made.

Ripe, lemony nose. Quite rich, juicy, fair acidity, reasonably concentrated and bright, not complex but balanced and persistent.

An all around lighter look at Zinfandel, this ripe, rounded, nicely balanced bottling brings together a bit of varietal berries with a modest sprinkling of vanillin oak. Hardly memorable but entirely useful, it makes the grade as an affordable foil to highly-piled platters of barbecued ribs.

Celebrating 20 years as one of California's most popular chardonnay producers, this is a blend sourced from six different coastal appellations, barrel fermented and aged seven months in French oak. It's a typically soft, easy yet complex and very tasty K-J chardonnay, with generous butterscotch, spice and pineapple-banana fruit. Warm, creamy and sweetish on the finish, with very good to excellent length.

Like others in this tasting, the wine shows its ripeness as the first order of business, and while that trait night ordinarily put us off a bit, this wine has made a virtue of its intensity, its depth, its mix of berry concentrate and dark chocolate and its incredible richness. It will lose fruit as it ages further, yet it promises to retain richness and its inviting early texture, even as it also loses tannin.

Massive concentration and depth. Classic style. New oak but balanced. Still youthful but pronounced fruit. Fantastic weight, depth, and flavour. Long finish.

Saturated medium ruby. Great super-ripe aromas of blackberry, violet, roast coffee, chicory and minerals. A huge, mouthfilling wine that coats every square millimeter of the mouth. Offers great sweetness and flavor intensity without any excess weight, thanks to the perfectly integrated acidity. Finishes with big toothdusting tannins and great persistence and thrust. I'd love to slip a sample of this in a tasting of St. Emilion wines.

Saturated medium ruby. Roasted blackberry and blueberry, bitter chocolate and black pepper on the nose. Urgent and vinous, with syrupy sweetness of fruit, superb concentration and a strong suggestion of wet slate. Very much like tasting a barrel sample, but with the clarity of flavor of a finished wine. Ends with serious, firm tannins and outstanding lingering sweetness of fruit.

Medium ruby-red. Superripe aromas of red berries, coffee, tar and tobacco, with an exotic hint of blackberry liqueur. Rich, dense, large-scaled and chewy but quite dry, with very ripe berry, chocolate and licorice flavors. Lush, seamless and sophisticated. Finishes very long and ripe, with smooth, melting tannins.

Good deep ruby color. Youthfully austere aromas of black fruits , licorice, shoe polish and maple syrup. Dense, rich and very deep, with sappy flavors of liqueur-like black fruits. This has remarkably lush texture for a cabernet-based wine. The finishing flavors reach every nook and cranny of the palate and go on and on.

Good full ruby-red. Superripe aromas of black fruits, minerals, licorice and roast coffee, with floral, roasted and medicinal elements. Minerally, lush and sweet; dense and very long. A very long-scaled 2000, more filled in than the overwhelming majority of red wines from this vintage.

Good full ruby. Bramly blackberry, anise, bitter chocolate and mint on the nose. Very sweet and creamy; offers a much softer, more open texture than the Dina's and comes across as considerably less tannic. But this has more than enough juicy acidity and vinosity to frame its delicious fruit.

Medium ruby. Red and blackcurrant bitter chocolate and tobacco aromas lifted by floral and mineral nuances. Dense, juicy and bright, with lovely definition and intensity of flavor. Not at all a thick style of Merlot but has a terrific verve and structure. Finishes with terrific tannin/acid spine and excellent persistence.

Good to medium-deep red. Sexy oak, minerals, cola and an exotic note of sage on the nose. Silky, spicy and compellingly sweet, with liqueur-like raspberry flavor complimented by smoky oak. Given shape by firm but perfectly integrated acidity. Finishes with very fine tannins and noteworthy persistence.

Good medium ruby. Vibrant, highly aromatic nose combines blackberry, violet, white pepper, cedar and toasty oak. Juicy and firmly built, with concentrated dark berry flavors over a mineral spine. Very fresh, firmly tannic Zinfandel with lovely purity and no excess weight.

Full medium-ruby. Deep, superripe aromas of black fruits and dark chocolate. Denser and deeper than the 2000, with slightly medicinal, briary berries and minerals in the mouth. Already offers lovely inner-mouth perfume. Finishes with powerful, chewy tannins that avoid dryness and lovely persistence. Offers excellent potential.

Medium ruby. Cool, somewhat medicinal aromas of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate, licorice, minerals, and fresh herbs. Bright and dense but quite closed and tannic today; very much in the style of a Northern Medoc wine. Distinctly tough now and in need of at least five or six years of patience. This was far silkier from barrel a year ago, but my early early sample contained a much higher percentage of Merlot.

Medium ruby. Cool, somewhat medicinal aromas of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate, licorice, minerals and fresh herbs. Bright and dense but quite closed and tannic today; very much in the style of a Northern Medoc wine. Distinctly tough now and in need of at least five or six years of patience,. This was far silkier from barrel a year ago, but my early sample contained a much higher percentage of merlot.

Saturated bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, violet, bitter chocolate and mint. Sweet, suave and superripe, with creamy flavors of plum, cassis and licorice. Neither green nor over the top. Very well balanced, generous cabernet, finishing with substantial chewy tannins and noteworthy length and class.

Good medium red. Smoky red fruits, chocolate, leather and cola on the nose. Supple and lush, with a captivating spice character lifting the cocoa powder and mocha flavors. Very sweet, soft pinot, finishing with smooth tannins and subtle persistence.

Full red. Aromas of blueberry, smoke and fresh herbs, plus a whiff of sulfides. Fat and broad but uncompromisingly dry; showing more spice and cola than primary fruit. Finished with substantial ripe tannins and lovely persistence.

Good bright medium ruby. Brooding aromas of black cherry, blackberry, violet and menthol. Juicy on entry, then muscular and bound-up today; more intense and more powerful than the Highwire but also a bit drier today. A touch of petit sirah gives this wine somewhat tougher tannins but also more grip.

Good bright ruby-red. Highly aromatic nose of currant, violet, tobacco and menthol. Then a bit hard-edged in the mouth despite its high 3.9 pH. Lacks the suppleness and flesh of a thoroughly ripe year. Finishes with some unabsorbed acidity. Winemaker Chris Carpenter, who began as winemaker at Lokoya and was then Charles Thomas's assistant at Cardinale, gets first pick of the Jackson Family Farms Napa fruit.