Smooth and spicy, with crisp cherry, raspberry and wild berry flavors that are tart and lively, finishing with firm tannins.

A tasty, elegant, medium ruby-colored wine, La Crema's 1997 Zinfandel Reserve offers attractive berry fruit, a round, open-knit texture, and a soft, easy-going finish.

Summer's end will bring the release of this remarkably complex California Chardonnay, with its layers of spicy, toasty, cedary oak and bounty of pretty pear, fig, apricot and citrus flavors that are long and lively on the finish.

Bright and lemony, with hints of grapefruit, herb, mineral and subtle melon notes. Has a lean edge, but shows a more supple, viscous quality on the finish.

Ripe and complex, with rich, focused citrus, pear and toasted oak flavors, and a long, creamy aftertaste.

Proof that you learn something new every day. It would never occur to us to buy a late-harvest Chardonnay and we'd miss out on something pretty spectacular. Plump, rich, life-affirming and not too sweet.

This is a richly flavored spicy zin that has great balance and will age well for some years.

This cab has a soft style and resembles Merlot. A crisp, pleasant wine with tangy, bright blackberry fruit.

The aromas show sweet oak and cherry tones with hints of pepper and gamy spice qualities…

Frontal and relatively accessible with its ripe apple and pear aromas seasoned with creamy oak and a background note of leesy nuttiness, the wine is direct, tasty and obvious in flavor. A tasty offering to be sure, it would seen to want service with dishes that are both rich and somewhat sweet…

Brimming with complex flavors, this California Chardonnay offers a harmonious blend of ripe pear, nectarine, pineapple and spice, with smoky, toasty oak filling in the gaps nicely.

This is a knockout wine (if you're lucky enough to find it - only 326 cases were made). It is amazingly complex, with layers of ripe black cherry and deep blackberry fruit. The finish is long, completely balanced and lovely.

One of the South Coast's finest wineries. Starts with green apple, peach, buttercup and spice aromas. Amazingly laser-like Great acidity. The finish lasts for a full minute.

Alexander Mountain Ranch is the new name for the former Gauer Estate, now owned by Kendall-Jackson, and the source for this single vineyard merlot. Lush sweet berry flavors fill out this wine from beginning to end. It has the appealing richness of the grape, while maintaining a firm, dry structure. Packed with fruit and tannin, this could use some cellaring to soften - or enjoy it now with seared filet mignon.

Deep ruby-purple color, limpid and brilliant to the rim. Generous vanilla and black-fruit flavors. Firm entry. Moderately drying tannins. Bright, succulent fruit is not obscured by heavy oak...

Opaque blackish-red. Full-bodied. Highly extracted. Quite tannic. Extremely chewy texture shows the massive extract of this wine. Monolithic and tough, with a mild cooked-fruit character.

Dark purple color, limpid and brilliant to the rim. Mild black cherry and bitter-chocolate flavors. Mild wood tones. Firm entry, medium-bodied, with balance and acidity. Moderately drying tannins. Sweet fruit, chocolate and wood notes work well through the finish. Can improve with more age.

Medium cherry red color, limpid with a slight fade. Subtle, pleasant berry fruit, cedar flavors. Hint of wood tones. Smooth entry, medium-bodied. Moderate drying tannins. Fleshy black-fruit flavors make for an attractive style. Subtle finish. Spicy, oak-accented style.

A medium-bodied wine that offers light citrus and herb notes, with hints of green apple and minerals on the finish. Clean and fresh.

Supple a juicy, with ripe, complex cherry, raspberry and wild berry flavors, picking up touches of plum and anise. (Also appeared in 6/30 issue.)

Lots of complex, juicy fruit, with pretty plum, raspberry, black cherry and spicy notes, staying tightly focused and finishing with a long, a long, crisp aftertaste. A new Zin from Hartford Court…

Lots to admire in this ripe, will-rounded Zin, with peppery cherry, cranberry tart plum an cedar notes. A distinctive, complex style; Hartford Court's first Zin from this vineyard.

Fairly tangy, with hints of vanilla on the nose. The flavors touch on sweet pea, fig and citrus, with a hint of fresh-mowed grass on the refreshing finish.

Pleasant and soft-textured, with a modest range of raspberry and wild berry flavors, finishing with integrated tannins.

Very ripe and jammy, with sweet-tasting plum, cherry, wild berry and raspberry, finishing with crisp acidity and tannins.