2013 Reserve Speciale Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale is a very good wine, maybe even more than that, but it is also less distinctive than some of other wines in the range as it draws from an array of vineyard sites. Deep and intense, the 2013 offers a striking interplay of racy, dark red stone fruit and more floral/savory notes. There is no shortage of power and concentration. The 2013 should drink well with minimal cellaring.

Another brilliant effort is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale, which actually comes from five vineyard sites in Sonoma (Monte Rosso, Kellogg, Smothers, Sellitto and Lasseter). It’s also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, barrel selected and blended after 24 months, then aged another 8 months in 45% new French oak. This opaque purple wine has a long pedigree and a history of aging for 25 to 35 or more years, and I don’t see any evidence that has changed, although Kristina Werner is now making the wine rather than Dick Arrowood. This is a big, powerful, classic Cabernet Sauvignon, with loamy soil notes intermixed with unsmoked cigar tobacco, blackcurrants, licorice, and touches of graphite and oak. Full-bodied and muscular, it will be better in 3-4 years and keep for 25-30 years at the very minimum.