2014 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass with fresh, exuberant cassis and crushed blackberry notes plus hints of cigar box, dried Mediterranean herbs, violets and Marmite toast. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, with firm, grainy tannins and lively acid supporting the generous black berry and savory flavors, it finishes with great length and poise. It is drinking beautifully now but has the stuffing to cellar for 12+ years. 6,810 cases were made.

Paul Hobbs' 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine. Beams of tannin give the wine much of its distinctive profile, but that is not especially surprising given that 55% of the fruit is sourced from Hobbs' Nathan Coombs estate. Dark cherry, plum, graphite and savory herbs are some of the signatures. Drink the 2014 over the next decade or so. The interplay of racy fruit and insistent underlying structure is compelling. Dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot round out the blend.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon comes across as quite similar to the 2013, but with a bit more brightness and aromatics. Linear and precise, the 2014 is a wine built on fabulous persistence and exceptional balance at this level. This is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Paul Hobbs adds that the 2014 has a bit more estate fruit than in prior years, which is likely to continue as more fruit from the Nathan Coombs estate vineyard comes online.