Knights Valley

If you look around, this varies in price from $35 to $70 typically.  At the former, that is a tremendous value in California Cab.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has spice, cassis, black cherries, slight chocolate and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, ripe cassis (not over ripe) with some underlying char.  Long finish.  Very tasty on its own and makes a great wine with burgers or meatloaf (or a steak).  Drink over the next ten years.  

This is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cassis, dust and slight dishwasher note (not pleasant).  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Much better on the palate.  Cassis with a fair amount of oak.  Moderate finish.  This drinks easy on its own and would be nice with a burger or plate of pasta.  Drink over the next few years.  

A delicious cooler climate Syrah.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat and black olives.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is going strong.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with some black pepper.  Good balance.  Long finish.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Nice on its own, but works well with food.  It went well with a vegetarian sausage casserole.  

I am a big fan of this (and the regular bottling) and find it some of the best values in high end Cabernet from California.  This is still young and tight and in need of some air or better, cellar time.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, coffee and char.  Just a lovely texture hinting at a bright future.  Tingly acidity.  Firm tannins.  Lots of fruit.  Cassis with underlying char.  Deep.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This will drink well for the next fifteen, maybe twenty years.  Great on its own, this would work great with a really great burger

This is the kind of wine that makes sense to buy more than a few bottles of if you see it on sale. It might be a stretch, it might be an everyday drinker depending on your budget, but either way it is priced very fairly for the quality. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, char, spice and slight coffee. Full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, this is a cooler climate styled Cab but no issues with ripeness. Plenty of depth, this is still young and should gain in complexity with some age. Cassis, some black cherries, char and spice in a delicious Cabernet.

This is a round, rich Chardonnay from Sonoma.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has red apples, some peach, Crème brûlée and slight pineapple.  Full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, Crème brûlée takes the stage.  Modest acidity.  Some pineapple and peach.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue to do so for the next ten to twelve years.  It will drink better on its own than with food, but would work with salmon on the grill.  

This is a few steps up from the regular bottling (which is also a great value).  Pricing can vary greatly on these so it pays to shop around.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is gorgeous with cassis, leather, earthiness, smoke and dark chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries, with intertwines earthiness and char.  Nice finish.  This is still young of course, but drinking beautifully.  Lush with depth and some complexity.  This is drinking great now, but should continue to drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  Wonderful

Always a great value in Cal Cabs and very consistent over the years.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis and smoke.  On the palate, this is very smooth.  Nice cassis fruit.  Very solid.  Nice finish.  Drink this over the next five years.  It will work great with grilled foods.  

This one started slow but opened with some air.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, clay, a bit of tobacco and a slight floral note.  Full bodied.  Bright acidity.  Firm tannins.  Flavors of cassis with underlying tobacco.  Long finish.  This still needs a few more years to full come together and will likely merit a higher score at that time.  It is very good today, but considering the cost, a few more years of patience of a six hour decant is not a bad idea.  This drinks nicely on its own and would be great with prime rib.  

This is an outstanding value in Cabernet.