theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America.

The 2001 Counterpoint is the darkest Counterpoint ever; a really lovely perfumed nose of crushed, dark berries; and a sweet finish that belies the intensity of the underlying fruit and the appropriate acidity.

2001 Laurel Glen is typically violet black to the rim, aromatic with dark fruits and spices, with a deep intensity buttressed with a breadth not found in earlier Laurel Glen vintages. This is a very special wine from a very special vintage.

Not since 1985 and 1986 has California had back-to-back outstanding vintages. But then along came 2001 and 2002, a pair of rather different vintages that predictably produced different, but spectacular, wines. Where 2001 Laurel Glen is restrained and classical, 2002 makes a dramatic statement with its dense and opaque core and bright ruby rim, its high toned black cherry nose, and long cassis finish. This is a wine that needs a lot of time to show itself, and I’d recommend letting it breathe for several hours before serving it. As for us at Laurel Glen, we think that over time, a wine true to its mountain origins will be more satisfying, and, now with 25 harvests under our belt, we have a track record to support that claim.

The 2000 Quintana is not the simple and fruity sort of wine generally associated with its price range. Rather it is a classic cabernet that will stand up to medium- to full-bodied cuisine and should become a staple of wine-by-the-glass programs.

Blend is 60% 80 years old zinfandel , 30% carignane of a whopping 117 years, and 10% younger petite sirah. Armed with a new label and screwcap, REDS is now even more a Wine for the People. The Chairman would have approved!

While other Californian wineries bend over backwards to make wines ever more precious and expensive, we at Laurel Glen have been producing a delicious wine that doesn`t cost an arm and a leg. Since its inception in 1993, REDS has been the true LIFE OF THE PARTY!

Try any $10 California cabernet next to Terra Rosa. The difference is obvious and easily explainable. Our Argentine wine is made from mature vines grown in shallow soils with yields under 2.5 tons per acre; any California wine at this price is likely the product of young vines grown in deep valley soils that yield well over twice this amount. Your choice: a mass produced, commercial wine of generic appellation, bottled in some wine factory; or a real wine, of limited production, traditionally farmed and vinified, full of character and pedigree, and bottled by an artisanal winery with a distinguished track record for great wines at an affordable price.

The 2001 Terra Rosa Argentina Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 25% malbec. Perhaps for that reason it is bit darker in color than previous Terra Rosas: a striking ruby-black. It is particularly spicy, perfumed with notes of dark mulberries and fully ripened black fruits. Its finish is longer and deeper than any Terra Rosa to date and displays a haunting interplay of power and finesse. Best of all, it's a really delicious wine to drink now.

Taste it: you expect a massive, bold wine, but it is surprisingly lilting on the palate. It’s not larded up with oak, although it has been raised in barrels for eighteen months to provide its frame and to round it out. The finish is long, with pure fruit flavors. The vineyards of Mendoza are irrigated with water straight from the Andes: the old timers swear you can taste the minerality of the rocks the water has eroded. In this wine, you can. Four descriptors: density, lightness, purity, minerality

This ZaZin shows ripe plum and wild berry fruit set off by intriguing spice and cocoa notes. The flavors are bold and concentrated, yet still bright and racy. And the finish is, characteristically for truly old-vine zin, long and luscious. This wine matches beautifully with robust grilled meats, substantial pastas, dried cheeses, and other hearty fare.

While the 2002 !ZaZin was frankly about as close to over the top as a wine can be, the 2003 vintage is decidedly more classic. It is, however, hardly restrained. Black is the operative descriptor: black in color, juicy black fruit nose, and black tar and berry mouth. The flavors are bold and concentrated, yet still bright and racy. And the finish is, characteristically for truly old-vine zinfandel, long and luscious. This wine matches beautifully with robust grilled meats, substantial pastas, dried cheeses, and other hearty fare.

Sometimes we don`t appreciate old vines til the going gets rough. They`re not like their younger, more vigorous neighbors: their production is sparse, and they look sort of ratty with their short canes and beaten trunks. But when a year like 2004 comes along, these old folks draw on the wisdom of the decades and glide over the finish line while their more youthful compatriots are sucking wind.