designation: Floodgate Vineyard

description: An exciting Gewrz, one of the best out there. Shows the variety's exotic spiciness and muskiness, with underlying orange, honeydew melon, lychee, pear and kumquat flavors, brightened by wonderful acidity. No oak was used in the production, and the finish is totally dry.

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description: Tedeschi's base Amarone is a beautiful wine with integrated flavors of spice and dark fruit that are evenly spread over its smooth, supple mouthfeel. Soft tannins and rich density make this wine a good choice for steak with creamy mushroom sauce.

designation: Espor?o Reserva

description: Smooth, unctuous and rich, this is a gorgeous wine that offers ripe peach and pineapple fruits to go with the fine acidity and hint of spice. Ready to drink now, it could age.

designation: Hawk Hill Vineyard

description: Made in the ultraripe style that is Williams Selyem Chardonnay, this wine almost needs to be enjoyed by itself as a cocktail. It's explosive in apricot jam, pineapple tart, pear crme br?le, buttered toast and cinnamon spice flavors that feel fat and dry and slightly hot in alcohol. Not particularly subtle, but earns points for sheer power.

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description: Sourced from the Wallula vineyard, this pure Syrah opens with a pretty, floral top note over flavors of purple berries. Hints of dried herb and lavender bring complexity into the lightly chocolaty finish.

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description: Here's a meaty, savory wine with loads of ripe fruit, plum and prune followed by moist earth and smoked ham. The wine has polished, almost squeaky tannins and a rich mouthfeel.

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description: This wine hides its 14.9% alcohol well under layers of plush cassis and blueberry fruit. Cedar, vanilla and cinnamon add to its complexity, enhanced by hints of cracked pepper and marinated beef. This is supple in texture and broad in the mouth without being overly weighty. Drink nowC2017.

designation: Aurelio's Selection

description: Showing softly sweet raspberry, cherry and cocoa flavors, with a luxe coating of smoky oak. Acidity and tannins are melted, making it a gentle Cabernet to drink now and for the next few years. Tasted twice.

designation: Rochioli VIneyard

description: A bright, spicy Cabernet from this famous vineyard better known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Made from a small, older block of vines, it's dry and appealing, with ripe cherry, blackberry, cedar, anise and pepper flavors. Drink now for freshness.

designation: Estate

description: The 2006 vintage of this Cabernet blew me away. This '07 is considerably more difficult to evaluate. Fresh out of the bottle, it's dry, tannic and raw in acids. The black cherry sour candy and Dr. Pepper cola flavors have an unrelieved toughness. Yet the balance seems to be there for aging. The score is entirely tentative, and could well rise in coming years. But it could also go down. Roll the dice.

designation: No. 11

description: This softly structured, user-friendly Chard boasts prototypical barrel-fermented notes of cashews, buttered toast and grilled peaches, carried along by a full-bodied, lush mouthfeel. Finishes long, with well integrated oak. Drink now.

designation: Rasteau

description: This medium-bodied red displays an array of dried spices alongside ample black-cherry fruit. It's fresher and firmer than the 2007 (also reviewed this month), featuring some slightly dusty tannins on the finish. Drink nowC2015 or so.

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description: Here's a vibrant and sweet-smelling Amarone with aromas of Christmas spice, nutmeg, vanilla, chocolate and loads of vibrant berry fruit. There's a touch of natural rubber as well and the wine is smooth, silky and firm on the close.

designation: Sea Change

description: A very good Pinot Noir, bone dry and full-bodied, with a clean mouthfeel and a long, spicy finish. It's tannic, giving an astringent bite to the cherry, cola, mushroom, tobacco and balsam flavors. Give it a year or two to mellow.

designation: Ripassa

description: Made with partially dried grapes, Ripassa is a full and generous wine packed tight with ripe fruit, spice and tobacco aromas. It imparts a rich, smooth feel with lingering notes of cinnamon and cherry on the finish.

designation: Vigneto Calandra di Romagnano

description: This is a masculine and austere Amarone with deep tones of blackberry, prune, black chocolate, clove, cardamom and smoky touches of tar and resin. Drying mineral notes appear in the mouth and provide for a very pretty contrast against the wine's succulent, sweet fruit flavors.

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description: Aged in large oak casks, this dark and thickly extracted Ripasso does a nice job of integrating mature black fruit aromas with spice and tobacco. The oak element is nicely tucked in the background and the wine shows bright fruit flavors in the mouth as well.

designation: Rserve

description: Black currant and white plums give this wine its fresh edge and its richness. It has an opulent feel to it, with concentrated spice inside the round texture. The end brings out the relief of crisp acidity.

designation: Caterina Zardini

description: This sees 12 months of oak aging for extra layers of spice, leather and tobacco that sit over a solid base of red fruit and cherry cola. A really nice wine. this is plush and dense in the mouth with a long, succulent finish.

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description: California Riesling seems to be making a comeback and if it is, it's thanks to inexpensive but wonderful wines like this. It's dryish to off dry, with beautiful acidity and delicious flavors of citrus fruits, green apples, pears, honeyed jasmine tea and vanilla bean. Just beautiful for drinking now.