Gil Kulers, the AJC's wine columnist, tasted a representative cross section of 12 wines (two chardonnays, four merlots and six cabernet sauvignon-based wines) from Marilyn, Elvis' Graceland Cellars, J. Garcia and James Dean, with the top five listed here. All wines were tasted blind. J. Garcia and Graceland Cellars wines are available at select retailers in town. Information on buying Marilyn (www.marilynwines.com) and James Dean (www.jamesdeanwine.com) wines can be found on their respective Web sites.

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Kulers' observations of these wines named after dead entertainers are as follows: He found the J. Garcia wines to be the most consistent and none of the merlots really worth mentioning. The star of the show, and rightly so at $200 for a 1.5-liter bottle, was the Marilyn Velvet Collection red, nearly a 50-50 blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon that would match up nicely against any premium, full-bodied reds from California.

2002 J. Garcia Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, Calif.
$18
One thumb up

Interesting aromas of strawberry, cherry and cinnamon, with a touch of mocha. It offered yummy flavors of concentrated blackberry, red licorice and dark chocolate with a dash of black cherry. A fairly gulpable wine.

1999 James Dean, Rebel Red Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Barbara County, Calif.
$40
Two thumbs up

Smells Bordeaux-like, with aromas of dry herbs, leather and dry earth and notes of chocolate, cherry and raspberry. Pretty complex flavors of tart black cherry, smoke, leather, black licorice and cassis. Easy to like, but a lot to appreciate if you take the time.

2005 J. Garcia Chardonnay, Sonoma County, Calif.
$16
One thumb up

Lovely aromas of creamy vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a note of lime and lemon. Generous amounts of citrus flavors like orange, tangerine and lemon, with a supporting cast of vanilla, nutmeg and cream. Not terribly complex, but pleasant.

2004 Marilyn, the Velvet Collection, Napa Valley, Calif.
$200/1.5 liter
Two thumbs way up

Seductive aromas of fresh violets, blackberry and cassis. It offers lots of fresh dark berry fruit flavors, with just a touch of chocolate and cinnamon and a fair amount of minty eucalyptus. Tastes young. Should benefit from three to five years of cellaring.

2004 Graceland Cellars Blue Suede Chardonnay, California
$13
Two thumbs up

Bright aromas of green apple and pear, with a touch of white flowers. It fairly burst with flavors of green apples, peaches, pineapple and mango, nicely balanced by crisp acidity and a touch of lime at the end.

Note: Wines are rated on a scale ranging from thumbs down, one thumb mostly up, one thumb up, two thumbs up, two thumbs way up and golden thumb award. These are suggested retail prices as provided by the winery, one of its agents or a local distributor.