2012 Quella Cabernet Sauvignon

Soft and caressing, the 2012 Quella is quite expressive today. Dark cherry, cedar, tobacco, smoke, licorice, incense and rose petal, along with soft silky contours, give the wine its distinct personality. Bright red stone fruit and lifted floral notes convey an impression of total sensuality. The 2012 is very pretty, but like so many wines in this vintage, it is a bit one-dimensional, especially when compared to some of the true standouts in this range.

Bright ruby-red. Slightly medicinal, liqueur-like scents of kirsch , blackberry, blueberry, violet, minerals and licorice; at once slightly high-toned and very youthful. The densest, thickest vintage to this point; powerful and penetrating but also very ripe, with a bitter chocolate note and a savory quality to its dark fruit flavors. This very backward, muscular wine closed up with air, with its tannins becoming increasingly dominant. Lay this one down for at least another seven or eight years.

The 2012 Quella (from a steep nine-acre vineyard in the eastern Vaca hillsides) has an opaque purple color, a gorgeous nose of white flowers, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit, and a touch of vanilla and graphite. Full-bodied, like its siblings, with great fruit extract, terrific purity and richness and high but velvety tannins, this wine should also benefit from another 3-5 years of cellaring and keep for 30+ years.