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The 1989 is undoubtedly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage. The color is a dark ruby/purple and the nose offers up sweet, fragrant scents of black fruits, cedar, herbs, and spicy wood. In the mouth, there is extraordinary concentration, medium to full body, and an authoritatively rich, lingering finish. Terroirists will have a difficult time explaining why the wine tastes more like a Pomerol than Napa Cabernet. Interestingly, Moueix stated the key to his success in 1989 was to wait six to seven days after the rains had stopped before harvesting so the vines could shed their excess moisture. The 7,000 cases of this wine that were produced will be released in the fall of 1993.Robert Parker | 92 RPMature, with a Bordeaux-like cedar, tobacco and black cherry core. Tannins are integrated, and it has enough fruit and tannin for another decade.--1989 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2006. 7,200 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 91 WS

A potentially perfect wine, the 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon boasts a fabulous nose of cassis, cream, blueberries, violets, minerals, and spice. It smells like a hypothetical blend of a great vintage of L'Evangile, Clinet, and Mouton-Rothschild. The opaque purple/black color is followed by a full-bodied wine stacked and packed with fruit, glycerin, and extract. No component part is out of place in this formidably endowed, remarkably well-balanced wine. The purity, richness, sweetness and depth of fruit suggest that the wine's potential is limitless. Much like its cellarmate, the 1994 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon (also made by Helen Turley), the Bryant Family Vineyard's 1994 should evolve into one of California's legendary Cabernets. It will age effortlessly for 25-30 years.Robert Parker | 98 RPImmense, thick, deeply concentrated, loaded with chocolate, black cherry, spicy, nutmeg and vanilla-scented oak. Finishes with bold tannins and impeccable balance. Approachable now, but should last 20 years.--non-blind Bryant Family vertical. Drink now through 2014. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(15.2% alcohol): Good deep red with ruby highlights. Game, truffle, currant and sweet oak on the iniviting nose. Plush and sweet on entry, then a bit green in the middle, with herb, truffle and tobacco leaf flavors dominating underlying redcurrant, plum, floral pastilles and spicecake. Round and ample but also has lift. In a very ripe style and delicious right now. The tannins are resolved but this wine still has plenty of fruit.Vinous Media | 92 VM

I believe the 1995 is the finest produced under the Araujo regime. It is close to perfection. The wine combines extraordinary power and richness with remarkable complexity and finesse. The saturated purple/black color is followed by aromas of sweet vanillin intermixed with riveting scents of black currants, minerals, exotic spices, coffee, and toast. There is nothing garish about this subtle yet powerful giant of a wine. A Napa Valley classic, it is full-bodied and extremely rich, yet retains its sense of balance and symmetry. This fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon should age effortlessly for 30 or more years. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.Robert Parker | 98 RPHealthy dark red. Musky, soil-inflected aromas of dark raspberry, strawberry, minerals, tobacco, underbrush, cedar and dried herbs. Wonderfully silky and concentrated, displaying outstanding spicy lift to the vibrant, sharply delineated flavors of berries, coffee, anise and tobacco. Like a hypothetical blend of St. Julien and Graves. This beauty has only gained in clarity through the years as it has absorbed its baby fat. The tannins are firm but suave, in perfect balance with the wine's acidity and fruit. Juicy and subtly long on the aftertaste.Vinous Media | 95 VMA delightfully rich, vibrant and complex wine that is aging very gracefully. The core flavors are well-focused and offer a mix of mature red currant, plum and floral scents, with a touch of anise and mineral on the finish. Ripe tannins let the flavors glide through the finish, where mocha adds a nice added dimension.--1995 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2015. 2,500 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 94 WS

The 1996 Dominus, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, tips the scales at 14.2% alcohol. Although this offering lacks the power, intensity, and compelling characteristics of the 1991 and 1994, it is not far off the pace of those two monumental wines. A super nose of roasted coffee, chocolate, dried herbs, black fruits and kirsch is both intense and persuasive. The wine displays terrific richness, medium to full body, low acidity, a succulent, opulent texture, and superb purity. This beautifully made 1996 is one of the few wines that has successfully tamed the vintage's elevated tannin level. It should be relatively drinkable upon its release, yet evolve nicely for two decades. Impressive!Dominus's production has grown to approximately 8,000 cases of their flagship wine, Dominus.Robert Parker | 95 RPReally impressed how balanced and refined the wine is. The texture is so silky and beautiful, and the fruit pure, even more satisfying. Perfect to drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSFull, saturated red-ruby. Dusty black cherry, plum, game, woodsmoke, herbs and a suggestion of leafy cabernet franc on the nose. Thick and lush in the mouth, with the extravagant sweetness of the best '96s. This has good structure and grip, but there plenty of deep fruit to buffer the substantial tannins. This wine and the '97 were both vinified by David Ramey before he moved on to Rudd Estate.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis is the first release of Napanook, the second wine from Dominus. It has lovely, approachable fruit in the red-cherry, red-plum spectrum; the finish is medium length and silky. It's tasting very good now, and should improve in bottle over the next three to five years. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 13% Petit Verdot.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WEComplex, with mature herb, currant, anise and sage notes that are reminiscent of an aged Bordeaux. Ends with a supple texture, fine-grained tannins and good length.--1996 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

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

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

From their 40+ acres of vineyard in the very northeasterly sector of Napa, just south of the quaint town of Calistoga, anywhere from 1,600 to 2,200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard are produced. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele (a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot) shows wonderfully sweet black currant notes intermixed with some licorice, incense, crushed rock, and floral characteristics. It is deep, medium to full-bodied, with beautiful purity, virtually perfect integration of tannins, and extraordinary length which lasts over 60 seconds. This is an exceptional, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that is the vinous equivalent of haute couture. This sensationally pure wine (actually the first vintage of the estate Cabernet to have a little Merlot in it, but only 2%) borders on perfection. This is a gorgeously proportioned wine with beautiful floral and black fruit notes intermixed with some mineral and gentle background oak.One of California’s and the world’s great wine estates, Araujo continues to exhibit remarkable consistency and impeccably high quality. Little seems to change other than some minor tweaking with respect to viticulture and winemaking. The team of Bart and Daphne Araujo, their talented longtime winemaker, Francoise Peschon, and the globe-trotting oenologist, Michel Rolland, are to be commended on the extraordinary elegance of these wines.Robert Parker | 98+ RPStunning. Explodes with the most intricately detailed aromas: a perfume of fine smoky oak and ripe black currants. Exudes sheer power, with great weight yet no heaviness. Lush and delicious, but just tannic enough. If you can wait, cellar until 2008, it should hold and improve for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(91% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot and 2% merlot) Good full red-ruby color. Wonderful floral lift to the expressive aromas of blackcurrant, black raspberry, tobacco, graphite and nutty oak. Dense, thick and sweet but with perfectly integrated acidity framing the deep flavors of currant, tobacco, mocha and earth. Finishes broad, dusty and very long, with the tannins thoroughly buffered by the wine's mid-palate fruit. This boasts real density of extract without any undue heaviness and offers the balance and backbone for a long and positive evolution in bottle. Very long on personality.Vinous Media | 95+ VMSmooth, rich and savory, with dried currant, wild berry and black cherry fruit that has a dusty, savory herb and underbrush flavor that adds complexity, ending with a pretty burst of ripe fruit. This grows on you. Best from 2011 through 2018. 2,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS(Araujo Estate, Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Calistoga, California, USA, Red) 2005 is one of those vintages where ripeness and new oak are pitted against the Eisele terroir, and while in its style the wine must be judged a success, this isn't really a wine for classicists. Aromas of blueberry, raspberry and ripe blackcurrants are inflected with barrel toast and spice in a sweet melange, following through on the expansive, rich and oaky palate. (Drink between 2016-2020)Decanter | 91 DEC

Deep garnet in color with a touch of purple, the 2007 Proprietary Red Wine flaunts wonderfully expressive, vibrant blackberries and black cherries scents to begin, giving way to black raspberries and redcurrants with touches of Indian spices, potpourri, chargrill, sage, espresso, unsmoked cigars and tilled soil plus a waft of cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the elegantly styled palate offers tantalizing restraint with a firm frame of very fine, pixelated tannins and compelling freshness, finishing very long with an invigorating lift. Although this wine will handsomely reward a further 5-7 years in cellar, it can offer a lot of pleasure now but will need a couple of hours of decanting.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThis mature wine remains dark black-red in colour. Dark chocolate, roast meat and forest resins haunt the blackberry and plum fruits, but it’s surprisingly vital too, with ringing, resonant, ripe acidity in orbit with the flesh, soft textures and overall amplitude. Pure Napa class. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028.Decanter | 97 DECEasily the greatest Dominus in memory. Comes down on the drier, lower alcohol and less ripe side than many Cabs in its league, yet lacks for nothing in complexity and sheer deliciousness. Tantalizes with blackberry tart, cherry, carob bean and a Pinot Noir-esque cola-rhubarb richness that retreats behind rich tannins and an earthiness suggesting sweet blond tobacco and dried sage. Clearly ageable, it will develop bottle complexity over the next 12 years, at least. It’s 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a few drops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEPure Cabernet in its curranty blackness, this is a top vintage of Dominus: It has the precision and elegance of a wine from a great vineyard. The aromas of currants and black figs meld with the mineral tightness of the tannin; there’s suppleness to the tannin that points up red tones in the fruit, seeming to glow from within. The wine is comforting and challenging at once, holding its freshness and bearing as it evolves over the course of several days. This should thrive in the cellar for two decades or more.Wine and Spirits | 96 W&S((14.1% alcohol): Saturated dark red with ruby tones. Bordeaux-like scents of currant, black cherry, blackberry, cedar, mocha and spicecake, with a cool medicinal note adding interest. This very suave, fine-grained wine starts closed but juicy, then builds steadily along its length (like a good Cuban cigar!), with flavors of dark berries, licorice and sweet spices continuing through a juicy, rising finish that leaves the palate vibrating. A very subtle wine of great finesse and insidious intensity, though not particularly Napa-like in its texture or weight. The tannins really dust the palate and linger. This very distinctive wine has a long life ahead of it.Vinous Media | 95 VMLots of forest berries and flowers in the nose. On the palate, it is thick and very rich, with big plummy fruit and a light raisin aftertaste. Chewy, round, and very generous on the palate. This still needs some time to come together. Leave this alone for another three to four years. 14+24+23+32. Find the wineJames Suckling | 93 JS

A profound wine from a superb Napa vintage for Bordeaux varietals, the 2007’s nose may cause one to overdose on blue, black and red berry fruit. The extraordinary intensity, purity and depth in this rich, flamboyant, exuberant wine are mindboggling. This bigger-than-life Cabernet Sauvignon appears set for 20-30 years of aging. It can be drunk now, but because of its sweet, velvety tannins, it will still be offering sensational drinking in 2040.Robert Parker | 100 RPFull ruby-red. Multifaceted aromas of currant, iron, licorice, tobacco, dried herbs and minerals. The youthful palate boasts outstanding depth and clarity of dark fruit flavors, offering an uncanny combination of powerful structure and finesse. Explosive on the back end, finishing with outstanding palate-saturating breadth and extremely fine-grained tannins. I could see this wine enjoying 25 years of development in bottle, but it should really be forgotten for at least the next 5 or 6. Owner/winemaker Jayson Woodbridge told me this is the best wine he has made to date.Vinous Media | 96 VMRobust, intense and fleshy, offering a full-bodied mix of ripe cherry, plum, wild berry and raspberry fruit that’s pure, rich and layered. Full-bodied, elegant and refined, ending with a subtle medley of ripe berry flavors. Best from 2012 through 2020. 600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Blueberries, currants and flowers. The nose just pops out. Intense. Full body, with a round and velvety tannin structure and lots of currants, ripe strawberries. Very intense every. Black pepper at the finish. Muscular yet toned. Very structured yet balanced. This needs a minimum of four to five years of aging. Paul Draper says that perhaps this is as great as the legendary 1991. Made for aging.James Suckling | 97 JS(Cabernet Sauvignon “Monte Bello”- Ridge Vineyards) The 2007 Monte Bello weighs in at a very grown up 13.1 percent alcohol and is a great, great wine in the making. The nose is deep, complex and flat out brilliant, as it offers up scents of pure cassis, a touch of bell pepper, tobacco leaf, espresso, a beautifully complex base of soil and a deft touch of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and utterly seamless, with a rock solid core of fruit, beautiful, nascent complexity, ripe, well-integrated tannins and stunning length and grip on the palate-staining finish. A stellar Monte Bello. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 95 JGRelatively fat for a Monte Bello, this wine shows its richness in fruit rather than playing on weight gained from oak. The freshness of the fruit keeps it firm, finely balanced and clean, a more accessible young wine than this vineyard tends to give. There's a pure cassis flavor running through it, emphasizing the clarity of lovely, ripe Cabernet. As approachable as it may be now, it's substantial enough to age for a decade or more.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SA retaste of the flagship wine, the 2007 Monte Bello (a blend from this famous estate of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) reveals a dense ruby/purple wine with a floral, blueberry, and earthy cassis nose and elegant mid-weight flavors with impressive purity and classicism. There is good acidity, firm tannin, and modest alcohol (13.1%). This is not the most concentrated or powerful Monte Bello, but one built on finesse and elegance. According to the back label, only 41% of the production made it into this wine from the 103-acre estate vineyard. Give this wine another good 5-7 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 20-25 years.Robert Parker | 92+ RP(13.1% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Pungent, fresh scents of currant, mocha, tobacco leaf, graphite minerality and brown spices, plus a whiff of leather. A penetrating, youthfully tight midweight with a lovely claret-like balance of currant fruit, minerals and herbal, tobacco-leafy elements. Smooth in texture but enlivened by elevated, almost peppery acidity. Finishes with an element of energy and finesse I don't find in many high-octane Napa Valley examples from this vintage, but then this is a less massive style of Cabernet. The persistent finishing flavors blow past the firm tannins but there's little in the way of easy sweetness today. In fact, I suspect this wine is passing through a sullen stage.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

A very opulent, yet fresh nose. Perfumed with fresh mushrooms, currants, and blackberries. Full bodied with an amazing density of fruit, and ripe velvety tannins. So big and compacted, with a superb structure. Very 2006 in style but with much more intensity. The fruit amazing and intense. Leave this for another five or six years. 900 cases. Pull the cork after 2016. 15+25+24+34. Find the wineJames Suckling | 98 JSPotentially a candidate for perfection, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is the finest Bryant Family wine since the aforementioned 1997. Striking aromas and flavors of blackberries, blueberries, flowers, smoke, truffles, and sweet berries lead to a wine with profound concentration, a silky, layered mouthfeel, perfect integration of tannin and wood, and remarkable depth, intensity, and balance. The finish lasts nearly a minute. This stunning Cabernet should age nicely for 20-30 years.Robert Parker | 98 RPAt points rustic and rough-hewn, but also enormously complex and layered, with dense, elegant herb, olive, cedar, blackberry and wild berry fruit that is full-blown and tightly focused, rich and layered, gaining velocity on the finish while retaining a sense of wildness. Best from 2012 through 2024. 850 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(14.9%): Healthy ruby-red. Wild plum, dark berries, musky espresso, mocha and graphite on the varietally expressive nose. Shows wonderful mineral verve but this utterly seamless wine still conveys a musky suggestion of reduction. It's also more red than black fruit in style and shows its site more than the vintage character. Really lovely inner-mouth aromatic perfume here. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and lovely slowly building lift. This wine blew away many of the portier, clunkier examples in my 2007 group tastings but it may need earlier drinking than some vintages of Bryant. The silky, seamless finish features a light touch and terrific spice and mocha lift.Vinous Media | 95 VM

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard has a very pretty rose petal and kirsch-scented nose with a core of red and black currants, black raspberries and oolong tea with hints of truffles and iron ore. The palate is full-bodied, exquisitely textured and wonderfully vibrant with tons of energy and a very long, lively finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(15.5% alcohol): Bright medium red. Subtly complex aromas of black raspberry, blackberry, dusty cocoa powder, toffee and licorice; I often find a Pomerol quality to this wine, despite the fact that it’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Wonderfully suave and seamless, with a thickness of texture leavened by firm acidity and a hint of herbs. Really lovely class and energy here, in spite of its almost confectionery sweetness. More tightly wound and delineated than the Ark, with darker berry, plum, licorice, toffee and flavors enlivened by minerality and a touch of herbs. This still-youthful wine has loosened up a bit since I last tasted it as part of a spectacular horizontal tasting two years ago and finishes quite harmonious, with serious ripe tannins and integrated acidity. As ripe and thick as this is, there’s a soil-driven, savory, claret-like character that’s captivating. Offers a lighter touch than the Ark. This held up beautifully in the recorked bottle, showing a liqueur-like, velvety sweetness without ever becoming heavy.Vinous Media | 96 VMA rich, supple, graceful style, with gentle layers of wild berry, plum, black licorice, crème de cassis and vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins and great length. Drink now through 2022. 840 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSDefines the modern, cult Napa Cabernet style, albeit at a hefty price. Soft and rich in tannins and liberally oaked, it shows massively ripe blackberry, cherry and sandalwood flavors, with a meaty, slightly funky note that adds interest. Easy to like right out of the bottle, it’s so decadent. With high alcohol, it doesn’t seem like a longterm ager, so drink over the next six years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

The 2009 Dominus is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet colored, it rolls easily, sensuously out of the glass with evolving fruit notes of baked blackcurrants, plum preserves, mulberries and fruitcake plus underlying suggestions of charcuterie, camphor, chocolate-covered cherries and candied violets with just a touch of cast iron pan. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in balance, with loads of emerging black fruit and earthy layers and a solid line of finely grained tannins, finishing very long with a perfumed lift.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPDeep ruby opaque colored, the 2009 Dominus is a killer bottle of wine made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot. Loaded with notions of black currants, black cherries, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and crushed flowers, this beauty is full-bodied, deep, concentrated, and decadent. Perfectly balanced, pure and layered, it’s a sensational wine and you should count yourself lucky if you have bottles of this in the cellar. It will keep for another two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDStunning nose of lavender and flowers. Currants and raspberries. Subtle and intriguing. Full and dense but wonderfully balanced with firm and silky tannins and a persistent finish. Dusty texture. A wine so balanced that you want to drink it already. Better in 2017.James Suckling | 98 JSBright, full ruby-red. Highly complex, thoroughly ripe scents of black raspberry, cassis, dark plum, tar, tobacco, mocha and minerals, lifted by a violet topnote. Wonderfully suave and fine-grained but still quite youthful, spreading out to coat the palate without leaving any undue impression of weight. Shows a distinct black cherry medicinal reserve. This very smooth wine finishes with a broad dusting of ripe tannins and steadily building length. Approachable now owing to its successfully integrated acidity and tannins, but I'd rather give this beauty a bit more time in the cellar.Vinous Media | 94 VMDelightfully harmonious given its intensity, with complex aromas of savory herbs, flowers, ripe and dried currant and berry, crushed rock and cedar flavors. Well-proportioned, focused and persistent. Very youthful and vibrant. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2030. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSWhile this is not the best Dominus vintage, it does show elegantly smooth tannins, dryness and earthiness that accompanies the black­berry and cassis fruit. It's curiously soft, which might limit its ageability. Shows an uncanny similarity to the 2000.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Once again, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the 2007, but the aromas and flavors seems to be just a touch brighter, which might just be a function of the wine’s age. A wine of remarkable precision, the 2009 is totally dialed in from start to finish. Layers of intensely sweet, perfumed fruit are woven together with remarkable elegance and sheer polish. Today, the 2009 isn’t quite as radiant as it has been in the past, and seems headed for a stubborn phase. It is still striking, though. Even if a bit less exotic than the 2007, the two wines share a silkiness and overall sense of textural finesse. A translucent, weightless finish rounds things out in style. The 2009 is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPOnce again, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the 2007, but the aromas and flavors seems to be just a touch brighter, which might just be a function of the wine's age. A wine of remarkable precision, the 2009 is totally dialed in from start to finish. Layers of intensely sweet, perfumed fruit are woven together with remarkable elegance and sheer polish. Today, the 2009 isn't quite as radiant as it has been in the past, and seems headed for a stubborn phase. It is still striking, though. Even if a bit less exotic than the 2007, the two wines share a silkiness and overall sense of textural finesse. A translucent, weightless finish rounds things out in style. The 2009 is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.Vinous Media | 98 VMA stunningly seamless effort, rich and elegant, this delivers perfumed black currant aromas that are supple and graceful, building and gaining with subtle tannins, laced with loamy earth. A dash of black licorice marks the long finish. Drink now through 2028. 750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

Phenomenal aromas and flavors of pure fruit with stones and rock. Turns to mint and eucalyptus. Full body, with powerful yet polished tannins. Creamy and fresh. Changes continually. The finish goes on for minutes Savory. And juicy.James Suckling | 99 JSComposed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2009 IX Estate exhibits a flowery bouquet with notes of subtle smoke, blackberries, black currants, kirsch and baking spices. Rich, deep and full-bodied, this voluptuous, sensational blend boasts an inky/purple color. While approachable, it should hit its stride in 4-5 years and last for two to three decades.Robert Parker | 97 RP(69% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 6% petit verdot): Saturated deep ruby. Pure but subdued aromas of black cherry, blueberry, menthol and sweet butter. Pure liquid pleasure in the mouth, combining the seamlessness of the Tychson Hill with the tannic force of the Cariad. This wonderfully sweet, palate-saturating wine is downright penetrating without betraying any rough edges. Finishes strong and very long, with mouthfilling chocolatey ripeness. A classic example of the way the best Napa Valley cabernet-based wines can combine sheer sweetness and size with structure.Vinous Media | 96+ VMA muscle-bound effort, tight, dense and chewy, with tar, blackberry, cedar and tobacco flavors. Ends with a pleasant wall of tannins and a persistent push of flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2030. 1,300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard gives up bold blackcurrant cordial, blackberry compote and raspberry pie scents with hints of chocolate-covered cherries, roses and lilacs plus hints of charcuterie and yeast extract. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully elegant, with wonderful vivacity and perfume and a satiny texture with a very long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPPure sensuality in the glass, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard is going to be nearly impossible to resist in its youth. At the same time, the Kayli Morgan has a track record of developing beautifully in bottle, and I imagine that is exactly what will happen here. Cedar, spice box, cassis and plums burst from the glass in this impressive, layered wine. A hint of mocha develops later, but it is pretty clear the 2009 is playing its cards close to the vest. There is enough inner tension to make me think the 2009 has a very bright future. Jayson Woodbridge describes 2009 as a year with a tiny crop and equally small berries. It is also the year Woodbridge brought in a helicopter to dry out the fruit after the mid-October typhoon dropped a huge amount of rain on Napa Valley.Antonio Galloni | 95+ AGPure and understated, with a charming mix of elegant ripe black cherry and plum, subtle fresh earth, tobacco and cedar, ending with fleshy, fine-grained tannins. Less opulent than prior vintages. Drink now through 2024. 600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

A riveting expression of complex Cabernet, this is rich, loamy and layered, with pure, detailed currant, blackberry and black licorice flavors and firm, gripping tannins. Gains and sustains on the finish. Cellar-worthy. Best from 2014 through 2028.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, scorched earth, menthol, licorice and smoke. The first impression is quite positive, but then the persistence on the mid-palate unexpectedly drops off quickly, as if there is a hole in the middle of the wine. In this vintage, the difference between the second label M. Etain and Scarecrow is much less evident than in 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.Scarecrow’s 2010s are gorgeous, and also quite a big step up from the 2009s. For more background on the estate, readers may want to revisit my introductory comments in Issue 198.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, scorched earth, menthol, licorice and smoke. The first impression is quite positive, but then the persistence on the mid-palate unexpectedly drops off quickly, as if there is a hole in the middle of the wine. In this vintage, the difference between the second label M. Etain and Scarecrow is much less evident than in 2010.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

Composed of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, the stunning, full-bodied 2010 Dominus boasts an exceptional perfume of hoisin sauce, licorice, underbrush, forest floor, plums, black currants and jammy cherries intertwined with hints of cedar, baking spices and oak. Full-bodied and voluptuously textured, the 2010 is on a slightly faster evolutionary track than the 2009 (somewhat of an anomaly for these two vintages). This exquisite as well as prodigious 2010 can be drunk young, but it should age effortlessly for 20-25 years. Bravo!Looking at the harvest dates for the 2009 through 2012 Napanook and Dominus reveals that none of these were early, very warm years, such as 2013 is promising to be in northern California. For example, in 2009 the harvest took place between October 5 and 12; 2010 between October 4 and 23; 2011 between October 15 and 24; and 2012 between October 9 and 21. Production has remained steady because the estate crop-thins as much as 50% of the harvest to ensure bunch regularity, even ripening and reasonable yields. The second wine, Napanook, tends to come in around 3,000 cases per year, and Dominus around 5,000 cases per year. I was joking with Christian Moueix when I visited the winery and I told him I am one of the geezers old enough to remember his first vintage of 1983, which was tasted at the Rombauer Cellars until he moved to what appears to be an old bank building in downtown St. Helena, after which they constructed a spectacular winery in Yountville that resembles an extension of their historic terroir. Another great vintage, the 2012s have slightly lower alcohols than the 2009s and 2010s, which surprised me given the exuberant nature of this vintage and its boisterous fruit and glycerin. I was shocked to realize that 2013 will mark over thirty vintages for Christian Moueix and Dominus, not to mention my visits each year. How time flies!Robert Parker | 100 RPA cabernet-based red that’s all about the finish. Shows phenomenal character of caramelised orange, berries and lightly toasted oak. It’s also wonderfully structured, with great tannin, fruit, and acid balance. Try after 2018.James Suckling | 99 JSBright, deep ruby. Ineffable scents of dark berries, graphite, minerals, licorice, violet, dark chocolate and sage. Wonderfully suave, fine-grained and plush but light on its feet, and every bit as complex in the mouth as on the nose. Really impeccably balanced, classy wine with uncanny precision and inner-mouth aromatic lift and a resounding, endlessly building aftertaste that leaves the taste buds quivering. A wine of great finesse and energy, not to mention noble palate-saturating, fully ripe tannins. This is more about subtlety than weight, but is still hard to scrape off your palate. This already coats every square millimeter of the palate but may yet expand further. All of this fruit was harvested in October.Vinous Media | 97 VMA brooding bouquet of cassis, wild berries, pencil shavings and exotic spice is followed by a deep, layered and intense wine, framed by fine tannins and bright acidity. There is a vibrancy and energy to this wine that makes it particularly compelling, no doubt partly thanks to the long, cool growing season, but also in keeping with all the work Dominus has been doing in their vineyards to balance the vines and prevent sun burn. Drinking Window 2020 - 2050.Decanter | 96 DECThe wild swings in weather during the 2010 growing season took out the cabernet franc at Dominus, this vintage blending Cabernet Sauvignon (95%) with Petit Verdot. It has more voluptuous warmth than wines from this site in western Yountville usually give on release, rich with black currant flavors, scents of violets and black spice. The texture is silky, with an undercurrent of green herb and pine needle in the tannins that adds complexity to all the saturated currant and blueberry fruit.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SGraceful and refined, offering a subtle mix of delicate Cabernet flavors, with dried currant, cherry, herb, cedar, cigar box and graphite notes, ending with smooth, integrated tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2024. 3,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

A harvest lasting 30 days offered structure and tannins, deep and complex fruit with earthy nuances, still bursting with energy.Decanter | 97 DECBright dark ruby. Initially reticent nose opened in the glass to reveal wonderfully complex scents of black- and redcurrant, blackberry, minerals, licorice, loam and tobacco leaf, plus a whiff of leather. Seamless, savory and classy on entry if a bit subdued, then delivers lovely restrained sweetness and a complicating wildness in the middle palate that still calls for more bottle aging. Old World in its classic dryness, this highly concentrated Opus One really shines on its vibrant, slowly building back end, where the broad, dusty tannins caress and saturate the palate and allow the fruits and minerals to build. A wine of outstanding depth, clarity, finesse of grain and class; it's hard to imagine that this site could give more. Long-time winemaking director Michael Silacci noted that the estate did not strip leaves prior to the brutal August heat spike.Vinous Media | 97 VMOne of the best ever from Opus, it shows beautiful blackcurrant cabernet sauvignon character. A powerful and poised wine with well-crafted tannins. Needs about four years to soften.James Suckling | 96 JSA glorious perfume of sweet charcoal, truffle, black currants and spice box soars from the glass of the saturated purple-colored 2010 Opus One. The gorgeous aromatics are followed by a beautifully knit, full-bodied red blend (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec) displaying lots of spicy black currant fruit, medium to full body, velvety tannins, and not a hard edge to be found. The texture, length and richness are all impressive. This estate has been making great Cabernet-based wines for nearly a decade ... and this is another one. Drink it over the next 20+ years.Robert Parker | 96 RPOffers both a rich, supple, seamless core of earthy dark berry and touches of rustic loam and dried leather scents, the latter of which give this a drying sensation on the palate. Ends with dried herb, olive and savory notes that Opus fans will love, others perhaps less so. A classic Opus.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2010 IX Estate is another perfect wine. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by copious aromas of blueberries, cassis, pen ink, asphalt, licorice and subtle oak. Full-bodied and rich but light on its feet, this spectacular effort was created from a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Enjoy this profound wine over the next 25+ years.Robert Parker | 100 RPSaturated medium ruby. More Hermitage than Côte-Rôtie on the extraordinary nose, conveying an impression of granitic minerality to its scents of crushed blackberry, blueberry, violet, licorice and charcuterie. Delivers an uncommon combination of density, energy and definition, not to mention a deeply spicy quality and more obvious iron-like minerality and gaminess than the 2011 version. Still a baby, this remarkable, tightly wound Syrah boasts a slowly mounting, palate-staining finish and perfectly buffered tannins. Exceptional--and built for a long life in bottle.Vinous Media | 97 VMAnother top syrah from here with black pepper and bacon character with light cedar and spice. Full body, with a core of ripe fruit and a long finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSPleasing for its richness, elegance and finesse, this graceful red presents a delicate mix of dark berry, licorice, light cedar and loamy earth, gliding along on the finish, where the wine is amazingly polished. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2026.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

From the Howell Mountain Arc Vineyard (usually 1,300 to 1,400 cases produced in a normal year), the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Arc Vineyard could be a candidate for perfection when it hits full maturity in 7-8 years. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to drink it now given the sweetness of the tannin and the abundance of the ripe, concentrated, delicious fruit. The nose exhibits classic aromas of mulberries, graphite, licorice, forest floor, black currants and blackberries. This is a broad, full throttle, multilevel, sensational wine.Proprietor Jayson Woodbridge, one of the wine world’s most compelling, outspoken, irreverent, bigger-than-life personalities, can get away with just about anything he wants to say or do simply because year after year he proves what great wine is all about from his 15-acre Kayli Morgan Vineyard east of St. Helena, his 15-acre parcel on Howell Mountain, and another vineyard on the upslope of the Eisele Vineyard (recently acquired by Chateau Latour in Pauillac), called Few and Far Between. Woodbridge was recently profiled in a wonderful graphic wine magazine called “Loam Baby,” and may have set a Guiness Book World record for the number of times the word “F***” was used in that interview. I first met Woodbridge, who hales from Canada, when he released his first vintage, 2000, which is still going strong and showing more staying power than I would ever have imagined even though I loved the wine from the beginning. It remains a sensational wine at age 13. He currently has six cuvees of Cabernet Sauvignon, the Kayli Morgan Vineyard, the Arc Vineyard on Howell Mountain, the Few and Far Between Vineyard in Calistoga near the Eisele Vineyard, a wine called Deep Time which spends considerably more time in barrel than its siblings, a wine called Precious, and depending on his mood, another wine called Fortunate Son. He also makes a hedonistic, attractive Pinot Noir from the Stanly Vineyard called Cherry Pie, and he has had enormous success with the high quality yet bargain-basement priced selections from around the world called Layer Cake. The Few and Far Between Vineyard is a 5-acre parcel on what Woodbridge calls the “upside of the Eisele Vineyard.” The only blend in his portfolio, this cuvee includes 15% Cabernet Franc. The first vintage was 2008, and this is another exceptional wine, with the 2010 achieving perfection and the 2012 capable of doing so. I only tasted two vintages of the Precious cuvee made from Woodbridge’s favorite barrels. Normally he limits production to 100 or so cases, which would be four barrels. I only tasted one vintage of the Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time because it spends up to 40 months in barrel and almost becomes like a great chef’s reduction sauce because of evaporation. It is normally a selection from the Kayli Morgan Vineyard. It is a remarkable wine, but very little is available.Robert Parker | 98+ RP(15.5% alcohol): Good dark red. Pure sex appeal on the nose, with black raspberry, licorice, menthol and mineral aromas buoyed by a violet quality. Like liquid velvet on the palate; a great, sweet fruit bomb with a positively three-dimensional texture. Dark berry flavors are complicated by a saline element and lifted by sneaky underlying minerality. The finish is lightly saline and endless, with ripe tannins totally buffered by the wine's voluptuous texture. My sample gained in firmness with 48 hours in the recorked bottle without losing any of its verve, a very good sign for its likely aging curve.Vinous Media | 95+ VMPure, ripe and plush, with tiers of blackberry, raspberry, cherry, plum, mocha and spice. Shows some heat from ripeness, causing the finish to becomes a bit diffuse. Needs a little time. Drink now through 2024. 700 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the silky 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Precious boasts amazing amounts of creme de cassis, licorice, spring flowers, charcoal and graphite. The quintessential Woodbridge wine, it is busting with sensuality, exuding enormous fruit, and built like a skyscraper. Abundant notes of cassis and the soft, velvety tannins are fabulous. This wine can be drunk now or in 20-30 years.Robert Parker | 99 RPGood deep ruby. Dark berries, spices, minerals and coffee on the nose, lifted by a sexy floral topnote. Impressively rich and lush but with its saturated berry and floral flavors currently dominated by a deep core of minerality. With aeration this wine showed more red fruit character and a more delineated, energetic mid-palate. Has the harmonious acidity and ripe tannins to ensure a graceful evolution in bottle.Vinous Media | 94+ VMProvides density and focus, with a complex mix of dark berry, spice, licorice, mocha and light toasty oak. The finish sails along gracefully amid ripe tannins that give you plenty to chew on. Drink now through 2024. 100 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS