This wine is still aging, but it's drinking well now. The tannin is still a little ornery and will soften in a year or so. But it smells like ripe blackberries fresh off the vine and fresh-turned soil. This wine, with the texture of roasted pork, would be divine.

This Merlot-dominated blend, from the historic Napa Valley winery, has such an alluring nose. A quintessential Napa scent that plays mind games. Chocolate cake, cigar box, barrel spice, and the darkest of plums and black cherries mix, mingle, and role play harmoniously like a steakhouse dessert. The decadent characteristics carry over into a silky smooth palate, but not before the finish gets lifted with great structure and acid to cut through some of the richness. The 2014 vintage is perfectly hitting its stride right now. Appealing, well-rounded, and solid for the price, this is a lush and bold Merlot that easily appeals to Cabernet drinkers out there. Purchase problems.

At first taste, if you picked up a handful of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries and just crushed them, and then as it hangs out on your palate for a second, you get blueberry pie with nutmeg. A little bit of spiciness. When I smelled it earlier, I got more floral notes to it, so fresh roses, earthiness, and even sandalwood. But once opened a little, the floral toned down, fruit more balanced. This is really beautiful.

The Hickinbotham 2014 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunner. From the moment your nose goes anywhere near this you know it’s everything cabernet can be. Lifted cassis, black berry with steady steps into the tasting zone, purity of fruit aided by its medium weight structures, while the variety’s necessary tannins are tapered and beneficial to a long languid finish.

The Hickinbotham 2014 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is fabulous claret that stayed satisfyingly fresh in an open bottle for more than a week. Its transition from cabernet aromas to shiraz power, without overriding sweet fruit is exemplary. When it comes to that “collector’s mindset” the Hickinbotham winemaking team aspires to, these are all destined for cellaring greatness.

Opens quite spritzy. Distractingly so. I put it aside for 24 hours and the spritz had reduced, but was still there. It’s otherwise a medium-bodied wine of momentum and poise. Mulberry, cassis, bay leaves and smoky oak. Most appealing. And impressive. Spritz-aside. Would love to see this again in 12 months; or from a different bottle. No rating at this stage.

There’s more than one way to ditch white (wine) after Labor DayThe 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is full with aromas of black plum, raspberry, and forest floor, complemented by flavors of bing cherry and sassafras and hints of baking spice. This 100% Pinot Noir bottle pairs with a full table spread, from grilled and roasted meats as well as pasta Bolognese to prosciutto, mushrooms, and cured black olives.

Eight Of The Best Values In Italian Wine Right Nowil fauno di Arcanum, 2017: An elegant Bordeaux styled blend from Tuscany, this wine is primarily Merlot-based, and says winemaker Pierre Seillan, “it’s a great value; it is high quality for a great price.” Indeed, Seillan and Lawrence Cronin hand-select micro-lots of fruit across the vineyards, fermenting each one separately and then making a final, optimal blend that sings with freshness, complexity and richly woven fruit. Drink now or consider aging it 10 -15 years. The exceptional quality will last.

The ‘electric acidity’ of Sta. Rita Hills fine chardonnayRecommended

10 World-Class Australian Wines You Should Be Drinking NowThis elegant red from Hickinbotham winemakers Chris Carpenter (of Napa’s Cardinale, Lokoya and more) and Peter Fraser belies any rustic reputation this signature Australian blend might harbor. In fact, Carpenter and Fraser were inspired to make a Cabernet Shiraz their top wine by a bottle of Penfolds Bin 60A they shared over dinner on one of Carpenter’s first trips to Australia. In their 2017 version, beautiful aromatics on the nose combine red fruit, earthy damp loam and high-toned florals. The palate is generous, vibrant and balanced, its raspberry and blackberry fruit layered with dark chocolate, spice and lovely minerality.

10 World-Class Australian Wines You Should Be Drinking NowThis flagship Shiraz from Yangarra comes from the cooler, northern edge of McLaren Vale, where an outcropping of ironstone earns the wine its name. Concentrated, vibrant and perfectly balanced, it opens with toasted spice, blackberry fruit, pungent tobacco leaf and gravelly notes. The wine harbors plenty of structure, but it’s tamed and wrapped in juicy blackberry and blueberry flavors with delicious hints of cured meat.

Founded in 1990 by Jess Jackson, the Legacy label was first created to mark cellar-worthy reds from the mountainous Stonestreet Estate. The Field Stone estate vineyards located in the Alexander Valley are more than 120 years old. The Petite Sirah blocks were first planted in the stony soils in 1894. The 2017 has pretty aromas of violets and chocolate covered blueberries with drying tannins and fresh acidity.

Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay — Standing as America’s #1 selling Chardonnay for 26 years and counting, Kendall-Jackson’s classic Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay ($17/bottle) is a true crowd-pleaser and pairs perfectly with any number of summertime events thanks to its tropical pineapple and papaya notes with hints of vanilla. Wine lovers can also feel good about popping open a bottle as the 2017 varietal now carries the CCSW (Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing) logo on its label.

Summery red, white and sparkling wines to enjoy before autumn arrivesThe Value Whites2018 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, California

This delightful blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is sharp and crisp with strawberry and cherry flavors. Nicely balanced with a fresh, lively finish.

Wine of the Day: Diatom Bar-M ChardonnayFrom 20-year-old vines grown in the Sta. Rita Hills’ Bar-M vineyard, the clean, precise wine is chic, polished, and sophisticated. Diatom Bar-M Chardonnay from Brewer-Clifton is a gorgeous and luscious, yet delicate and crisp.Refreshing and bright, with lime leaf and lemon blossom, a wet stone, mineral core, and clean, slightly briny finish.

A Bucket List of Contemporary California Old Vine Pinot Noir

The Mandatory Wine List to the Best Brands You Must Try Before You DieOne of the most popular (and reasonably priced) bottles of wine from Murphy Goode, its Cabernet Sauvignon is full of rich tobacco, sour cherry, and chocolate favors.

Exploring the Elegant and Earthy Red Wines Made with Pinot Noir GrapesAnd up in red-wood covered Anderson Valley, try Copain Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard 2017.

Exploring the Elegant and Earthy Red Wines Made with Pinot Noir GrapesThe Sonoma Coast is making excellent examples; try La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2017…

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: The 2018 Root & Rubble Pinot Noir is sourced from the Barbieri Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Typically used for blending, clone 828 was selected for its thicker skins and strong tannin presence, allowing the wine to stand on its own without leaning on oak for support as this wine is 100% fermented and aged in concrete. The result is a soft and elegant, red-fruited Pinot Noir with hints of candied rose, white pepper, and a subtle earthiness. The palate offers intense raspberry and spice, finishing with a trace of silky tannins.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: 2017 was a cooler year in McLaren Vale. The carryover from the 2016 rains into a perfect spring and then a cooler ripening season led to good fruit character for Shiraz and Grenache expressing in an elegant and lively style. The 2017 Shiraz has an elegant and balanced form, with round blackberry and black pepper notes on a lithe and supple frame.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: Legendary small yields for the 2017 vintage produced intense, concentrated, and powerful wines with vibrant acidity, despite such a warm year. The aromas are dominated by ripe raspberry fruit and candied apples, followed by floral notes and nutmeg. The powerful nose gives way to an elegant balance of expressive fruit. The palate follows with tart cherry pie, red licorice, and sweet tobacco. A long finish shows hints of cedar and cypress. It will be extraordinary to experience this wine’s evolution in the cellar and it is expected to age gracefully.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: The 2018 Hartford Russian River Valley Zinfandel is showing aromas of ripe plum, blackberry, black cherry which are highlighted with hints of white pepper and allspice. Blueberry, red raspberry, nutmeg and mocha flavors lead into a long, bright finish with supple tannins.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: The key to this Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is the diversity of its sources. This sounds odd, given that the wine comes entirely from within the Russian River Valley AVA, but this region is large and possesses a myriad of soils, exposures, and unique terroirs that together produce a superb representation of the whole of the Russian River Valley. This 2018 offering showcases this area in all its complexity while also making for a wine that is eminently drinkable upon release.