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A wine of pure texture and sensuality, Dunn's 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain stands out for its exceptional overall balance and layered, silky personality. Veins of underlying minerality add brightness to a core of dark red fruit, crushed rocks, mint, flowers and spices. What a pretty wine this is.Vinous Media | 94 VMDark and immense, still a youngster, with intense earthy currant, plum and black cherry flavors that are rich, yet for all their weight still quite elegant. Still has tannin to lose. Decant if you drink it now.--1989 California Cabernet retrospective. Best from 2000 through 2010. 1,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 1992 Dominus, of which there are 7,000 cases made from a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, and the remainder Petit Verdot, is an opulent, opaquely concentrated wine with great ripeness of fruit, and a huge nose of earth, black-cherries, mocha, and herbs. Full-bodied, with a layered, multidimensional personality, adequate acidity, and a super finish, this should prove to be another fabulous Dominus for drinking over the next 20-25 years. It is more forward than the 1991 or 1990.Robert Parker | 97 RPThe 1992 Dominus is gorgeous, bursting from the glass in a blaze of mentholated black cherries, loamy soil and forest floor, and following through on the palate with a compelling marriage of bright fruit and a supple, expansive texture. The cooler vintage has made for a great deal of aromatic complexity and capacity to refresh, without losing any Napa generosity. Delicious wine. Drinking Window 2016 - 2025Decanter | 93 DECVery deep red-ruby. Very complex aromas of raspberry, licorice, road tar, lead pencil and mint; a faint vegetal nuance adds to its complexity. Fat, supple, sweet and mouthfilling, but can’t match the ’94 for sheer substance, nuance or depth. Finishes powerful and very ripe, with dusty, substantial tannins and a hint of alcohol. This will age more on its tannins than on its rather soft acidity.Vinous Media | 92 VM

In my October tasting both 1993 Cabernets were more tannic and closed than the 1992s. The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is one of the more tannic and backward wines I have tasted from Silver Oak. Now that it has been bottled, it has closed down, displaying far less lushness and obvious concentration than it did last year. The color remains a healthy dark ruby/purple, and the nose offers earthy, toasty new oak, and sweet black fruit aromas. Tight, yet powerful and rich, this full-bodied, dense, atypically backward Cabernet Sauvignon does not possess Silver Oak’s usual approachability and precociousness. Nevertheless, this wine has plenty of merit. It should drink well after 3-5 years of cellaring, and last for 15+ years.These All-American Cabernet Sauvignons continue to be "can’t miss" propositions with the majority of Cabernet lovers.Robert Parker | 90 RP

The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley reveals a provocative nose of tobacco, black cherries, cloves, fruitcake, and spice. Some plum and raspberry fruit also emerges on the palate. This is a hedonistic, sexy, seductive, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with low acidity, and loads of toasty oak. It will be a huge crowd pleaser when released next year. It should show well for at least 12-15 years.Robert Parker | 93 RP

Sleek and well-structured, with a braid of exotic smoke, currant, green olive and herbal flavors that drape together nicely, holding a tight focus and showing how ripe, supple tannins can integrate without dominating. Finishes with a dash of mocha and spice.--1995 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2010. 2,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSWhile it is fashionable to criticize this wine because of its price, and the secrecy surrounding the amount produced (who really cares?), the wine is unquestionably outstanding. The 1995 boasts a dark ruby/purple color as well as an attractive bouquet with lavish quantities of toasty new oak and black currants. There is moderate tannin, good purity, and an open-knit, sexy style. If the wine had not fallen a bit short on the mid-palate, it would have merited an even higher score. It should drink well for 10-15 years. Based on the fame of this winery and the price of the wine, one would expect this Cabernet to compete with Colgin, Bryant Family Vineyards, Screaming Eagle, Araujo, and Harlan Estate. It does not. Nevertheless, it is an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.Robert Parker | 90 RP(14% alcohol): Good bright, dark red. Sexy oak tones to the aromas of musky dark berries, menthol and dark chocolate. The enticing silky, spicy palate shows a light touch. An elegantly styled wine with a restrained sweetness and juicy, nicely integrated acidity to its plum and chocolate flavors. Finishes with a fine dusting of granular tannins and very good lift and length.Vinous Media | 90 VM

A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa has turned out even better than the 1994. It possesses a more saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a more flamboyant and exotic bouquet. Moreoever, it seems less evolved. Full-bodied and pure, with layer upon layer of concentrated black fruits, smoke, cedar, and toast, it should drink well for 16-17 years.The Napa offerings from Silver Oak tend to be less herbaceous and more oriented toward Cabernet Sauvignon's black fruit spectrum than the Alexander Valley cuvees. They are every bit as exotic and ostentatious as the Alexander Valley cuvees, but more classic, tannic, perhaps longer-lived, and slightly less approachable.Silver Oak wines are supple, explosively fruity, and deliver copious quantities of glycerin, extract, and richness wrapped in generous quantities of American oak. Critics have argued that the wine does not age particularly well, but that has largely been proven a myth. I doubt it will last as long as Chateau Montelena, Dunn, or other Napa Cabernets with a 30-40 year aging potential, but these wines have a broad window of drinkability, being delicious at release, and able to sustain their fruit and character for 15 or more years.Robert Parker | 95 RP

The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a powerful, black ruby/purple-colored wine with cherry liqueur-like flavors, full body, loamy, earthy scents, and a terrific, long finish that suggests 20-30 years of ageability.Robert Parker | 94 RPOpenly fruity and seductive, with layers of cherry, currant and berry; extraordinary flavors and balance.--Chateau Montelena vertical. Drink now through 2012. — JLWine Spectator | 92 WSGood ruby-red. Spicy, roasted aromas of cassis, black plum, toasty oak and pepper. Lush, jammy and a bit undifferentiated; showing its baby fat today. Seems distinctly less lively than the ’95, but the tannins are quite fine for the vintage and there excellent finishing persistence.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Produced from a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc, the saturated, dark ruby-colored 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits sweet cherry, herbal spice, and candied blackberries in its elegant, sexy aromatics. This delightful, medium-bodied, and harmonious wine offers blueberry, cassis, and spice flavors. It is seamless, refined, and possesses a harmony, equilibrium, and delineated finish rarely seen in the New World. Projected maturity: 2003-2018.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPQuilceda makes big, muscular Cabernets, but the power is tightly controlled and never out of whack. Firm cherry fruit is edged with mixed spices from barrel aging. Still young and hard, this is a tannic wine that clearly has the stuffing and structure to age indefinitely, but if drunk now will require many hours of breathing time. Editors’ Choice.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEBright medium ruby. Aromas of blackcurrant, tobacco leaf, bitter chocolate, smoke and mint. Brooding and powerful; in a drier style but with strong fruit and mineral complexity. Calls to mind both St. Estephe and St. Emilion. Finishes with big, palate-dusting tannins and sneaky length.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard, is a beauty. The healthy ruby/purple color is followed by classic, unevolved but promising aromas of minerals, cedar, smoke, and black currants. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with admirable purity, a sweet, lush mid-palate, and ripe tannin in the finish. The top-notch 1997 is a classic, restrained. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.Robert Parker | 92 RPFull ruby-red. Expressive nose combines black raspberry, currant, black cherry, chocolate, tobacco and sandalwood. Lush and sweet but fresh, with a firm edge of acidity giving shape to the flavors. Big and mouthfilling but not at all heavy. The tannins are suave and fine. A bit dominated by the oak today. This wine is virtually always in an awkward stage about six months after the bottling, says Bart Araujo, although I recall that the ’96 was atypically showy a year ago.Vinous Media | 92+ VMNo written review provided | 92 W&S

There are 10,200 cases of the remarkable 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. Opaque purple-colored with a dense, chewy, full-bodied personality, it displays abundant cassis, mineral, and earth notes. This brilliantly made, super-concentrated, pure, blockbuster possesses sweet tannin as well as a terrific finish. Having added additional weight since last year, this sumptuous, multilayered, profoundly concentrated Cabernet contains 14% alcohol. It is a candidate for 25-30 years of longevity. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2030.Robert Parker | 98 RPThis California Cab serves up lots of ripe, supple black cherry, currant and plum-laced flavors, as well as pretty touches of earth, anise and mineral. Turns smooth and supple, finishing with polished tannins. Best from 2001 through 2015. 11,700 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 95 WSGood medium-dark red with a healthy rim. Sexy red berry aromas are lifted by exotic spices and complicated by notes of smoke and leather (Barrett noted that this vintage showed a brett element early on but today the leathery nuance is just another note of complexity in the wine, as it was in a sample I tried two years ago as part of my 1997 horizontal tasting.) The palate delivers a lovely combination of sweetness and silky, fine-grained texture, with tactile raspberry and redcurrant fruit delivering surprising freshness and energy. Not hugely concentrated or thick but finishes broad and deep, with a firm tannic spine to support continued graceful evolution. Barrett noted that he was back to "moderate maceration--just two weeks" in 1997, and that this was the first year that he hand-harvested his fruit at night. (14% alcohol)Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 1997 Les Pavots originates from a hillside vineyard overlooking the Knight's Valley that has 23 acres planted with Bordeaux varietals. The 1997 blend consists of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker | 96 RPVery deep, saturated ruby. Extremely complex nose melds brambly blueberry and blackberry, cassis, molasses, tar, cocoa and lavender. Very thick and sweet but quite primary; powerfully structured and muscular but not hard thanks to its huge buffering extract and reasonably elevated pH. Substantial tannins spread out to suffuse the entire palate. This very impressive wine has the balance and sheer material to enjoy a long and slow development in bottle. The most impressive cabernet I've yet tasted from Peter Michael.Vinous Media | 92 VMDark, ripe, rich and focused, this California red offers tiers of currant, mineral, anise, sage and cedar, all folding neatly together and finishing with a chocolaty edge. Drink now through 2009. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 4,351 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa looks to be one of the finest wines made by the winemaking team of proprietor Justin Meyer and winemaker/viticulturist Daniel Baron. The 1997 Napa is an impressive effort. A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, this wine has a flamboyant nose of fruitcake, licorice, Asian spice, black currants, and toasty wood. Deep, opulent, viscous, intense, chewy, and thick, it is a classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon made in an all-American oak lovers’ style. It should drink well for 12-15 years.Robert Parker | 94 RP(includes 5% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot) Deep ruby-red, with faint amber at the rim. Deeply pitched aromas of currant, tobacco, mocha, bitter chocolate, game, oak char and cigar box; strong element of sweet roasted wood. Sweeter and richer than the Alexander Valley bottling; has more mid-palate stuffing to buffer its firm spine of acidity. Just a whiff of herbs in the mouth. Finishes quite long, with broad tannins reaching the teeth. Complex and satisfying.Vinous Media | 90 VM

A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 1997 is just short of perfection from this great vintage in Napa Valley. A spectacular wine, it was the first made by Rosemary Cakebread. Production was quite high, as the new plantings started to fully produce, with 4,800+ cases declared. This is wine that fills the olfactory senses with gorgeous ripeness, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries and cassis, while spring flowers and a touch of oak still lingers in the aromatics. When the wine hits the palate, the extraordinary intensity, purity and multi-dimensional complexity all seem to converge with a cascade of fruit, glycerin and richness. Like most Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignons, it is only 13.8% alcohol. This is a magnificent wine, a young adolescent in the scheme of its potentially fascinating evolution and should have a good 25-30+ years left in it – although it’s strutting its stuff at present. Certainly in the first two decades of Spottswoode wines this is clearly one of the most compelling efforts.Robert Parker | 98 RPDeep, bright ruby. Very ripe but reduced nose shows a chocolatey ripeness to the primary flavors of cassis, blueberry and licorice. Densely packed and powerful, conveying a tactile texture to the sweet flavors of black fruits, tobacco and spice cake. Firm acidity gives clarity and definition to the middle palate of this very concentrated wine. Finishes savory, deeply spicy and firmly tannic, with terrific length and grip. Considerably fresher and better balanced than a bottle I tasted for my Spottswoode vertical last year.Vinous Media | 94 VMElegantly framed, with rich, appealing herb, currant, chocolate and black cherry flavor that’s complex and concentrated, finishing with firm, well-integrated tannins. Best from 2002 through 2010. 4,826 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

A mouthful of wine that packs in lots of rich, deep, plush and concentrated flavors, with tiers of currant, blackberry, raspberry and wild berry fruit. Well-integrated tannins smooth out the finish. Drink now through 2010. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 1,475 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSGood full medium ruby. Superripe aromas of black fruits, maple syrup, mocha and graphite; at once roasted and vibrant. Supersweet in the mouth, with sappy black fruit and mineral flavors over a firm backbone. Shapelier and a bit less roasted than the 2000, with firm supporting backbone. This is very impressively concentrated California merlot; the fruit spreads out and builds on the very long, firmly tannic back end. I underrated this wine from barrel a year ago.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Rich, full nose combines roasted currant, cedar, spice box, chocolate mint, coconut and smoky oak, along with a lightly leafy quality. The lushest and fullest wine of this tasting, with the most harmonious combination of fruit and acidity. Dense but firm and nicely delineated. Finishes with fine, spreading tannins that coat the mouth and teeth.Vinous Media | 90+ VM

The first release from the 20-acre Thorevilos Vineyard (co-owned by David Abreu and Ric Forman) is the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Thorevilos, a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. It is a dense, sweet, black currant-flavored effort with hints of scorched earth, cedar, and flowers in the background. Fruit-driven (mostly blue and black fruits), with a Pomerol-like succulence/lushness, it should drink well young, and evolve for 15+ years.Napa Valley’s most gifted vineyard manager, and certainly a must-hire for those looking to develop great vineyards and produce top quality wines, David Abreu continues to fine tune his own estate, producing some of the most prodigious Cabernet Sauvignons in the world.Robert Parker | 92 RP

(Opus One, Napa Valley, California, USA, Red) A long, cool growing season in 2000 and you can feel this through the character of the fruit, which has less intensity that some vintages, still with sweet blueberry and raspberry, with caressing soft tannins that are a little more open than you might expect. At this point Opus was still being made by the team at the Mondavi vineyards, and there was a growing awareness that they needed their own team; able to focus on exactly what they needed (these things are always more obvious in a difficult year, as there are so many vineyard choices to be taken). 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 44 days skin contact. (Drink between 2019-2036)Decanter | 93 DECMade in the Opus style, which is graceful, limpid and elegant, but with hidden depths of authority and power. The blackberry, cherry and oak flavors are pretty, but the wine is most notable for its harmony and grace. Tannins play only a supportive role, but they will let this wine age effortlessly for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEThe 2000 Opus One comes across as a smaller-scaled version of 1997. It shares much of the exuberance and raciness of that year, but with less structure. Readers who enjoy the riper Opus Ones and are looking for a vintage to drink today should consider the 2000. Today the 2000 is peaking. It is hard to see much upside from further cellaring. Hints of truffle, black pepper and orange peel linger on the exotic, beguiling finish. The blend is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Gorgeous, offering layers of rich, plush, dark berry, plum, blackberry, kirsch and fig paste, woven together with green olive and melted licorice. Full-blown, yet for all its depth and density it glides along on a smooth, tapered finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.—2001 California Cabernet blind retrospective (June 2011). Drink now through 2020. 1,853 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 99 WSA spectacular Knight’s Valley proprietary red wine from Peter Michael, the 2001 Les Pavots performed brilliantly in the horizontal tasting I did in Napa Valley in late May. Its dense opaque blue/purple color is accompanied by notes of graphite, charcoal, burning embers, creme de cassis, licorice and chocolate fudge. Opulent and full-bodied with sweet tannin as well as low acidity, it is just beginning to strut its stuff and reveal secondary nuances. Approachable now, this full-bodied, multi-dimensional wine should continue to drink well for another two decades plus.Robert Parker | 97 RP(a blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; this had just been racked, for only the second time) Saturated medium ruby. Sappy aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, violet, tar and minerals. Superconcentrated, layered, deep flavors of blackberry, raspberry, cassis and licorice; offers an uncanny chewiness of texture. As powerful as this is, it’s also suave and seamless, with a total absence of rough edges. There are hints of espresso and forest floor, but this very broad, primary wine will need time to develop more nuance. Finishes with a major tannic spine and superb subtle persistence. This wine spent 54 days on its skins.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.Robert Parker | 100 RPNo Cabernet smells better. This is an enormously attractive, well-oaked wine constituted from the best possible fruit. In the mouth, it immediately seduces. Shafer knows it has to rise to expectations with this wine, and the 2001 does not disappoint. The fruit is spectacular, all cassis. The oak is rich, flamboyant and delicious. Structurally, the wine has the best tannin-acid structure Napa is capable of. Immediately delicious now, this wine should develop over the next 10 years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEAmazing for its richness, depth and concentration, with a wealth of flavors extending to espresso bean, mocha, dark berry, raspberry and cedar, intense and persistent on the long, detailed finish. An immense wine that’s gracefully balanced.—2001 California Cabernet blind retrospective (June 2011). Drink now through 2020. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSImpressive bright ruby-red to the rim. Sexy, complex nose melds scents of plum, currant, dried herbs, game, coffee bean, Baker’s chocolate and tobacco; smells sweet! Plush, sweet and broad from entry through to powerful, building finish. Strong plum, currant, tar, graphite, chocolate and spice flavors are complicated by soil and mineral nuances. Quite generous and thick without going over the top. This has reached its peak but should hold for at least another 10 to 15 years owing to its firm, claret-like spine of fully ripe, broad tannins. Actually less sweet on the palate than the nose suggests--and an answer to those tasters who consider Shafer’s flagship wine to be a bit too sweet and exotic. This is downright classic.Vinous Media | 95 VMFrom vines the Shafers planted in the early 1970s, these volcanic knolls at the foot of Stags Leap offer the family’s best wine, distinctive both for its texture and the grace with which it ages. It’s hard to find a better example of SLD tannins, a combination of dusty earth and chocolate richness so refined that it’s hard to tell where the fruit tannins end and the oak begins. The wine is neither overtly fruity nor in any way super-ripe. The power seems to come right out of the ground. This is a great vintage of Hillside Select that will need years to reach its peak, perhaps from 2010 through ’15 or later.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&S

The 2002 Opus One is a big step up from the 2001. Freshly cut flowers, juicy raspberries, anise and sweet spices literally jump from the glass in an Opus One that is all about opulence and huge, voluptuous fruit. Juicy, vibrant and impeccably balanced, the 2002 is firing on all cylinders today. The creamy, layered finish is simply impeccable. This is a fabulous showing. In 2002 Opus One is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot.Vinous Media | 95 VMI tend to think that recent vintages of Opus One are even greater than vintages made during this era, but the 2002 is certainly one of the top wines Opus has produced during the early part of this century. It boasts a dense plum/purple hue along with a striking bouquet of graphite, toasty oak, creme de cassis and acacia flowers. Full-bodied, opulent and young, it offers accessibility as well as silky tannins. A thoroughly complete wine that is pure and rich, it tastes like a hypothetical blend of a great Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon married to a Bordeaux Pauillac. Bravo! It will benefit from 2-3 more years of cellaring and should keep for 20-25 thereafter.Robert Parker | 94 RPConcentrated, rich layers of black cherry fruit, with savoury spice, anise and ground coffee bean, black chocolate and deep blackcurrant and bilberry fruits. This is intense, perhaps a little too much in that it ends a touch abruptly. Lowest yield of the decade, which explains this tight feel. It's got years ahead of it, will be interesting to see it evolves from here. 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 32 days skin contact. Drinking Window 2019 - 2034.Decanter | 93 DEC

A great, great success (and of course, this is Knight’s Valley material), the 2002 Les Pavots, which I loved from barrel as well as bottle, still has a good 20+ years of life ahead of it. At this point, it is tasting like a vigorous young adolescent in its evolutionary development. The blend in 2002 from the winery was 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. Moreover there are just under 3,000 cases of this spectacular wine, which I’m hoping many readers have cellared away. Inky black/purple, with a nose of incense, licorice, balsamic and Asian soy notes interwoven with blackberry, blueberry and hints of truffle and camphor, this wine is full-bodied, opulent and voluptuously textured, with sensational mid-palate, depth and richness. This is a killer Bordeaux-styled, ripe, exuberant, flamboyant red from Peter Michael that stands as one of the all-time great Les Pavots cuvees ever made. It ideally needs another 3-4 years of cellaring, although it is quite accessible and should keep for a minimum of 20 or more years. Bravo!Robert Parker | 99 RP(62% cabernet sauvignon, 17% cabernet franc, 16% merlot and 5% petit verdot) Cooler on the nose than the 2002 despite showing a near-roasted ripeness, with aromas of black raspberry, licorice, minerals and flowers. Thick, dense and superripe, with compelling sweetness and layers of dark fruit flavor. Wonderfully full and deep wine with extraordinary palate coverage. The finish offers explosive persistence and the thoroughly ripe, sweet tannins reach the front teeth. This has really del ivered on its early promise.Vinous Media | 94+ VMThis is a much better wine than in its youth, with more to like now than earlier on. Very ripe, with currant, black cherry, blueberry pie and spice flavors that are supple and refined. The finish is a bit clipped.—Non-blind Les Pavots vertical (March 2011). Drink now through 2017. 2,713 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Amazing density; the aromas billow up from the glass and weave together sinuously, taking you on a magic carpet ride before the wine even hits your mouth. This wine has the power of a monster California Cab while retaining the subtlety of a first-growth Bordeaux. It is just a massive blast of dark fruit, incredible viscosity, silky textures and soft herbs, pepper and spice. The oak—all new, all French—is unobtrusive and perfectly integrated.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is mature and near-term in the glass with earthy and funky tones that resonate with the remnants of a once-sweet fruit frame that has shifted almost fully into a stewed fruit core. Full-bodied, I recommend drinking this in the next few years, as it currently offers elements of dried blackberries and tar across the mid-palate. For a generous wine, it’s starting to wind down and only has a few years left. I recommend enjoying this bottle with an aged ribeye steak.Robert Parker | 96 RP(bottled in August of 2004; includes bits of merlot and cab franc) Bright ruby-red. Superripe aromas of cassis, black raspberry, minerals and chocolate. Rich, lush and expressive; superconcentrated but not at all heavy. In fact, this broad, suave wine offers a compellingly silky texture. Finishes impressively rich, dry and long, with firm but fine-grained tannins. Wait until 2010 before drinking this superb cabernet, by which time it may merit an even higher rating.Vinous Media | 93+ VMFirm and taut, with dusky spice and freshly ground pepper nuances to the dark berry, currant and cherry aromas and flavors, lingering impressively on the chewy finish. Doesn’t have the pure fruit of previous vintages, but it should soften and broaden, developing more depth with cellaring. Best from 2008 through 2015. 3,400 cases made. —Wine Spectator | 93 WS

My favorite wine of this quartet is the 2003 Cariad, a proprietary blend (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc) that comes from David Abreu-owned vineyards, primarily the Madrona Ranch in St. Helena. Its dense color is accompanied by a big, sweet bouquet of charcoal, white chocolate, spring flowers, meaty, blueberry and blackberry fruit. This stunningly complex, rich, full-bodied 2003 is just entering its plateau of full maturity. Drink this beauty over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 97 RPA Bordeaux blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the grapes for this stunning wine came from David Abreu’s vineyard in the St. Helena foothills. It’s very complex, softer, more open and approachable than Colgin’s 100% Cabs, with a flamboyant spectrum of cherries, framboise, cocoa, violets, gingerbread and spices framed in supple, fine tannins. Beautiful, a feminine wine of great beauty. Drink now through 2015.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEGood deep ruby-red. Aromas of blackcurrant, licorice, mocha and menthol offer great lift. Then superripe and densely packed, with great sweetness and inner-mouth aromatic character. The flavors of black cherry and leather are given definition by a strong element of liquid stone. Finishes extremely long, with lush, suave tannins.Vinous Media | 94 VMRich and complete, yet shows the signs of the vintage with its austerity. Dense, with earthy currant, black cherry and wild berry fruit that’s tight and compact. Finishes with tight tannins and persistent flavors that return to the currant and earth themes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2007 through 2012. 500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

One of the first, if not the first, of the proprietarily named Napa Bordeaux blends, Phelps Insignia has been one of California’s greatest Cabs for decades. This is their 30th anniversary bottling, and it’s worthy of the tradition. Ultrarich and smooth, with a mouthfeel that’s pure velvet, it’s fairly thick in tannins now, suggesting cellaring. But it’s huge in blackberry, dark unsweetened chocolate and spicy plum fruit, and will easily hold for a very long time. Best now, if carefully decanted, and through 2020.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2003 has performed well in recent tasting, showing a dense purple color along with notes of creosote, lavender, flowers, creme de cassis, espresso roast, white chocolate and a hint of oak. Still in a young adolescent stage, it should drink nicely for another 15-20 years.There are 12,000 cases of the 2003 Insignia, a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and the rest equal parts Malbec and Merlot (87% of the fruit from estate vineyards). The alcohol level reached 14.4%. I was pleased to see how well this vintage was performing as it has been somewhat forgotten following the compelling years of 2001 and 2002. The spring was cool and the summer was dry and warm until some heat spikes (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) occurred for four consecutive days in July. Both August and September were warmer and drier than normal with only a few insignificant rain events in September. Most of the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest lasted into late October.Robert Parker | 93 RP(the growing season featured a very cool, wet April and a very long, late harvest under favorable conditions): Saturated bright ruby-red. Aromas of currant, black cherry, graphite, licorice, sweet butter and bergamot, accented by dried herbs. Juicy, spicy and still a bit youthfully tight but with lovely sweetness to its flavors of black cherry, licorice and flowers. Finishes with big tannins supported by the wine’s depth. Less viscous than the 2002. This wine has always been tight but may be starting to turn the corner. Phelps stopped doing pad filtration in 2003 after getting rid of the brettanomyces in the winery (they started washing their barrels with ozonated water in 1999). Many vintages since then have been bottled unfiltered, noted winemaker Hepworth, adding that "we’ve never really employed fining, even in high-tannin years like 2013. We don’t like what it does to mouthfeel."Vinous Media | 92+ VM