1997 Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(both this and the winery's '97 merlot reserve spent three years in French oak prior to bottling) Red-ruby. Plum, redcurrant, milk chocolate and spice cake aromas and flavors. Nicely concentrated and oaky, with firm acids and slightly tough tannins, along with a faint leafy quality, giving the wine a rather strident character, especially in comparison to the relatively easygoing merlot.