John Howard is best known in Ontario wine circles from his days as owner of Vineland Estates.

He built up the winery into one of the star attractions in the peninsula but his latest venture is rather more private.

Howard's current wine endeavour is just down the road from Vineland and it's not open to the public. Wines made here are sold online under the Megalomaniac label (megalomaniacwine.com) and in Vintages from time to time.

That's the situation today, as four of these eclectically named and packaged wines are in the first release of new products for April.

The story goes that Howard planned to use his own name on the label but a friend jokingly said it would make him a megalomaniac. The idea stuck.

MEGALOMANIAC 2007 NARCISSIST RIESLING ($17.95, code 67587). I really like this style of Riesling in Niagara. It's fresh and summery, fruity, with some natural sweetness left in and giving flavours of fresh peach, tangerine, a touch of stone/minerals, with a zippy and refreshing lime peel acidity.

MEGALOMANIAC 2006 BIG MOUTH MERLOT ($24.95, code 67645). A nice, fleshy varietal, notable for its smooth impression. Nice balance, rounded and ripe tannin, and flavours of blackberry, dark plum and dried currants.

MEGALOMANIAC 2006 BRAVADO CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($24.95, code 67595). Your mind immediately jumps to cherries when this one hits the taste buds. Red cherries, black cherries, dried cherries, even a whisper of cherry cola. Good weight and texture in the mouth.

MEGALOMANIAC 2006 VAINGLORIOUS CABERNET/MERLOT ($24.95, code 67637). A wedding of varieties spawns a range of flavours including mulberry, black currant, elderberry, with a tang of spice and whiff of pine needle in the finish.

Also in the release:

SANTA BARBARA WINERY 2006 CHARDONNAY ($17.95, code 989152). At one time, California Chardonnays were flavour bombs. Today, the industry has refined the product to still have richness and size, but excellent balance as well. Santa Barbara is an emerging wine region north of Los Angeles where the valley runs east-west and is open to the cooling effect of the Pacific. Look for tropical fruit, yellow pears, toasty notes, butterscotch, but also a nice citrus feel.

FAIRVIEW 2006 VIOGNIER ($19.95, code 906487). Two quite different styles of the honoured Rhone grape Viognier are in the lineup. This popular South African version is closer to the classical -- sweet aromatics such as jasmine and honeysuckle, nice weight and clean feel, almond and rosy apple flavours, a grapefruit note in the acidity.

D'ARENBERG 2006 THE LAST DITCH VIOGNIER ($19.95, code 25064). An Australian take on the grape, this wine is more voluptuous and expansive, with a sweet richness reminiscent of egg custard and pineapple.

DARTING 2006 RIESLING SPATLESE ($19.95, code 963207). A very good price for a late harvest wine from a top German producer.

It's lively in its youth, with bright acidity and mineral undertone playing off sweet dried peach, apricot and grilled pear flavours.

LA MOTTE 2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($22.95, code 63800). The fruit is drawn from numerous prime regions around South Africa. The result is quite delicious, a bold and well structured cab with no excesses anywhere, nicely integrated tannin, bright cassis, blueberry and smoke flavours.

SANDALFORD 2004 CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($24.95, code 22293). This is another gem from Western Australia. Very ripe, loads of flavour, big feel in the mouth, and fruit that brings to mind red fruits with a fringe of spice.

TORRES GRAN CORONAS CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVA ($18.80, code 36483). This respected Spanish producer delivers value at all levels. The Gran Corona Reserva is lovely, showing off black raspberry and dark plum fruit with a chocolate/-coffee bean angle to the finish.

LOS VASCOS 2006 GRANDE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($15.95, code 32078). One of the first European ventures into making wine in Chile, Los Vascos is the Colchagua operation of Chateau Lafite, and flashes of that great Bordeaux pop up in Los Vascos. It's in the Bordeaux style (naturally), with all the proper qualities of cassis, blackberry, violet flower and a whiff of hot tar and fresh leather.

What to say about the final wine? It is expensive and very famous.The wine is CASA LAPOSTOLLE 2005 CLOS APALTA ($99.95, code 723676). It's not a wine for everyone because not everyone is into $100 wines.

But consider this: Along with Penfold's The Grange from Australia, Clos Apalta is considered the greatest wine of the southern hemisphere. I would also rank it on the same level as the first-growth Bordeaux estates, although Clos Apalta, being from Chile, commands only about one third the price of those superb wines.

It's a single vineyard estate blend of hand-picked Carmenere, Chile's signature grape, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a dash of Petit Verdot. Obviously, it is way too early to pull the cork. The jury is still out on how long Clos Apalta can age as it was first made only in 1995, so nobody has tasted a 20-year-old bottle.

The wine does have a track record of coming around relatively quickly, but you're still looking at holding on for another five or six years, and indeed it could benefit from much longer aging under proper conditions.

For those who splurge, you'll be drinking a silky, complex, elegant, rich red that is truly world class.

Look for these wines at stores with Vintages selections.

dkislenko@thespec.com 905-526-3450