1996 Screaming Eagle Vertical (1992-2004)

Mid crimson. Very sweet brushwood and very ripe sweet fruit on the nose. A completely different idiom from the red bordeaux I have just been tasting, but good balance and certainly not too heavy or alcoholic. A certain fragrance and gentle appeal. Great kick of super-clean fruit on the finish. This would be difficult to place blind, I would have thought, since it has so much more elegance than most Napa Valley Cabernets. It is still very much alive. In fact, it's still quite tight. Vindication of this property's relatively subtle style. (JR)

The newly-released 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon reveals lots of structure, an opaque purple color, and the hallmark blackberry and cassis liqueur-like notes. Silky-textured, fabulously-concentrated, and gorgeously-balanced, it has every component part - acidity, alcohol, tannin, and extract - flawlessly presented.

Saturated ruby-red color. Complex aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, currant, marzipan, licorice and honeysuckle. Very rich and dense, but quite tightly wound; cassis, mint and tobacco flavors blossomed with aeration. Very long, firmly tannic finish. This wine was lusher and more expressive after 24 hours in the recorked bottle, showing a roasted coffee bean quality, with no loss of shape or freshness. Screaming Eagle has been remarkably consistent in recent vintages, and is one of a relative handful of California cabernets that conveys a strong sense of site specificity.