2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

A limited production of a very powerful and massive wine from two of California’s most famous winemaking gurus, Bob Levy and Martha McClellan, this wine remains primordial and backward, especially for a 2005. Loads of graphite notes interwoven with cassis, new saddle leather, blackberry and earth are impressive. It may sound unusual, but what came to mind is tasting some of the more recent vintages of Château Montrose in St.-Estèphe in Bordeaux. This wine still needs another 5-6 years of cellaring easily. This masculine, vigorous, bigger-than-life, full-throttle wine will evolve for another 25-30 years.

(all cabernet sauvignon; bottled in January of 2008) Deep medium ruby. Complex, expressive nose offers black raspberry, licorice, brown spices, mocha, smoke, minerals and nutty oak. Wonderfully lush and creamy-sweet for the year, with Graves-like mineral, gravel and smoky notes (from barrel this wine struck me as brooding and Latour-like but today its fruit character is more red). Ripe, harmonious acidity and broad, lush tannins make this cabernet remarkably presentable-not to mention long on personality-for a 2005, but it also has the structure for an extended evolution in bottle. Even in 2005, this young vineyard on volcanic soil produced just over two tons of fruit per acre, according to Bob Levy.

(95% cabernet sauvignon and 5% merlot) Good full ruby. Vibrant but reticent aromas of black fruits, licorice and minerals. Large-scaled, sappy and deep, with terrific energy and a firm edge of acidity to its flavors of cassis, black cherry, smoke, licorice and menthol. There's something Latour-like about this densely packed, brooding, slightly saline wine. Finishes very suave, with slowly mounting, noble tannins and impressive energy. This possesses even more mid-palate density than the 2004, with the result that these tannins are even more suave.