Supple and balanced, with earth, cedar and beef flavors, picking up the dry cherry and berry notes. Drink now through 2004.

Menthol and herbal notes dominate, with underlying crisp red currant flavors.

Simple, with red currant and dried berry flavors.

Lean, with charry, smoky berry, notes.

Classic Anderson Valley Gewürztraminer. A fragrant wine, brimming with floral, litchi, tangerine, and cinnamon-allspice aromas. Rich, ripe, supple, and frankly delicious. Bone dry, but the fruit is so ripe the wine tastes sweet. Steely, with great balance and harmony.

A very nice Syrah balancing supple, polished fruit with silky, finely-meshed tannins and crisp acidity. Bright and pure, with enough complexity for fine food.

Crisp and lively, with bright red currant and anise flavors that will match well with food.

Lively strawbeery aroma, spicy back notes; forward, fruity flavors, ripe berries and plums, toasted oak; medium finish…

"…rich, chocolatey, plummy…

…great value…fruity, fragrant…juicy tasting…

It's got great texture. There are hints of honey, pear and ripe apple, and it's got a really nice, smooth finish. A lot of people tend to say it's buttery. It's a good wine if you're moving into fall, when the bodies of wine are usually a little deeper.

…it is a banner year. While some of these wines are almost impossible to find, they will be among the most compelling efforts ever made in California.

1997 will rival 1994 and 1991 as one of the greatest years…it is a banner year. While some of these wines are almost impossible to find, they will be among the most compelling efforts ever made in California.

…it is a banner year. While some of these wines are almost impossible to find, they will be among the most compelling efforts ever made in California.

Dark, grapey, with spicy plum, currant and wild berry. Finishes with firm tannins and fine balance. Notably elegant at this early stage.

A simple, ripe style of cabernet, this wine is filled with soft, juicy red fruit. It's balanced by a touch of oak, which shows up as a pleasant, bitter chocolate tone in the finish. Finely blended and easy to drink.

Soft with appealing notes of nectarine, pear and cream. Light and elegant with just a hint of oak.

We spot a distinct familial resemblance between this wine and K-J 's ubiquitous Vintner's Reserve bottling, but this one has more distinctive fruit and is just that much juicier overall. It costs a few dollars more but is not going to be so obviously available. Yet, given the choice, this one gets the nod if the prices are at all close at your local wine merchant.

Lively, with straightforward flavors of apple, pear and spicy oak.

A bit of citrus tartness to this combined with sweeter vanilla flavors.

…tastes like a fabulous northern Rhone. Blackberry liqueur infused with smoke jumps from the glass of this stupendous Zinfandel. Explosive in the mouth, with huge extract levels, fruit, and glycerin, but no heaviness or heat, this is a full-throttle, opulently-textured, hedonistic offering to drink over the next 5-6 years.

reveals a slightly more saturated color than its Mendocino Ridge sibling in addition to full, powerful, chewy flavors redolent with blackberries, cherries, incense, spice box, and subtle wood. A heady alcohol content provides glycerin, and the fleshy, full-bodied texture is a hedonist's dream.

…offers aromas and flavors of smoke, plums, blackberries, and black raspberries, and black currants. Spicy and round, with a supple texture, and a rich, medium to full-bodied, luscious texture, this wine can be drunk over the next 4-5 years.

…exhibits a dark ruby color with amber at the edge. This nose is reminiscent of and Asian restaurant, with scents of soy, smoked duck, plums, and assorted black fruits. Ripe and deep, with a slight hotness, this heady wine requires consumption over the next 5-6 years.

The wine reveals a deep, plummy color, and cooked dried fruit notes along with smoke, herbs, pepper, and spice. Glycerin gives it a plump texture, but also an impression of sweetness.