So, My Readers, it’s Christmas Eve 2012, and tomorrow, not to belabor the obvious, is Christmas Day, the occasion on which I will launch the Sixth Edition of my series “Twelve Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparking Wine.” I thought it would be informative, instructive and even wildly amusing to commemorate today the previous five lists in the series (but not the actual reviews; you can find those through the handy and easy-to-use Search function). When I produced the first “Twelve Days,” during the 2007/2008 Yuletide season that runs from Christmas to Twelfth Night, I didn’t realize that it would turn into an annual event, but once I finished that initial effort, it seem logical and inevitable. While plenty of the usual suspects show up in the series, I tried to introduce My Readers to interesting Champagnes from small artisan houses as well as unusual sparkling wines from around the world. In 2008/2009, because of the burgeoning recession, I kept prices fairly low. In 2011/2012, every product was French because, well, it just worked out that way. Five years times 12 days would result in 60 wines, but I made it a practice to offer choices at different price points on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night in addition to sometimes pairing or tripling products that matched well; the result is that this series, so far, presented reviews of 96 Champagnes and sparkling wines. We’ll work backward from the most recent edition to the first segment of the series.
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2011/2012
Dec. 25, 2011. Christmas Day. Champalou Vouvray Brut. Excellent. About $19 to $26.

Dec. 26. Champagne Comte Audoin de Dampierre Brut Cuvée des Ambassadeurs. Excellent. About $36 to $50.

Dec. 27. Couly-Dutheil Brut de Franc, Loire Valley. Very Good+. About $21.

Dec. 28. Champagne Paul Bara Brut Réserve. Excellent. About $45 to $50.

Dec. 29. Gustave Lorentz Crémant d’Alsace. Excellent. About $26.

Dec. 30. Champagne Jean Vesselle Brut Réserve. Excellent. About $44.75

Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Simonnet-Febvre Brut Blanc, Crémant de Bourgogne, Very Good+. About $15-$19.
Champagne Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, Excellent. About $45-$55.

Jan. 1, 2012, Domaine Achard-Vincent Clairette de Die Brut. Very Good. About $25.
André and Michel Quenard Savoie Brut, Very Good+. About $19-$25.

Jan. 2. Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Sublime Demi-Sec. Excellent. About $42.

Jan. 3. Champagne Michel Turgy Réserve Sélection Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. Excellent. About $52.

Jan. 4. Cuvée Stéphi Ebullience, Cremant de Limoux, Very Good+. About $20.

Jan 5, Twelfth Night. J.J. Vincent Crémant de Bourgogne. Very Good+. About $23.
Champagne Taittinger Prelude Brut. Excellent. About $90.
Champagne Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Brut. Excellent. About $140
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2010/2011
Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas Day. Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs Brut 2007, North Coast. Excellent. About $36.

Dec. 26. Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé, Crémant d’Alsace. Very Good+. About $16-$20.

Dec. 27. Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut. Excellent. About $65.

Dec. 28. Vigne Regali Cuvée Aurora Rosé, Alta Langa, Piedmont. Excellent. About $30.

Dec. 29. Iron Horse Brut Rosé 2005, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $50.

Dec. 30. Jaillance Brut Rosé, Crémant de Bordeaux. Very Good. About $17.
Chateau de Lisennes Brut, Crémant de Bordeaux. Very Good+. About $17.
Favory Brut, Crémant de Bordeaux. Excellent. About $16.50.

Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava, Spain. Very Good. About $10-$11.
Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco, Veneto, Italy, Very Good+. About $17-$20.
J Brut Rosé, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $35.
Champagne Rosé Premier Cru de Vve Fourny et Fils Vertus Brut. Excellent. About $55.

Jan. 1, 2011. Elyssian Gran Cuvée Brut, Spain. Very Good+. About $18.

Jan. 2. Graham Beck Brut; Graham Beck Brut Rosé, South Africa. Very+ for each. About $15-$18.

Jan. 3. Champagne Heidsieck & Co. Monopole “Blue Top” Brut. Excellent. About $35-$40.

Jan. 4. Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé 2006. Excellent. About $36.
Domaine Carneros Blanc de Noirs Brut 2006. Excellent. Available only at the winery.
Domaine Carneros Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs Brut 2004. Exceptional. About $85.

Jan. 5, Twelfth Night. Albinea Canali Ottocentonero, Lambrusco dell’Emilia. Very Good+. About $16.
Col Vetoraz Valdobbiadene Prosecco Brut. Very Good+. About $16.
Segura Viudas Brut Reserve Heredad Cava. Very Good+. About $15.
Paringa Sparkling Shiraz 2008, South Australia. Very Good+. About $10.
Lucien Albrecht Blanc de Blancs Brut, Cremant d’Alsace. Excellent. About $25.
Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs 2005, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $40.
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2009/2010
Dec. 25, 2009, Christmas Day. Dopff & Irion Crémant d’Alsace Brut. Very Good+. About $20.

Dec. 26. Champagne Guy Charlemagne Reserve Brut Blanc de Blancs. Excellent. About $65.

Dec. 27. Domaine Carneros Cuvee de la Pompadour Brut Rosé. Excellent. About $36.

Dec. 28. Hill of Content Sparkling Red. Very Good+. About $15

Dec. 29. Champagne Henriot Brut Rosé. Excellent. About $55-$65.

Dec. 30. Scharffenberger Brut, Mendocino County. Very Good+. About $18

Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Louis Perdrier Brut, France. Good+. About $9.
Jean-Baptiste Adam Crémant d’Alsace Brut, Very Good+, about $20.
Champagne Lamiable Brut Grand Cru, Excellent, about $50-$60.

Jan. 1, 2010. Egly-Ouriet “Les Vignes de Vrigny” Premier Cru Brut. Excellent. About $70.

Jan. 2. Bortolomiol Prior Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco, Veneto. Excellent. About $18.
Poema Cava Brut, Spain. Very Good+. About $13.
Finca La Linda Extra Brut, Argentina. Very Good+. about $15.

Jan. 3. Domaine du Closel Château des Vaults Brut Sauvage, Savennières, Loire Valley. Excellent. About $18.

Jan. 4. Champagne Haton & Fils Grand Reserve Brut, Excellent. About $55.
Haton et Fils Grand Reserve Blanc de Blancs Brut, Very Good+. About $55.
Haton & Fils “Cuvée René Haton” Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut, Excellent. About $62.

Jan. 5, Twelfth Night. i Stefanini Spumante Brut, Very Good+. About $16.
Mumm Napa Cuvee M. Very Good+. About $20.
Bortolomiol Filanda Rosé Brut Riserva 2007, Veneto. Very Good+. About $22.
Champagne Guy Charlemagne Brut Extra. Excellent. About $62.
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2008/2009
Dec. 25, 2008, Christmas Day. Wolfberger Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé. Very Good+. About $22.

Dec. 26. Mirabelle Brut, North Coast, California. Very Good+. About $22.

Dec. 27. Greg Norman Estates Australian Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Very Good+. About $18.

Dec. 28. Champagne A.R Lenoble Brut Nature. Excellent. About $35-$40.

Dec. 29. Patrick Bottex “La Cueille” Vin du Bugey-Cerdon. Very Good+. About $18-$24.

Dec. 30. J Cuvée 20 Brut, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County. Excellent. About $25-$28.

Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Domaine Laurier Brut, California, Very Good. About $12.
Rotari Rosé, Trento, Italy. Very Good+. About $14.
Champagne Taittinger Brut Millésimé 2002, Excellent. About $90.

Jan. 1, 2009. Champagne Roland Champion Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut. Exceptional, about $65.

Jan. 2. Dom Bertiol Proseccco Veneto. Very Good. About $16.

Jan. 3. Charles Duret Crémant de Bourgogne. Very Good+. About $20.

Jan. 4. Champagne G.H. Mumm’s Carte Classique. Excellent. About $35.

Jan. 5, Twelfth Night. Marcato i Prandi Durello, Lessini, Veneto. Very Good. About $16.
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2007/2008
Dec. 25, 2007. Champagne Pol Roger Reserve Brut. Excellent. About $60-$65.

Dec. 26. Champagne Laurent-Perrier Brut L-P. Excellent. About $36-$45.

Dec. 27. Maschio dei Cavalieri Prosecco di Valdobbiabene Brut, Veneto. Very Good+. About $20.

Dec, 28. Champagne Chartogne-Taillet Brut Cuvée Sainte-Anne. Excellent. About $45.

Dec. 29. Champagne Bruno Paillard Rèserve Privée Blanc de Blancs. Excellent. About $60.

Dec, 30. Taltani Brut Taché, Australia, Very Good+. About $22.
Clover Hill Brut 2003, Tasmania. Excellent. About $32.

Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Gruet Brut, New Mexico, Very Good+. About $16.
Schramsberg J. Schram Brut 2000, North Coast. Excellent. About $90.
Champagne Veuve Clicquot Reserve Rosé, Excellent. About $70-$75.

Jan. 1, 2008. Champagne A. Margaine Premier Cru Brut, Excellent. About $45-$50.

Jan. 2. Champagne José Dhondt “Mes Vieilles Vignes” Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. Excellent. About $70.

Jan. 3. Champagne Gosset Brut Excellence. Excellent. About $46.

Jan. 4. Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Ice Wine 2005, Niagara Peninsula, Canada. Excellent. About $85 for a half-bottle.

Jan. 5, Twelfth Night. Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2004, North Coast. Excellent. About $35.
Champagne Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. Excellent. About $45-$55.
Champagne Gosset Grande Reserve Brut. Excellent. About $63.
Champagne Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvée Rosé Brut. Excellent. About $75.
Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut. Excellent. About $80.
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Brut. Exceptional. About $110.
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No snark today; it’s my birthday! So what I offer are eight wines that we have enjoyed at home recently, mainly with lunches or dinners or standing in the kitchen preparing meals, with no — all right, very few — quibbles. It’s an eclectic group: white, rosé and red; still and sparkling, originating in Germany, Hungary, France, Oregon, Sonoma County and Napa Valley. Prices range from $11 to $45; ratings go from Very Good+ to Exceptional. No technical notes and details; just heart-felt reviews designed to spark your interest and whet your palate. These were all samples for review.
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Count Karolyi Grüner Veltliner 2011, Tolna, Hungary. 12% alc. 100% grüner veltliner grapes. Very pale straw-gold color; bone-dry, spare, lean, subtly infused with green apple, lime peel and a tang of spiced pear and grapefruit; powerful strain of oyster-shell-like/limestone minerality, but winsome and attractive. 523 cases imported. Very Good+. About $11, a Raving, Cosmic Bargain.
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River Road Nouveau Rosé of Pinot Noir 2012, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County. 12.5% alc. 100% pinot noir grapes. The first California wine from 2012 that I’ve tasted. Lovely pale watermelon color; pure strawberries and watermelon in the nose; soft, supple, almost shamelessly appealing; hints of dried cranberries and mulberries, pert, tart, laced with limestone; touch of orange rind and plum skin; slightly sweet on the intake, but the finish is dry. 240 cases. Absolute delight. Very Good+. About $15.
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Gustave Lorentz Crémant d’Alsace Rosé (nv), Alsace. 12.5% alc. 100% pinot noir grapes. Radiant medium salmon-copper color; a constant upward swirl of tiny bubbles, glinting silver in the dusky pink; striking aromas of macerated strawberries and raspberries with touches of cloves, orange zest and lime peel; very dry, very crisp, heaps of limestone and shale; yet creamy, supple, lots of body and heft, almost chewy; a long spice and mineral-laden finish. Production was 2,500 cases. Delectable and more. Very Good+. About $25.
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Domaine Chandon Reserve Brut (nv), 82% Sonoma County, 18% Napa County. 12.5% alc. Composition is 80% pinot noir, 20% chardonnay. Medium straw-gold color with a touch of bronze; a surging whirlwind of tiny bubbles; very biscuity, roasted hazelnuts, spiced pears; lightly buttered cinnamon toast; ginger and quince and a hint of baked apple; heaps of limestone-and-flint minerality, very steely, quite elegant yet with robust underpinnings; long spicy, toast-and-limestone packed finish. Very classy. 2,046 cases. Excellent. About $30.
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Cornerstone Chardonnay 2010, Willamette Valley, Oregon. 100% chardonnay grapes. Pale straw color; pungent with pineapple and grapefruit aromas tinged with honeysuckle, lemon zest, cloves, damp limestone and a touch of mango; lots of presence, lots of personality; lively, crisp, refreshing; dense, talc-like texture, almost chewy yet taut, chiming with acidity and a vibrant limestone-and-flint minerality. Quite stylish and attractive. 166 cases produced. Now through 2014 t0 ’16. Excellent. About $35.
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Villa Huesgen Enkircher Steffensberg Riesling Kabinett 2011, Mosel, Germany. 10% alc. 100% riesling grapes. Pale straw-gold color; delicate, lithe and lacy, crisp as an apple fresh from the cellar and slightly bitter and bracing as apple skin; whiff of some dewy white flower like camellia, traces of smoke and ripe lychee, peach skin and apricot; smells like summer, what can I say? so lively that it’s almost pétillant, burgeoning quality of limestone and shale, hints of roasted lemons and pears, but all subsumed to a sense of elegance and refinement married to the power of fluent acidity and scintillating minerality. Production was 2,000 cases. Just great. Now to 2020 to ’25. Excellent. About $40.
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Signorello Seta Proprietary White Wine 2011, Napa Valley. 14.4% alc. 62% semillon grapes, 38% sauvignon blanc. Takes risks with oak but pulls off the feat. Light straw-gold color; spicy figs and pears, dried thyme and tarragon, greengage plums, roasted lemons, guava and ginger: yeah, quite a bouquet, in which you also sense, as ink seeps into the graven lines of the etcher’s plate, the soft permeating burr of oak and woody spices, as well in the body of the wine; yet boy what presence and tone, clarity and confidence; a few minutes bring in notes of white peach and gooseberry, something wild and sunny and definitive; crisp acidity, a modicum of stony minerality. 177 cases. Now through 2015. Excellent. About $42.
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Pfendler Pinot Noir 2010, Sonoma Coast. 14.4% alc. 100% pinot noir grapes. A brilliant pinot noir; you want to hand yourself over to it. Dark ruby color with a slightly lighter violet-magenta rim; deliriously spicy and floral; black cherries, red currants and mulberries, just a hint in the background of something a little earthy and funky, very Burgundian in that aspect; super satiny texture but with a slightly roughed or sanded (as if were) surface — there’s a touch of resistance; a substantial pinot noir that fills the mouth, dense and intense; gains power as the moments pass; there’s an autumnal element: burning leaves, slightly dried moss, briers but overall gorgeous fruit. 200 cases. Among the best pinot noirs I tasted (or drank) in 2012. Now through 2016 to ’18. Exceptional. About $45.
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Except for Santa Lucia Highlands, which I’m still working on as some separate posts since I published this post on October 12. Represented today though are Russian River Valley, Monterey, Cienega Valley, Carneros, Sonoma Coast and Edna Valley, as well as one example with a general California designation; all are from 2010 or 2009. I don’t burden the “Weekend Wine Sips” (formerly the “Friday Wine Sips”) with technical detail, narrative sweep, personnel histories or geographical and geological grandeur; these are brief notes, often transcribed directly from the pages of my notebooks, designed to give you a quick glimpse into the essence of the wine. These were samples for review.

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Pietra Santa Pinot Noir 2009, Cienega Valley, San Benito. 14.3% alc. Medium ruby, slightly brickish color; ripe and spicy black and red cherries, cola and cloves and sassafras; a little fleshy, with hints of dried fruit and spices, earthy, loamy, satiny; you feel the sticks and briers in the slightly austere underbrushy finish, which falls a bit short. Drink up. Very Good+. About $18.
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Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2010, California. 13.5% alc. Medium ruby color; a pretty pinot noir, bright and spicy red with blue fruit scents and flavors, a pleasing smooth texture and plenty of smooth-grained tannins for structure. Through 2013. Very Good. About $19.
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La Crema Pinot Noir 2010, Monterey. 13.5% alc. (Jackson Family Wines) A real mouthful of pinot noir, rich and very berryish, dark, spicy; cranberry-magenta color; cherries galore, very clean, pure and intense, lipsmacking acidity, quite dry; the oak comes up a bit in the finish, but a well-made and appealing wine. Through 2013. Very Good+. About $20, representing Good Value.
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Toad Hollow Goldie’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010, Russian River Valley. 14.9% alc. Medium ruby-magenta color; black cherries, red currants and plums, nicely balanced between richness and spareness, touches of rhubarb and cloves; undertone of brown sugar or something slightly caramelized; smoke and satin, sweetly succulent yet dry, a little sanded and burnished in effect; an edge of foresty austerity through the finish. Through 2014. Very Good+. About $20, Excellent Value.
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Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2010, Russian River Valley. 14.5% alc. Dark ruby-mulberry color; beetroot, cloves, sassafras and coloa under black cherries and plums; satiny, slick and sleek; oak influence subdued to balance and integration; sapid, supple, savory; dense and almost viscous but cut by bright acidity and smooth-bore tannins; finish permeated by briers and brambles. Through 2014. Excellent. About $25.
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La Crema Pinot Noir 2010, Sonoma Coast. 13.9% alc. Medium ruby color; earthy, briery style, moss, mushroom, leather and the clove-cola-sassafras syndrome with black and red cherries and a hint of rhubarb; large-framed, dense, lithe, lively, pronounced tannins though polished and well-knit; succulent without being opulent; long fruit-and-spice packed finish with a final edge of graphite. Through 2015.
Excellent. About $25.
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MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir 2009, Sonoma Coast. 13.5% alc. Medium ruby-mulberry color; entrancing bouquet of currants and plums, smoky and softly ripe, a little fleshy, touches of fruitcake, rhubarb and lilac; slightly roughened tannins boost the texture; very dry though tasty; leather and loam in the finish where the wood comes up. Through 2013. Very Good+. About $27
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Frank Family Pinot Noir 2009, Carneros-Napa Valley. 14.5% alc. Medium ruby with a slightly lighter ruby rim; rich, warm and spicy, more syrah-like in heft and flavor than is good for its supposition as pinot noir; a muscular manner that blunts nuance. Very Good. About $35.

(Eight others follow)
(more…)

… or something like that. The Trim Edge and Fuse project represents a sideline for Napa Valley’s Signorello Estate winery, whose Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 I reviewed last week. Trim, Edge and Fuse, predominantly cabernet sauvignon, represent interesting variations on the theme of the grape treated for prices raging from cheap ($12) to moderate ($20) to moderately expensive ($28) while retaining an identifiable linking character, which is to say, polished and voluminously fruity yet intelligently structured. Interestingly, each wine contains some syrah. Grapes are sourced — that is, purchased — from the North Coast counties and, for Fuse, from Napa Valley. Alcohol levels are kept at a tolerable 13.8 percent. As you can see from the striking labels, these are stylish packages and stylish wines, but they don’t feel fraught or mannered.

These wines were samples for review.
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Trim Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, California, is a blend of 83 percent cabernet, 9 percent merlot and 8 percent syrah. The color is dark ruby-purple with a magenta-violet rim. The exotic bouquet teems with notes of smoke and lavender, cloves and sandalwood, cedar and dried thyme, blackberries and black currants and a hint of black olive. Flavors are pure black currants and black raspberries circumscribed by a distinct contour of spice, smoke, dried flowers and graphite and are supported by velvety (but not opulent) tannins and a backbone of bright acidity. A real crowd-pleaser. Very Good+. About $12, a Great Value. In fact, I would say that Trim ’10 is one of the best cabernet sauvignon wines priced under $15 made in California.
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The black-clad Edge Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, North Coast, like the hipster of this trio, is all smoke and charcoal and cool graphite, while sporting an opaque ruby-purple haircut, I mean color, and intense and concentrated scents and flavors of deeply spiced and macerated black currants, cherries and raspberries. To 86 percent cabernet sauvignon is blended 9 percent syrah and 5 percent merlot. Though it’s more velvet glove than iron fist, the wine offers enough tannic, acid and oak foundation and framing to keep it on the straight and narrow path. It’s a real mouthful of dark savory supple cabernet that would be terrific with braised short ribs or lamb shanks. Very Good+. About $20.
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We would hope, if not expect, that the most expensive of these three wines and the one that derives from the most specific appellation — though amorphous enough — would display the most intensity and concentration and the most character. Fuse Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Napa Valley, does not disappoint in those aspects. Here, we get substantially more syrah — 15 percent — blended with 82 percent cabernet and only 3 percent merlot. This is indeed the biggest of these cousins, the sturdiest, the most dense and chewy, the earthiest, the most rigorous in its licorice and bittersweet chocolate-licked blaze of black and blue fruit scents and flavors. Drink now with a steak or give it a year. Excellent. About $28.
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In the deep backward and absym of time, I used to receive samples from Robert Mondavi Winery, usually twice a year in the form of a case of new releases. After Constellation bought Robert Mondavi at the end of 2004, though, for whatever reason, I stopped receiving samples from the winery; was it something I said, or perhaps it had to do with my switching from a weekly newspaper column to my own website (the old KoeppelOnWine.com, which operated from December 2004 to April 2008). In any case, I was happy to open a two-bottle box recently delivered to my threshold and find the Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2010 and Pinot Noir 2010. Even more happily, the wines are terrific models of their kind, and while the products featured in “Pairs of Great Wines” are often rare and expensive, these represent high quality for not exorbitant prices and are widely available. Director of winemaking for Robert Mondavi is Genevieve Janssens.
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I found the Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2010, Napa Valley, entrancing, and of course it didn’t hurt that the wine is an example of precisely what I want chardonnay to be: stony and steely but with plenty of tasty fruit and chiming acidity and a texture that balances lushness with litheness. So, there’s the review right there, but I’ll expand on the theme a bit so you’re familiar with the technical thinking behind it. Seventy-seven percent of the juice was fermented in French oak barrels, 15 percent new, with the remaining 23 percent fermented in stainless steel tanks; these lots aged for 10 months on the lees, that is, the residue of used-up yeast cells, a process that can add depth and character to a wine. The color is radiant pale gold; aromas of ripe pineapple and grapefruit open to notes of baked pear, ginger and quince and hints of jasmine and limestone; a hint of mango adds complexity. In the mouth, this chardonnay at first is spare, almost lean with its dominant limestone and steel qualities and vibrant acid nature, but the citrus and stone fruit flavors offer burgeoning spice and smoke over a mounting oak presence (from mid-palate back) that contributes firmness and a pleasing, almost powdery finish. 13.5 percent alcohol. Now through 2014. Excellent. About $20, marking Great Value.
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My first note on the Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir 2010, Carneros, Napa Valley, is “absolutely beautiful.” The wine spent only seven months in French oak, 34 percent new barrels, so the wood influence is almost subliminal, yet it’s there, shapely and suavely spicy. The color is dark ruby with a mulberry-magenta cast. Aromas of smoky black and red cherries are infused with cola and cloves, pomegranate and rhubarb, all singing over bass-notes of slightly earthy briers and brambles. In the mouth, ripe and spicy black and red fruit flavors (and a touch of dried fruit) exist in complete harmony with the wine’s super-satiny texture, but this is no kissy-face pushover; instead, the Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir 2010, Carneros, Napa Valley, avoids plushness or opulence through the agency of bright acidity and the presence of finely-knit tannins. Above all, the impression is of a lovely marriage of spareness and elegance in the service of delicious pinot noir authenticity. 14.5 percent alcohol. Now through 2015. Excellent. About $27.
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Generally when we think of a wine to drink with pizza, we conjure a fairly simple, light-hearted but flavorful red wine with the sort of bright acidity that will stand up to the acid in tomatoes or tomato-based sauce, not that all pizzas involve some form of tomatoes, but many do. That’s why Chianti is a pretty natural choice for pizza (and pasta dishes) or non-blockbuster zinfandel or some of the inexpensive reds blends produced all over California, wines that aren’t too tannic or oaky. On the other hand, I receive many samples of wine every week, and sometimes, on a whim, I’ll open a bottle of an Important Impressive Red Wine for Pizza-and-Movie Night, a gesture I made recently in conjunction with a fairly unusual pizza topped with fresh figs, bacon, basil, green onions and a little mozzarella. This was wonderful.

The wine in question was no “fairly simple, light-hearted” quaff. Instead, the Signorello Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Napa Valley, is an ambitious, profoundly structured limited edition cabernet sauvignon (with 12 percent cabernet franc) that would seem to exist in a world apart from a Saturday night pizza, but, you know, it was there, and surprisingly and happily the wine and the pizza turned out to be perfect for each other.

The Signorello Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 aged 20 months in French oak, 52 percent new barrels. The color is dark ruby with a hint of radiant violet at the rim. Aromas of lavender, violets and graphite are etched with charcoal and bittersweet chocolate, amid notes of intense and concentrated black currants, black raspberries and plums that after a few moments in the glass take on a spicy, macerated and slightly fleshy aspect; yes, it’s a tremendously attractive and seductive bouquet from which I found it difficult to tear myself away, but one must taste the wine too. Dense, dusty, velvety tannins coat the mouth and support precisely delineated black and blue fruit flavors that unfold in layers of sandalwood and mocha, cedar and loam, all enlivened by bright acidity and a distant mineral edge. The sense of proportion and balance, the character of detail and dimension in this cabernet reflect the quality of the grapes from which it was made as well as thoughtful and careful winemaking. Even as an hour or so passed, and the wine took on some austerity and more earthiness in the finish, we continued to enjoy it with the fig and bacon pizza. 14.7 percent alcohol. Drink through 2020 to ’24. Production was 381 cases. Excellent. About $75.

How did a wine of such scope and intensity manage a blissful marriage with a fig, bacon and basil pizza? Somehow the sweetness and earthiness of the roasted figs elicited a hint of sweetness and ripeness from the wine, while the currant and plum flavors added shades of succulence to the already sweet and savory figs. The savory, smoky meatiness of the bacon reflected similar nuances in the wine. Or perhaps I’m over-thinking the whole scheme; the wine and the pizza were terrific together; we can leave it at that.

A sample for review. The label image is one year off; the wine under review is the 2009.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness …

When John Keats wrote these opening lines of “Endymion,” he was thinking of the Platonic and transcendental beauty of nature, not a bottle of wine, though he wrote some fine, brief descriptions of wine here and there in his body of work, notably in the second stanza of “Ode to a Nightingale,” where he calls for “a draught of vintage! that hath been/Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth…” Later in this stanza, he calls again, ecstatically: “O for a beaker full of the warm South,/Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,/With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,/And the purple-stained mouth …” I taught this poem for years in the second semester of English Literature survey, and every time I read those lines, I thought, “Damnit! I want some of that wine!”

Unfortunately, unlike the endlessly melodic and unchanging song of the nightingale — “Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!” — a bottle of wine is not immortal, though some wines are capable of aging into mature beauty. In fact, Keats hits on both of the themes that have dominated the world’s wine industry since the ancient times of the wine-loving Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, and that is that some wines are intended to cool their heels “a long age in the deep-delved earth” until they attain a plateau of subtlety and nuance, while other wines, “with beaded bubbles winking at the brim,/And purple-stained mouth,” something like 95 percent of all wine produced in the world, are meant for more or less immediate consumption. In the wine-reviewing business, we don’t often have the opportunity to try those lovely, old, fully developed wines — and we are jealous of those who do — because our focus is on wines in current release, which we taste too young and have to evaluate more in terms of potential — “Best from 2016 or ’17 through 2025 or ’27″ — than for their ability to deliver pleasure in the present. The truth, though, is that nowadays many winemakers are producing wines, particularly reds of course, intended to be drinkable soon after release as well as 15 or 20 or more years later.

Paradoxically, and perhaps perversely, the wine that inspired this post was not a fine old vintage — though I’ll get to a few of those in a different post soon — but a just released cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley, a region widely and justly acclaimed as having one of the best climates and geographies for the grape. The wine is the St. Clement Oroppas Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley, a blend of 87 percent cabernet sauvignon, 10 percent merlot, 2 percent petit verdot and 1 percent cabernet franc that aged 19 months in French oak, 75 percent new barrels. Winemaker is Danielle Cyrot. A portion of the grapes for Oroppas ’08 came from the valley floor, in Rutherford, but the majority derived from higher altitudes in Diamond Mountain, Howell Mountain, Spring Mountain and Mount Veeder.

The color is pure intense dark red-ruby, while the bouquet presages the perfect balance and harmony that characterize the wine; no edges here, no risks, just the sheer beauty of a wine that’s so totally poised and integrated. Aromas of licorice, lavender and potpourri, warm and slightly roasted and meaty black currants, black cherries and a touch of wilder mulberry are permeated by hints of cedar and thyme, graphite and bittersweet chocolate. Yes, there are tannins and they grow more powerful or at least evident over 20 or 30 minutes, but they’re tannins of the finely milled, minutely sifted variety, sleek and suave as the oak influence on the wine is sleek and suave and almost invisible. Who said that oak should be like the Holy Spirit, everywhere present but nowhere visible? Why, that was me! And so it is here! I mean, the wine soaked up that oak and turned it into another dimension. This cabernet sauvignon is, in other words, an absolutely lovely, pure and intense expression of the grape, delivering the immediate gratification that’s so important for consumers in these times yet possessing enough backbone and grip and earthy minerality — and nothing overdone, nothing too ripe or opulent — to allow the finish its quiet and slightly demanding moments of dignity and austerity. 14.9 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2018 to ’22. Excellent. About $55.

Why did this wine inspire the post you’re reading now?

To corral another poet to my purpose, Wallace Stevens, in “Sunday Morning,” one of the greatest poems written in the 20th Century, said “Death is the mother of beauty.” Though that sentence sounds like a grim sentence indeed, Stevens means that beauty is born of its inherently fragile and inevitably ephemeral character. We value beauty all the higher because its very nature embodies its impermanence, its decline and final dissolution. Keats’ nightingale is not immortal in the individual bird; they all die, but the identical song lives on in each generation of nightingales. The greatest wines ever made — Margaux 1900, Mouton-Rothschild ’29, Cheval Blanc ’47, Petrus ’49, Lafite ’59, Latour ’82 — however extravagantly lauded and loved will soon be gone from this ever-changing earth, faded, weakened, cracking up, fled, departed. That G. Roumier Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1998 that you’ve been holding onto like Silas Marner his hoard of gold (a wine that shook me to the core when I tasted it from barrel in December 1999, as it happens on my birthday); drink it, my friend, because it will soon go the way of the dodo and the passenger pigeon. That last bottle of Heitz Martha’s Vineyard ’74 in your cellar, you lucky bastard (depending on its condition, of course)? Gather your loved ones, roast a chicken, sit down together and eat and drink. It will not last much longer nor was it meant to.

St. Clement Oroppas 2008 is an absolutely gorgeous wine, fine and beautiful in every small detail and broad stroke, and when we drank it, we felt privileged. I would love to try the wine again in 10 years. It is not immortal, nor does it stand among the greatest cabernet wines ever produced. It was made for pleasure, both now and through the next decade, and that is a goal and accomplishment not to be disparaged, and a great deal of its pleasure lies in what Keats, so wise for one so young — he was 25 when he died of tuberculosis in Rome in 1821 — wrote about in another poem, “Ode on Melancholy.” Melancholy, he wrote, “dwells with Beauty — Beauty that must die;/And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips/Bidding adieu…” Dissolution and decay dwell with the beauty of great wines, and tasting them, drinking that lambent, plangent liquor, we feel the death inside them and the beauty, and we are made glad.

Image of John Keats from Bettmann/Corbis; image of dusty old wine bottles from rapgenius.com. The St. Clement Oroppas 2008 was a sample for review.

Yesterday was World Cabernet Day, but I extend the concept to today’s “Friday Wine Sips” because I have a boodle of cabernet sauvignon wines or blends on hand. Here are 15, from 2009, ’8 and ’07, mainly from Napa Valley and Sonoma County but also an example from Lake County and two from Lodi. In fact, this column serves as a transition or segue to September, which for some reason has been designated California Wine Month. A couple of these wines I am lukewarm about — there’s even a “Not Recommended” — but 10 receive an Excellent rating. I haven’t done a “Friday Wine Sips” in two weeks, so I’ll remind My Readers that these brief, incisive, insightful reviews eschew technical data and historical, personal and geographical narrative for the sake of getting to the essence. All of these wines were samples for review.

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Mettler Family Vineyards Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Lodi. 15.3% alc. With 8% petite sirah, 4% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot. Unpalatably sweet, hot and jammy, but alternately brusquely tannic and austere; a zinfandel lollipop gone to the dark side. What were they thinking? Not recommended. About $25.
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Mettler Family Vineyards Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Lodi. 14.9% alc. With 8% petite sirah, 2% cabernet franc. This is better or at least a bit more under control; very dark ruby-purple hue; yes, still big, rich, fruity and jammy — European palates avoid! — very spicy, very brambly and briery, brilliantly-etched black fruit with a blueberry tart edge, a velvet fist in a velvet glove but still more granite and flint minerality and bright acidity for backbone than the rendition of 2008. Now through 2015 to ’17. Very Good. About $25.
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Hess Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Napa Valley. 14.4% alc. With 9% petite sirah. Dark ruby-purple color; makes a fetish of its deep flint-graphite, iodine-iron character that gradually yields to notes of cassis and blueberry and plums laved with smoke, lavender and licorice; a few minutes bring in potpourri, mulberry and a touch of pomegranate, all ensconced in a dense, chewy texture freighted with finely-milled tannins. Now through 2016 or ’17. Excellent. About $28.
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Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Red Hills, Lake County. 14.3% alc. With 3% each cabernet franc and petit verdot. Sleek and scintillating, notably clean and fresh, a powerhouse of spicy black and blue fruit scents and flavors tempered by layers of earthy, dusty graphite and plush finely-milled mineral-laced tannins dressed out with vibrant acidity; comes close to being elegant, even as it conceals a truckload of coiled energy. Definitely needs a steak. Excellent. About $30.
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Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sonoma Valley. Jackson Family Wines. 15.5% alc.(!) Pure and intense, a bright arrow of granitic minerality, very tight, very concentrated, very ripe and spicy; does it really need so much toasty, vanilla-laced oak? I don’t think so. 250 cases. Very Good+. About $35.
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Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Napa Valley. Jackson Family Wines. 14.5% alc. Cabernet sauvignon 79%, merlot 14%, petit verdot 5%, malbec 1%. Dark ruby shading to medium ruby; lovely bouquet, cedar, lead pencil, tobacco, black currants and cherries with a touch of plum; but tough as nails; here’s the iron fist, where’s the velvet glove? very spicy, a little tart, finish is boldly tannic and austere. Try maybe from 2014 through 2017 to 2020. Very Good+. About $40.
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Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley. 14.4% alc. Almost opaque dark ruby color; briers and brambles, cedar, thyme and leather; spiced and macerated black and blue fruit, dredged with dried spice and potpourri; buttresses of fine-meshed tannins and granitic minerality; moody and brooding, a note of tar and sweet oak; feel the power waiting to be unleashed. Try 2013 or ’14 through 2018 to ’20. Excellent. About $40.
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The Silverado Trail winds through the bucolic eastern side of the Napa Valley, a 29-mile long road that was created as a wagon trail in 1852 to link the cinnabar mines on Mount St. Helena with the shipping outlet of San Pablo Bay. The palisades of the Vaca range lie just east of Silverado Trail, which runs parallel to state Highway 29 a few miles to the west, the main road that runs up the center of the valley through Napa city, the small but important towns of Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford, to St. Helena and up to Calistoga in the north. Compared to the carnival atmosphere of Highway 29, especially on weekends, Silverado remains quiet and isolated, a reminder of the valley’s rural days.

Warren Winiarski arrived in the Napa Valley in the late 1960s, a political science professor from Chicago whose interest in wine had been piqued when he studied in Italy. He apprenticed himself at Souverain Cellars and Robert Mondavi Winery before buying 45 acres in 1970, between Silverado Trail and the Stag’s Leap formation, in what is now Stags Leap District, the little red area on the accompanying map. He was persuaded to do so after tasting the homemade cabernet sauvignon of Nathan Fay, produced from his vineyard next to the land that Winiarski eventually purchased. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars produced its first wine — 400 cases — in 1972, but it was the 1973 bottling that changed everything. (Consultant in the early days was the highly influential André Tchelistcheff, mastermind behind the Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.) That 1973 vintage of cabernet sauvignon, from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard, was chosen for the famous and infamous Paris Tasting of 1976, in which the wines of two obscure fledgling wineries, little known even in California, prevailed against the best estates of Burgundy and Bordeaux. The other triumphant wine was the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973, made by Mike Grgich.

Winiarski coined the well-known phrase “iron fist in velvet glove” to describe the cabernet sauvignon wines from his Stag’s Leap Vineyard, a handy rubric for a character that combines a granitic quality with a plush texture. Indeed an almost feral iron-iodine element runs through all of the SLV wines that I encountered on a recent sponsored visit to the winery, where the group I was with tasted the 1979, ’83, ’93, 2003 and 2007, ’08 and ’09. The winery produces an SLV in every year, a Cask 23 wine only in the best vintages, and a Fay wine from the vineyard that Winiarski acquired in 1986. (This image of the Fay Vineyard looks east toward the Vaca palisade and the promontory from which the legendary stag is supposed to have leapt.)

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars — not to be confused with Stags’ Leap Winery, the position of those apostrophes the result of a lawsuit — thrived not only as a result of winning the Paris tasting but because of the quality of its cabernets and chardonnays, being regarded as one of the great Old School Napa Valley wineries, along with Heitz, Beaulieu, Caymus, Robert Mondavi, Freemark Abbey, Clos du Val, Beringer, Charles Krug, Montelena and others. Stag’s Leap, however, seemed to get lost in the shuffle as newer, heavily financed producers came along in the late 1980s and the 1990s and achieved the status of cult cabernet-makers in the hearts of well-heeled collectors. Perhaps the Stag’s Leap wines lost a shade of dimension and depth. In any case, Winiarski sold the winery, in 2007, to a partnership of Washington state’s Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Tuscany’s Marchesi Piero Antinori.

Vineyard manager for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is Kirk Grace; winemaker, now in her 12th harvest, is Nicki Pruss.

On a side note, my first encounter with a wine from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, oddly, was not one of its vaunted cabernets but the Gamay
Beaujolais 1981, which I purchased for $6.99 and drank on November 5 and 6, 1983. It was quite charming, but I have never seen so-called “gamay beaujolais” mentioned on any product list for the winery, so I assume the attention it received was short-lived. Anyway, it turns out that gamay beaujolais was actually the French valdiguié grape; the term “gamay beaujolais” was banned on labels of American wine after April 2007.

Map of Napa Valley wine appellations from napanow.com. Image of Warren Winiarski from napawinelibrary.com.

Here are my notes on seven vintages of cabernets from the Stag’s Leap Vineyard, later abbreviated as SLV on labels, tasted at the winery.
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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars SLV 1979, Napa Valley. The vines were only nine years old when this wine was made; the wine aged 15 months in a mixture of French and American oak barrels. A dollop of merlot, 1.5 percent. The color is medium ruby-garnet with perfect clarity and transparency, in the old sense. The bouquet is warm and spicy and inviting, a gratifying amalgam of crushed and macerated black and red currants and plums with mint and iodine and graphite and hints of tobacco, cedar and soy sauce. The wine is well-knit, smooth and balanced, though vibrant acidity is a bit prominent; it grows more complex, more vigorous as the minutes pass, adding touches of celery seed, candied fennel and lightly roasted plums or fruitcake, and the tannins seem to expand in volume too, though they are soft and moderately plush. Altogether a lovely wine at 33 years old and with some life, say five to seven years, ahead. 12.9/13 percent alcohol. Excellent. Price at the time: $15; seen on the Internet for $180.

It’s fascinating to read James Laube’s evaluation of this wine in California’s Great Cabernets: The Wine Spectator’s Ultimate Guide for Consumers, Collectors and Investors, published in 1989. He first writes, briefly, that that 1979 SLV “has an off, mossy quality.” In the principle review, he says: “This wine has never appealed to me — it tastes extremely dry and tannic without much in the way of fruit or charm. Drink 1990,” and he gives the wine a rating of 68 on the 100-point scale. As you can see by my notes, the wine must have shed its theoretically detrimental qualities, smoothed out those tannins, gained fruit and blossomed into something wonderful.
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SLV 1983. Poured from a 1.5-liter magnum. The color is radiant medium ruby with a light garnet-tinged rim. Again there’s that touch of mint and iodine, but the wine displays slightly less graphite or granite-like minerality; it is, on the other hand, slightly cooler, detached and more elegant than the ’79 discussed previously. On the other hand, again, even after 30 or 40 minutes in the glass, this example, anyway, did not offer quite the depth or complexity of the ’79, though it was still a lovely wine. Flavors of slightly macerated and stewed red and black currants are ensconced in a sizable, mouth-filling structure dominated by potent, even pregnant tannins that assert a dense and gritty presence. The finish brings in that back-note of slightly caramelized fennel. Drink now through 2020 to 2023. Very Good+. Price at the time: $18.
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SLV 1993. Poured from a 1.5-liter magnum. The wine aged 18 months in French oak barrels; there’s five percent petit verdot in the blend. A dark ruby color sports a slightly lighter ruby hue at the rim. Here’s a cabernet that feels, at 19 years old, whole, complete, authentic and essential. The wine is remarkably lively and vibrant, ringing with the resonance of its iron-and-graphite-like minerality, its fleet acidity and its dense, intense, pervasive, chewy tannins; in other words, it performs like a youngster, and while the wine could profitably be consumed now, it has many years ahead to develop and mature, say from 2020 to 2030. No kidding. Excellent. Original price: $40.
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SLV 2003. From an unpredictable year, with early heat spikes followed by the rainiest April on record, Stag’s Leap produced a gorgeous cabernet sauvignon for SLV. The color is solid ruby with a dark, almost opaque center and a shading toward magenta at the rim. The wine aged a whopping 27 months in French oak; a dab of merlot totals 1.2 percent. This is a deeply fruity, spicy and vibrant wine that draws you in with its power and vitality; SLV ’03 is profoundly minerally in the earthy, graphite, iodine-and-iron range, with attendant dense, dusty, leathery tannins, yet the wine is exquisitely detailed with hints of cedar and sage, celery seed and black olive, crushed black currants, plums and mulberries, all drawn out to a long finish packed with loam and underbrush. The alcohol content is a comfortable 14.1 percent. Drink now through 2030 to ’35. Excellent. About $110.
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SLV 2007. A contradictory year — some winemakers said that it was like having two or three different years in one — that turned into a great vintage for cabernet sauvignon. SLV ’07 is 100 percent cabernet; it aged 24 months in French oak, 88 percent new barrels. The color is dark ruby with a purple-violet rim and an opaque center. Young as it is, as rigorous as the tannins are, the wine almost gushes with black and blue fruit scents and flavors that would edge close to being rich and jammy if not held in check by those finely-tuned, well-oiled tannins, by vibrant acidity and by a granite/graphite/iron character of magnificent proportions. Despite the profundity, though, despite the monumentality, the wine is precisely balanced and poised, and it’s edged by delicate details of mulberry, ancho chili, bitter chocolate, sage and lavender. 14.5 percent alcohol. Best from 2013 or ’14 through 2030 to 2037. Exceptional. About $125.
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At the Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2012, the Napa Valley Vintners Association presented a tasting of some of the top Napa cabernet sauvignon wines from 2002. This event precipitated happiness in many hearts and minds and palates, first, because most people don’t get many opportunities to taste 10-year-old cabernets, and, second, because 2002 was an excellent vintage that produced wines of intensity and concentration, depth and complexity, though with fairly prominent tannins; the year suffers a bit in comparison to 2001, which with its magnificent purity, dimension and balance is one of the best vintages in California’s history. Forget that quibble though; this little tasting was fun, even with what seemed like 100 people gathered in a hotel room, all reaching for the bottles arrayed on a table. These are going to be quick mentions rather than full reviews. The order is that of my tasting; no hierarchy is involved. The prices cited are average for the country. Mainly limited in production, these are not cheap wines, but benchmarks never are.

1. Far Niente. Deep purple color, opaque at the center; very lively, spicy and earthy; dense chewy velvety tannins; burgeoning hints of lavender, black licorice and bittersweet chocolate; powerful intensity and concentration yet deliriously sensuous on the tongue. Best from now through 2018 to ’22. Excellent. About $144.

2. Heitz Martha’s Vineyard. I’m not always a fan of this wine, but for 2002 I think it’s fabulous. Beautiful balance, a sort of sweet aching poise between sheer sizable presence and lovely detailing; tannic, yes, but rolling and finely tuned, the pent energy of an XKE at idle; graphite, iron and iodine; deep, dense, chewy but with a high polish and intensely concentrated sweet black fruit. Now through 2020 to ’22. Exceptional. My first favorite. About $125.

3. Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve. Profound in every sense; profoundly deep and earthy, profoundly iron-like in minerality with a modicum of the compensating velvet element; very dry, a trove of dusty, slightly leathery tannins; lacks the Lafite-like surface sheen that BV Private Reserve offers at its best. Give it a couple more years and then drink through 2018 to ’22. Very Good+. About $96.

4. Opus One. Pretty damned fathomless in its depth of dense dusty earthy and brooding tannins and granitic mineral qualities; imposing, majestic in black drapery but a little truculent; pretty damned unyielding even at almost 10 years; glimmers of intense and concentrated black fruit etched with spice and flowers, but I wouldn’t try until 2014 or ’15 and then drink through 2020 or ’24. Very Good+ with Excellent potential. About $250.

5. Spottswoode Estate. Black cherry and plum compote, a bit fleshy and roasted, broad and deep earthy and iron-like mineral influence but sleek and burnished; finely-milled tannins, somehow both hard and soft; a sense of intensity and compactness leaking into expansiveness and generosity; absolutely beautiful cabernet. Now — please with a steak — through 2018 to 2022. Exceptional. My second favorite. About $206.

6. Dyer Diamond Mountain. Whoa, unlimber the backhoe for these huge, impenetrable tannins; perhaps the most intense and concentrated of this selection of Napa Valley cabs from 2002; no denying its brilliantly dynamic character, its revelation of the pungent and pregnant darkness of the grape, but I wouldn’t touch it until 2014 or ’15. I’ll speculate a potential rating of Excellent, but for now Very Good+. About $62.

7. Corison. It’s testimony to the fine character of the wine and perhaps to the affection and regard with which Cathy Corison is held, but this was the first bottle at the tasting to be consumed, much to the consternation of those waiting eagerly in line. Again, a cab monumental in structure, truly so resonant and dynamic that it practically shimmers in the glass, though the energy is tempered somewhat by the authoritative yet gentle proportion and balance of its all elements. Remarkable purity, intensity and grace. Now or 2013 through 2018 to ’22. Excellent. My third favorite. About $95 and, considering the company, Great Value.

8. Pride Reserve. Wrong about #6; the Pride Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the biggest, hugest and most enormously tannic, mineral-laden, the most intense and concentrated of these wines. Will it ever soften and mature and allow the fruit to come forward? I’m not certain about that. No rating; just wait, patiently, as for Godot, drinking other wines to pass the time. About $207.

9. Spring Mountain Elivette Reserve. Oh damn, oh joy; what a beautiful cabernet. Polished and sleek, deep, dark and spicy; the iron and iodine and slightly minty syndrome happily married to gushing black currant, black cherry and plum fruit bolstered by massive, hard-edged yet paradoxically velvety tannins and a smoldering core of potpourri, lavender, black pepper and ancho chili. Wonderful purity and intensity. Best from 2014 through 2020 to ’24. Exceptional and my fourth favorite, I mean chronologically in the tasting. About $94, and relatively speaking Good Value, meaning that it doesn’t cost $250.

10. Robert Mondavi Oakville District. Another beauty cloaked in monumental tannins; spiced, macerated and slightly roasted black and blue fruit scents and flavors; perfectly balanced in terms of all elements and a wine that for its size and power and resonance feels suave and elegant; no mistaking those austere tannins on the finish, though, or that sweet loamy earthiness. Now through 2018 to ’20. About $40, and the Bargain of this Bunch.

11. Chateau Monetelena The Montelena Estate. I have tasted several of these Montelena Estate cabernets from the late 1990s and early 2000s, and this rendition is easily the most daunting and demanding of them all. This is a huge, multi-dimensioned wine in every sense, and yet, because great wines always present themselves as a series of unfolding paradoxes, it offers lovely details of fruit and spice and dried flowers that one could almost call winsome, and, funny, when I first typed that word, I wrote “wisdom.” A fruitful slip of the fingers, since great wines also embody the wisdom of their vineyards and the soil from which the vines sprang forth. Try from 2014 or ’15 through 2022 to ’25. Excellent. About $122.