2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(15.3% alcohol; includes 10% Merlot): Bright ruby. Cool, minty aromas of black- and blueberry, licorice and violet display a distinct green element. Juicy and high-pitched on the palate, conveying a clenched quality to its highly concentrated black fruit flavors. There's lurking richness here but today the wine comes across as rather narrow. The crop was tiny in 2008 (just 0.87 tons per acre) due to the spring frost and consulting winemaker Philippe Melka added 10% Merlot in an attempt to soften this very tight wine. The finish is floral, juicy and long but how much will this wine ultimately expand and open in bottle? There's also a smoky influence here--perhaps from the Merlot component or possibly owing to the destructive wildfires that burned in June of '08 along the northern California coast. Ultimately quite tannic and rather tough.

(includes 9.5% petit verdot): Bright ruby. Aromas of black cherry, crushed blueberry, licorice and menthol, lifted by a note of cinnamon. Dense, supple and juicy, with very good purity to the flavors of crushed dark berries. But a cool rather than a full-blown style of this wine: today I find a hint of underlying minerality but not the typical warm loam and tobacco elements characteristic of this site. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and excellent length. This will need at least a few years to open and expand in the bottle.