Bright cherry red with a youthful rim. Medium-bodied. Balanced acidity. Moderately extracted. Moderately oaked. Mildly tannic. Raspberries, vanilla. Sweet, fleshy red-fruit aromas follow through on the palate, with vale sweetness and juicy acids making this very approachable.

Led by an ample dose of well-ripened cherries in its deep, lightly toasty aromas, this substantial young wine follows with nicely concentrated, ripe-fruit flavors and sports the lush, slightly velvety feel of top-shelf Pinot. Markedly firmer on the latter palate and finishing with a bit of evident acidity pushing forward, the wine seems certain to grow with age and should be tagged for three or four years of cellaring.

One of the Top-10 list of California's best red wines.

Soil character here is balanced out with rich, ripe fruit and textured with lush, round tannins. It's a big, well-structured wine that could use three to five years to mellow and fully show itself

Bright purple cast. Moderately full-bodied. Full acidity. Moderately extracted. Mildly oaked. Mildly tannic. Briar fruits, vanilla. Aromatic, with a pleasant interplay between fruit and oak nuances. Well balanced and lively, with subtle tannins through the finish.

Straightforward and varietally true, this is a good all-purpose cabernet. Dark and youthful in appearance with smoky aromas, spicy plum fruit, and a creamy texture that will pair well with a variety of people and foods.

Bright blackish purple hue. Moderately full-bodied. Balanced acidity. Moderately extracted. Mildly oaked. Moderately tannic. Black fruits, vanilla. Carries an oaky nuance on the nose, and merges with a nice fruit-centered core of flavors. Lighter in style, with some hefty tannins toward the finish.

An attractive, lushly fruity, oak framed sauvignon blanc, its lemon verbena, ripe melon and key lime flavors interact with creamy oak to create a lush style of sauvignon blanc.

Smoky and spicy oak and tropical fruit aromas. Smooth and silky in the mouth, with the slightly sweet flavor of an orange Creamsicle. Good weight and just enough balancing acidity. The finish is ripe, sweet and persistent.

Up-front appley fruit and touches of lemon are neatly married to a balanced bit of sweet oak in both the squeaky clean aromas and compact young flavors of this lively, medium-bodied effort.

Youthfully bright fruit aromas are considerably enriched by buttery tones and plenty of creamy oak in the appealing nose. Mouthcoating on the palate, the wine is smooth an well-textured. Fruit is the lead player throughout but lees and oak flavors contribute complexity and seasoning that add to the wine's overall richness and sense of depth. Well-balanced, the wine will continue to gain interest over the next few years and will enhance the enjoyment of savory chicken or veal preparations.

…sourced entirely from the prime benchland Beckstoffer Vineyards, is classic Napa in every way: Very ripe and well extracted, the wine is packed with flavors of crème de cassis, anise and coffee. French oak adds spice and rounds it out with a dash of cream. It's a stunning wine to taste on its own, and it has the structure to be food friendly

"The '95 Cardinale is an ambitious contender for the California meritage crown. This edition is a finely tined combination of Mt. Veeder fruit (dense and pungent) with Alexander Valley hillside fruit (lush black cherry and herbs). Deeply informed by Bordeaux while taking full advantage of California's terroir, it's elegant and stylish, full of plum, peach and licorice notes, round and tannic. " Also appeared 11/98

This may be dark, palate-filling and intense, but it's depth of fruit and character. Give it a few years to smooth its rough edges and allow more of the plum and wild cherry fruit to come forward, then enjoy a bottle with venison.

Older vines (twenty-plus years), grown at a relatively high altitude (1,500 ft.) give this weighty, full-flavored wine a robust pungency that Sancette producer Didier Dageneau would dig. Lemon rind, figs and wild herbs suffuse this bottling, which starts out big and grows more elegant as it opens up in the glass. Place it with something rich but not too heavy…

Generally speaking, when you see Alexander Valley on a bottle of cabernet, you think soft, fruity and easy to drink. Instead, this '95 has some real mountain fruit extract and flavor that demands aging. Ripe flavors of licorice and plum are framed by oak and very firm tannins. This Buckeye could use two to three years to soften into a lithe and supple wine, then pull out a bottle for a holiday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

The flavor core is built around dry coffee, herb and currant.

…sweet cream, cinnamon, raspberries.

…sweet, soft red berries.

Balanced fruit and oak nose, ripe and forward with spice and tropical notes; buttery texture, oaky notes; length.

Very ripe fruit salad aroma, toasty oak back notes; ripe fruit flavors, crisp, citrusy acidity, pungent oak.

This superb blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot has flavors of coffee, chocolate and vanilla, and a long, creamy finish.

It is big, ripe, dense and acceptably varietal in its amalgam of ripe black cherries, roasted wood notes, suggestions of loam and hints of raspberry jam. In the mouth, it is lush and full-bodied, counterparts while being that much more in weight again than the wines from France. Along with weight and intensity comes a certain extra bit of heat in the latter palate and finish that marks this one as out of the ordinary and directs it towards service with savory meats.

Vanilla spice and richly flavored dark cherry fruit. Still youthful