…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.

Shows sweet pinot fruit…inviting cherry fruit and a touch of earthy underbrush…

…black fruits with a whiff of vanilla…full bodied with raspberry and cherry flavors…not overripe…

Round and simple, with plum flavors.

Round, with notes of melted butter, honey and cream.

Smooth, ripe, rich and polished, with jammy raspberry , blackberry, cherry and spice (white pepper). Long, intricate aftertaste.

Tightly wound, with a firm band of cedar, wild berry, black cherry and earth notes, finishing with dry tannins.

Clean and ripe, with a peachy edge to the citrus and nectarine, turning cedary.

Tart, lean, tannic, and well structured, with cinnamon, clove and wild berry flavors.

Veers toward the tart side, with pepper, wild berry and cedar notes, turning firmly tannic.

Round, with butter, anise and crème brulee flavors that have good richness.

…if you like these hedonistic, high alcohol and raisin-sweet zins, try it with an equally rich game preparation, such as roast venison in a zin and blackberry reduction.

A beautifully structured, elegant Syrah packed with ripe blackberry flavors.

Pretty light-toast, pear, and cinnamon-clove aromas give way to almost cloying mixed fruit and a sticky finish. Very soft and buttery.