2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Tierra Roja Vineyard Oakville

Linda Neal's own vineyard on the corner of the Oakville Cross Road and Silverado Trail. Red volcanic soil, with neighbours Dalla Valle, Rudd and Screaming Eagle making for high prices. This intensely sweet essence is refreshed by an undertow of something distinctly minerally. It went almost as well with a range of desserts as with main courses. Very well made. (JR)

Drive the Oakville Cross Road to the Silverado Trail, then look directly forward and up and you see Tierra Roja, a small four-acre hillside vineyard. The vineyard is dotted with big rocks, and the soil is roja (very red). Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Tierra Roja has a nose of blackberry pie, blackcurrants, black raspberries, earth, cedar and dried herbs. The palate is full-bodied, firm, grainy and lively with a great core of ripe, expressive black fruit, finishing long with a compelling herbal lift. 225 cases produced.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Tierra Roja Vineyard is a sensual, deep wine. The flavors are dark, intense and mysterious, with plenty of the character of this eastern Oakville site. Black cherry, smoke, leather, licorice and cedar add nuance, but it is the wine's creaminess and overall texture that are among its most distinctive attributes. Best of all, the 2015 will drink well with minimal cellaring.