2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyards

(from vines picked on October 26) Very good full ruby. Aromas of cassis, bitter chocolate and mocha. Supple and plush but firmly structured, with a slight youthful aggressiveness to the cassis and licorice flavors. Not yet as complex as the 2005, but this very young wine is sweeter and the tannins are nicely ripe.

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Helms Vineyard possesses the vintage’s structure and power. While this vintage is more irregular than the 2005, it has a tendency to produce more masculine-styled wines with loads of concentration, but less charm and finesse (at least at this stage). The 2006s are somewhat reminiscent of the 1996s, which followed the brilliant years of 1994 and 1995. The deep ruby/purple-hued 2006 Helms Vineyard cuvee offers subtle notes of spicy oak intermixed with forest floor and new oak. It exhibits a powerful, dense, rich finish, but overall is less evolved than the seemingly more complex 2005. Proprietor Hi Sang Lee and his son, both from Seoul, Korea, have morphed this estate, previously part of the Livingston Vineyards, into three single vineyard wines, Helms Vineyard from Rutherford (500 cases), Lotus from St. Helena hillsides (225 cases) and approximately 100 cases of the Hershey Vineyard from Howell Mountain. Philippe Melka is the consulting winemaker, and beginning with the debut vintage in 2005, these are all impressive efforts. Tel. (707) 963-4365; Fax (707) 963-4975