2008 Beau Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Juliet

The less expensive 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Juliet (76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc from the parcel they called Juliet’s Bench) shows off winemaker Dave Phinney’s terrific, sexy, opulent, flamboyant style. Personality-wise, it is more like a 2007 than a 2008. Dense purple to the rim, with glorious notes of graphite and black cherry liqueur intermixed with cassis and blackberry, it possesses a subtle smokiness, a voluptuous texture, and a layered finish that should please both your hedonistic and intellectual senses. It will drink well for 15 or more years. This is one of my favorite unheralded producers in Napa Valley. The wines have off-the-charts richness, great balance, and the potential (at least in the case of the Juliet and the Reserve) to be aged for 20 or more years. There is a striking purity and intensity to these wines that merits serious attention. They all come from a small nine-acre vineyard in the Stags Leap appellation. Tel. (707) 265-7781