The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, is one of my favorite wines from this area of Napa Valley. It offers lots of red, blue and black fruits intermixed with a floral component as well as sweet tannin. Combining the gorgeous ripeness and abundant fruit of Napa Cabernet with a Bordeaux-like tannic structure, this young 2009 is still an infant, but it can be enjoyed now, although another 4-6 years of bottle age will improve it even more. It is capable of lasting two more decades.

There's something rustic about this Cab. Partly it's the tannins, which are fierce. Partly it's the alcohol, which sticks out and gives the wine a burn. Yet it's extraordinarily ripe and opulent in black currants, with the liqueur headiness of crème de cassis. The hot alcohol suggests it will not age.