2009 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon***

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard is one of the great wines of the vintage. It brings together gorgeous aromatics, juicy, expressive red fruit and silky tannins. Now seemingly past a period of closure post-bottling, the 2009 looks like a wine that will drink well pretty much throughout its entire life. The 2009 is a totally sexy Cabernet endowed with stunning depth and a rich, enveloping personality. This is pure Araujo and pure Eisele.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard is one of the great wines of the vintage. It brings together gorgeous aromatics, juicy, expressive red fruit and silky tannins. Now seemingly past a period of closure post-bottling, the 2009 looks like a wine that will drink well pretty much throughout its entire life. The 2009 is a totally sexy Cabernet endowed with stunning depth and a rich, enveloping personality. This is pure Araujo and pure Eisele. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. This is a gorgeous set of wines from Bart and Daphne Araujo, and their team headed by winemaker Nigel Kinsman and consulting winemaker Francoise Peschon. In particular, the 2010s are knockouts. I won’t be surprised if one day 2010 is considered one of the great all-time vintages at this historic property. Readers may also want to look at my video interview with Bart Araujo on our website for an early look at the 2012 harvest. Tel. (707) 942-6061

(bottled in September of 2011; 99% cabernet with homeopathic doses of cabernet and petit verdot): Dark red-ruby. Musky, deep nose offers crushed blackberry, cassis, graphite and coffee. Wonderfully sweet and rich, displaying an uncanny combination of textural thickness and verve. Strong crushed rock minerality gives this beauty an extremely youthful quality. The very long, palate-staining finish features big but suave tannins and outstanding harmoniousness. The pH of 3.73 is "not too high" for this consistently superb wine, says winemaker Nigel Kinsman.