2006 Levy & McClellan Red

(includes bits of cabernet franc and petit verdot) Deep red-ruby. Complex, inviting aromas of cassis, graphite, menthol and sexy new oak. Very ripe but bright and classic, with terrific lift to the cassis, mineral and dark chocolate flavors. This boasts remarkably deep fruit for seven-year-old vines and finishes with very sweet, suave tannins and superb length. Husband-and-wife team Bob Levy and Martha McClellan, who are also responsible for making Harlan, Bond, Blankiet and Sloan, consider their 2005 to be a bit more layered and complex, but this one is also a star of its vintage.

(cabernet sauvignon with bits of cabernet franc and merlot) Good deep ruby. Black and blue fruits, licorice, violet and camphor on the nose. Superripe, supple and sweet on the front end, with lovely inner-palate lift to the flavors of dark berries, licorice and bitter chocolate. Then impressively bright and long on the back end, with substantial, building, fine-grained tannins and a youthfully medicinal character. This will be slow to evolve, but it already displays uncommon persistence for a wine from seven-year-old vines.