1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(14% alcohol; includes 2% Petit Verdot): Very fresh medium ruby-red color. Distinctly wild nose shows the darkest fruit character (black raspberry) to this point in the tasting, along with funky leather, truffle and game notes suggesting some brettanomyces and/or an elevated pH. Gripping and delineated on the palate, with still-energetic black fruit flavors. Not hugely complex but intense and shapely and likely to expand and soften further with more time in bottle. Nicely sweet but not at all sloppy, this wine finishes with good grip and substantial tannins that avoid dryness. Incidentally, I tasted another bottle of this wine as part of my horizontal tasting of the 1997s and found it similarly full of life but a bit more rustic and peppery.

The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (1,400 cases) is very good. I rated this wine 96 last year, but after an additional year of bottle age, it may be even better. It spent 18 months in 40-45% new French oak, and was bottled after a light fining yet no filtration. A monumental, classic California Cabernet Sauvignon, it boasts an opaque plum/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of jammy cassis, plums, toast, and licorice. With its humongous fruit and glycerin, full body, smoky blackberry and coffee flavors on the mid-palate, as well as a silky, moderately tannic finish that lasts for nearly a minute, this seamless effort is a modern day Cabernet elixir. A blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit-Verdot, it should be at its best between 2004-2025. Tel. (707) 963-8339; Fax (707) 963-0232