From the fog-chilled coast of Sonoma, this mesmerizing Chardonnay has an atmosphere as thick as a Collins novel: seductive hints of citrus blossom that waft like a lady's perfume, a bite of lemon, and brooding granite mineral wrapped in a texture as smooth as a silk stocking.

Powerful, intense pineappley nose. Fine attack, texture and concentration; lively acidity; taut and persistent. Drink now-2008.

Hartford Family Winery 2000 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($22.00):

One of the best American Pinots I've ever tasted - and at a very reasonable price - this features sweet black cherry fruit with subtle herbal undertones and just the right touch of smoky oak.

Earthy, celery salt, sandalwood, spicy, black cherry, gamey, meaty aromas with a hint of strawberry tea. Soft, round, supple and dry with sweet cherry, vanilla, spicy, celery, strawberry jam flavours and a smoky, orange rind finish. Warm but balanced with good acidity. Fine effort and fine value.

Roses, wood, discreet. Medium-full body, medium acids and tannins, lots of red ripe fruit. Good balance, not too much oak. Crisp, medium length. Up to ten years.

Always open to syrah, I requested a taste of the 2013 Outer Limits Vineyard Syrah. As a part of the coastal Far Coast Vineyard, the “Outer Limits” comes from a cooler climate. I found a balanced, tightly structured wine with floral laced aromas and dark fruit and spice on the palate.

This is a gorgeous, no nonsense zin with layered flavors of black cherry, raspberry, white pepper and mocha. Concentrated. Lingering finish. Impressive. 4½ stars.

The 2015 vintage of the Russian River Vineyards Zinfandel was awarded 94-points by Wine Spectator magazine and placed #21 on their 2017 Top 100 list. The 2016 Russian River Vineyards Zinfandel blends grapes from all but one of their six vineyards and delivers integrated flavors of black cherry, berry and spice.

Garden Party Wine Picks Zinfandel – not to be mistaken for White Zinfandel – is one of the most underrated red wines. Typically big and jammy, Hartford Family aims for a more refined expression but still retains the big fruit flavors that people like about Zinfandel. Burgers and barbecue are perfect pairings for this.

For all of its sexy polish, there’s no denying it’s a wild child deep at heart. A-

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The Hartford Russian River Valley 2015 kicked off my tasting with hints of what was to come. It had depth, edge and blackness, as well as a signal of red, a brightness brought on by the ever-present acidity, packing tons of cherry fruit, boysenberry, blueberry and floral cinnamon. It weighed in at 15.5 percent alcohol but didn’t feel it at all.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique This points to their production standards: Hand-picking, cold-soaking and creating textures that simply describing as “silky” does not do justice to. Case in point, the 2015 Highwire featured vines farmed by Lloyd Celli that are trellised out of the old head-trained vines, so there are two levels of fruit on the vine: those up high on the wires and those down low on the heads. This bottling features the Highwire’s pepper and the heads’ fruit character. Very cool. And the mouthfeel is beyond silky, to fluffy, whipped cream pillow-like. There are little percents of carignan, petite sirah and syrah on board. Less than 400 cases were made. It garnered 96 points and – surprise! – it was startlingly good. I took a bottle home and immediately enjoyed it with homemade carne asada tacos.

From special 100-year-old vines in the Russian River Valley, the 2015 Hartford Vineyard Zinfandel offers the elegance and complexity that is typically sought out in a good zinfandel.

Being a native Californian and a local in northern California wine country, I find myself drinking a lot of California wine. And when Robert Parker's annual Northern California reports are published, I'm always eager to see which wines receive the most praise. As autumn sets in and the vineyards becomes a rainbow of colors, I find myself reaching for hearty reds like Zinfandel. So, in honor of Robert Parker's Part One of his Northern California reports, I've compiled a list of 15 Zinfandels scoring 90 points or higher in Issue 227. These top-scoring Zinfandels come from appellations across Napa Valley and Sonoma County.

Vintners rally to preserve Russian River Valley’s historic Zinfandel vineyards From the Maffei Vineyard, planted in the 1920s; “Jolene’s” is Hartford’s amalgamation of the owners’ names, Joanne and Arlene. This is textbook Russian River Zin: a fruit salad of ripe strawberry and explosive juicy blueberry, zippy with bracing acidity.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The 2014 Jolene’s Vineyard featured 100-year-old vines from a slightly warmer site, with more fruit even and “symphonic” in its call. All the fruits harmoniously burst at once. Not baked or jammy, it was rather bright and fresh.

A big-boy zin with black fruit and zesty spice. This dense zin has aromas and flavors of blackberry, boysenberry and cracked black pepper. Finishes with a tasty kick of spice. Impressive.

A very tasty zin with notes of black cherry, cherry, herbs and cracked black pepper. Good acid. Nice length.

The Hartford Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard Russian River Valley is intense, powerful, and jammy, with spicy white-pepper notes.

A striking zinfandel with powerful flavors of blackberry, cassis, and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied. A standout.

Hartford Zinfandels have been lauded as among California’s best for over 15 years. They are crafted from grapes grown at century-old vineyards in the Russian River Valley and other nearby AVAs. This wine is crafted to balance the ripe fruit character with the oak aging, utilizing 35% or more new oak barrels. Aromas of rich blueberry and blackberry mingle with tobacco, bramble and vanilla notes. The palate adds flavors of barrel spice and toasty cedar to the ripe berry flavors.

A tasty zin with a seamless texture. Notes of black raspberry, pepper and coffee. Nice length.

Named a favorite at a tasting attended by a group of stellar Sonoma County winemakers, who meet regularly to blind-taste various wines and rank them.