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Seductive like a trap, meaning the nose is lush and full of bacon, cola and blackberry, yet the palate is tannic and shows some serious teeth. The fruit is bold and ripe, and the structure dictates that it be drunk with hearty foods like steak, lamb or burgers.

US

The vineyard is on Atlas Peak. Modern winemaking has softened the tannins, while long hangtime steers the fruit towards ultraripe cherries and chocolate. It's a flashy wine with lots of new French oak, meant to impress, but it may pall after a few sips.

US

Has true varietal spice, something we don't always see in bargain-priced Syrah. White pepper notes lead, backed by superripe blueberries and dried spices. Does seem a wee bit tart.

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is a nice wine that's at peak maturity. The nose offers an old-time blend of cinnamon and dried fruit, while the palate has a good feel and lively raspberry and vanilla flavors. A more traditionally styled wine that's ready to drink now.

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Alongside open, hefty berry aromas are bramble and toasted oak notes. The palate pushes pure cherry and plum flavors, while the toasty back end finishes with chocolate and espresso. A perfectly good wine with medium tannins and depth.

US

Pretty good everyday Chard, with a lemon twist and datenut bread edge to the peaches and cream flavors. Finishes with a touch of honeyed sweetness.

US

This isn't the most sophisticated wine out there, but at this price, it's not bad. Semidry and smooth in texture, it has modest peach and smoky oak flavors that will satisfy Chard fans.

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Heavy fruit in the form of raisin controls the nose, while cranberry and rhubarb flavors anchor a surprisingly tart, red-fruit driven palate. Not sour per se, because there is core sweetness, but it just seems rough, snappy and sharp throughout.

US

Spectacularly ripe, showing an explosion of near-perfect fruit and smoky oak, balanced by crisply elegant acidity. Among the top ranks of Carneros Chards, the wine comes from manicured, low-yielding vines that, in this warm vintage, offer pineapple custard, lemon meringue, kiwi, cr me br?l e and vanilla spice flavors. There's something keenly firm and stony in the finish.

at

The acidity is still here in this now-mature wine, keeping it lively while all the flavors swirl around. Pepper and richness combine, while the sweetness has given way to intense power and concentration. Flavors of toast and dark toffee leave a rich, almost dry aftertaste.

US

What a fine, elegant Cab. It's not a blockbuster, the kind of Cab designed to impress through sheer size, but one designed for the upscale table. Elegant and refined, it shows ripe currant, carob and oak flavors wrapped in soft, intricate tannins. Drink nowC2012.

US

Oh what a nice young Cabernet this is. With lots of new French oak, it shows a beautifully balanced, elegant opulence. The fruit is impeccably ripe, all blackberries and cassis, and the all-important tannins are softly ripe and sweet. You could open it now, but it should develop additional bottle complexity after 2007.

US

The wine opens with dense, fragrant, supple scents of slate, cassis and mulberry. Slightly reductive, it's a wine that needs decanting. This is consistent with past vintages, nicely detailed with mineral and fine grained tannins resolving into flavors of lightly roasted coffee.

US

Grown on the Sonoma side of the appellation, in one of the coolest, windiest parts, this is quite simply a delicious Syrah. The grapes achieved perfect ripeness, yielding immense blackberry jam, cherry, chocolate, tangerine zest, coffee and gingersnap cookie flavors. Yet that coastal acidity is there, scrubbing and cleansing the palate.

US

While this gorgeous Cab shows a ripe approachability that makes it instantly drinkable, it also has a tannicly closed element that suggests aging. A fine steak will pair beautifully with the wine's tannins, acids and blackberry fruit, and you don't want to hang onto it too long. But in the next six years this wine will change in interesting ways.

US

This shows the ripe tropical fruit of a fine vintage, yet maintains the keen citrusy acidity that makes this vineyard's Chards so balanced and ageworthy. Beneath the pineapple marmalade, apricot and caramelly oak flavors is a rich, flinty minerality that cries out for lobster.

it

Enologist Vittorio Fiore has crafted a very distinctive wine with a vibrant ruby color, nice concentration and full-force aromas of blueberry, chocolate and smoked bacon. But what won me over was an elegant and precise point of white mineral or chalk that appears on the nose. It ages for 44 months and is succulent and chewy with firm tannins. Drink after 2008.

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Fresh in primary fruit, jammy blackberry and cherry flavors, with a keen streak of acidity, and an overall sense of balance and complexity. Although this wine has no history of aging, it seems to have everything it needs to develop. Try from 2008C2014.

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Silverado's estate 2003 Cab is a worthy followup to their '02. So classy, only Napa makes Cabs this balanced, rich and ageworthy, and this one from Stags Leap defines Tchelistcheff's description of an iron fist in a velvet glove. Great now, although young, and will age effortlessly for at least 10 years, probably longer.

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Brunello di Montalcino is celebrated for its amazing capacity to age gracefully. This Riserva has done just that and pours beautifully: Blackberry, espresso, licorice, tar and cola are integrated seamlessly with vanilla, toast and campfire tones. It is velvety, yet firm in the mouth with a long, long licorice-driven finish.