Winemaker Tim Narby's strategy is to obtain grapes from top Washington vineyards, then treat the resulting wines with care. One nice touch is holding the wines a year between bottling and release, which gives them the opportunity to be at their peak when they reach your hands. This blend of Merlot, Cab, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot offers aromas and flavors of blackberries, spices, and mint. Fairly bold tannins remind us this is still a young wine and probably should be cellared a couple more years before opening.

Lithe and juicy, coating the mouth with firm tannins around a core of spicy, black olive-scented black cherry and licorice flavors. Not a heavy wine, but it has a serious profile. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best after 2007. 150 cases made. — Harvey Steiman

seamlessly complete, varied and sophisticated; a marvelous wine with long-term aging potential. — Paul Gregutt

The grapes from a great longtime vineyard have been put into the hands of a rising star with this Cab-dominated red blend. Seattle-based Nota Bene is in its second release, and it continues to acquire top grapes, this from Red Mountain. The result is a massive wine with aromas of black cherries, blackberries, black currants and cedar, followed by opulent flavors of black fruits, vanilla and Dutch chocolate. The fruit keeps up with the muscular tannins, which will be tamed by time in the cellar or alongside a char-broiled steak.

Massively tannic, this one grips the cheeks and doesn't let go. Too bad, because there are some intriguing black cherry, peppercorn and dark chocolate flavors that linger through the blanket of tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best after 2009. 250 cases made. — Harvey Steiman

Winemaker Tim Narby relied on grapes from six vineyards for this Merlot dominant red blend, including Champoux, Portteus, Ciel du Cheval and Conner-Lee. Aromas of dried cherries, leather, earth and vanilla give way to flavors of Rainier cherries and chocolate. It's loaded with structure and will pair well with prime rib.

dark fruits and smooth tannins are layered and perfectly ripe." — Paul Gregutt

Winemaker Tim Narby is the "N" in Nota Bene, and he features Portteus fruit with Cab Sauv (10%) from Champoux, Merlot (10%) from Conner-Lee and Cincault (3%) as well as Counoise (2%) from Morrison Lane. Here's a wonderfully aromatic medley of bing and pie cherries with black raspberries, menthol, eucalyptus, crumbled leaf, ceder and black olives. Rich, bold cherries and raspberries are splashed around lots of chocolate and mocha in the midpalate, met by well-integrated tannins and not a lot of oak, but there's a shot of coffee in the finish.