2007 Favia Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (96% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot) has also beefed up a bit. Opaque ruby/purple, with notes of espresso roast, white chocolate, licorice and unsmoked tobacco as well as a restrained hint of barbecued smoke, the wine is layered, rich, full-bodied, and impressively endowed. It should evolve for at least 15 or 20 years. Another proprietor with an impressive resume, Annie Favia, wife of owner and winemaking consultant Andy Erickson, worked for over a decade with David Abreu and was highly involved in the development of vineyards such as Colgin, Screaming Eagle, and St. Eden (part of the Bond project). All of these wines are aged mostly in new French oak, and based on three Bordeaux varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. There’s no Merlot in any of them. Tel.(707) 256-0875; www.faviawines.com

Good deep red-ruby. Aromas of black cherry, cassis, graphite and licorice, plus a suggestion of molten bitter chocolate. Quite tightly wound today and not at all an unctuous style, displaying terrific lift and verve to its penetrating cassis and graphite flavors. Not a blockbuster but this boasts terrific depth and captivating minerality. Finishes very long, with noteworthy energy. Has the balance and intensity to be very long-lived.