2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(15.3% alcohol; includes 15% Petit Verdot): Good full ruby. Expressive ripe scents of plum, dark cherry, fresh blood, smoke and minerals. Very dense, plush and concentrated if not quite as fine-grained as some other recent vintages here, as the dark fruit, licorice, spice and mineral flavors are still a bit brooding. This classically dry wine is folded in on itself at present but should have a long life in bottle. Finishes with rising, palate-staining black fruit flavors and tannins that are serious but not dry.

(15.3% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines blackberry, currant, black cherry, minerals, graphite, mocha, tobacco and licorice; a wonderfully pure site expression. Plush, concentrated and utterly fine-grained, boasting terrific inner-mouth energy and smoky soil tones. The wine's red and darker fruit flavors are perfectly supported by sound acidity. Very suave and distinctive wine with noble tannins and a restrained sweetness. This bottle was even more impressive than one I tasted the same week at my comprehensive Seavey Cabernet vertical at the estate.

Good deep ruby. Sexy, expressive aromas of plum, tobacco, stone and earth, with a wild, meaty nuance. Sweet and lush but not overdone, with harmonious acidity giving shape and energy to the redcurrant, tobacco and game flavors. A rather suave cabernet that conveys real soil character. Finishes impressively long, with hints of mocha and nutty oak and nicely integrated tannins.