2010 Skipstone Oliver's Blend

The 2010 Oliver's Blend is gorgeous. A deep, intriguing wine, the 2010 is loaded with considerable aromatic and flavor complexity. Smoke, bacon fat, ash, incense, tobacco, plums and black cherries meld together in the glass. There is an intense vein of underlying minerality that gives the wine much of its focus and energy. Readers will have to be patient with the 2010. It is a dark, brooding wine that needs time to blossom in bottle, but is beautiful, even at this early stage. In 2010 the blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot.

The 2010 Oliver’s Blend is gorgeous. A deep, intriguing wine, the 2010 is loaded with considerable aromatic and flavor complexity. Smoke, bacon fat, ash, incense, tobacco, plums and black cherries meld together in the glass. There is an intense vein of underlying minerality that gives the wine much of its focus and energy. Readers will have to be patient with the 2010. It is a dark, brooding wine that needs time to blossom in bottle, but is beautiful, even at this early stage. In 2010 the blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2018. Proprietor Fahri Diner is obsessed with quality, and it shows in these two gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds. Ulises Valdez planted the site beginning in 1992 and continues to oversee all work in the vineyards, while consulting oenologist Philippe Melka makes the wines. Diner is one of the few owners I know of who has lowered pricing for his 2011, something that is refreshing to see. Tel. (707) 433-9124; info@skipstoneranch.com

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Oliver's Blend comes across as a blend of the 2008 and 2009. It has the bouquet of the 2008 and the power of the 2009, not a bad combination. Espresso, spices, new leather and licorice wrap around the super-ripe fruit on the textured finish. I am very much looking forward to tasting this from bottle.