2007 Favia La Magdalena

The 2007 La Magdalena (50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Cabernet Franc) is a tiny production lot of just under 100 cases, so I will give it short thrift note-wise, but this is an ethereal wine that is showing better than it did last year. A wonderfully sweet bouquet of acacia flowers, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, and black currants is followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with extraordinary elegance, precision and purity. Drink it over the next 10-15 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