Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a high end Napa Cabernet.  It needs some time, but it is quite good.  The retail is $95, so certainly it is not within everyone's budget.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis and chocolate.  Also a bit of graphite.  On the palate, those flavors carry through.  The fruit is pretty ripe.  Lots of black raspberry and plum fruit.  Slight heat on the finish that I suspect will calm down with some bottle age.  This should improve by a point or two with a few years in the cellar and be good for a decade after.  Will work with heavier foods and on its own.  

This is a wine bar that makes wine from juice brought in from around the world in Cleveland, Ohio.  This particular wine is their answer to the popular Christmas Ale beers.  While it may appeal to those beer lovers, it can not be recommended as a serious wine.  Fun, sure.  Made from Cabernet Sauvignon juice.  Its all about cinnamon, cloves and oranges.  Some heat.  One sip is plenty.  Kudos to them for trying, but let someone buy you a glass and then split it among a few people.  Retails for $30.  

Purple in color.  The nose has plenty of cassis, some cedar, and slight cigar tobacco.  On the palate, this is big ripe cassis fruit.  A bit of mint on the palate as well.  Some spice.  Firm tannins.  This needs a few years and should be good for another ten or more.  This needs big food and will work well on its own.  If drinking in the next few years, give it a few hour decant.  Definitely some upside potential.  

Not to be confused with the wine of the same name from the Valley floor in Oak Knoll, this is from Atlas Peak and is mountain fruit.  This is a step up in quality and price.  Inky purple in color.  Very concentrated.  The nose has cassis, dark chocolate graphite and char.  On the palate, this is tannic.  Concentrated cassis flavors.  Fine tannins.  It opens in the glass but could use some time/decanting.  Nice balance.  Good finish.  A polished wine that should improve for the next five years.  Will work on the dinner table or on its own.  $85 retail.  

From the Valley floor in Oak Knoll.  Purple in color.  The nose is nice with cassis, cherries and baking spices.  The palate has medium tannins.  Ripe cassis fruit and a bit of pepperyness.  Drinks great on its own but would work with heavier foods.  Drinks easy but there is some depth and should improve with some short term ageing.  Retails for $65.  

Purple in color.  This is drinking quite well now.  Pretty classic right bank but perhaps still a skosh more room to develop.  The nose is nice with cherries, some cassis, cigar box and chocolate shavings.  On the palate, this has nice cherries, not super ripe, but nothing green.  Undertones of tobacco and damp earth.  Good balance.  Drank over two nights and while different just as good on each night.  Will work with most foods.  Really everything you could want from this wine at this point.  

This is the basic Cabernet from Myriad, superstar winemaker Mike Smith's own winery.  This is in a great place and drinking great right now but has a long life ahead.  Big and full of fruit and power, but not over the top.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, slight char, baking spice and slight black cherries.  On the palate, lots of cassis and black cherries.  Also underlying minerality and char.  Medium tannins.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This needs heartier food and also drinks well on its own.  Delicious.  $60 retail is actually a good value for this level of Napa Cab.  Perhaps

This is an excellent wine.  A blend of 50% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot with grapes from Atlas Peak and Howell Mountain in Napa Valley.  Consumed over two days, this was better on Day 2.  Purple in color.  On day one, the nose shows black cherries, slight cedar and a clove/bitters quality to it that is very interesting.  On the palate, this is not a big, bold wine.  Rather, there are plenty of concentrated fruits, mostly cherries and black cherries with a slight bitterness (again in a good way) to it.  On Day 2 (re-corked and left on the counter), this wine really open

Monte Bello is one of the great wines of California.  87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc.  Though 2011 was a difficult vintage in most of California, Ridge hit a home run (again) with Monte Bello.  It might be drinking a bit earlier than other vintages, but it is a fantastic wine.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, cigar box, plums and char.  Very nice.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture that is lush and full bodied but not over the top.  Plenty of cassis and plum fruit with underlying earthiness and slight char.  Good finish.  Works with medium and heav

Purple in color.  The nose is very nice with cassis, a bit of barnyard, slight tobacco and dust.  On the palate, this seems to be at peak.  Plenty of fresh cassis fruit but some tertiary development is showing as layers of damp earth, and slight decayed vegetation (in a good way).  Tannins are just about resolved.  It did seem to improve slightly in a decanter as it opened up and blew off a bit of bottle stink.  Nice finish.  Worked well with a nice plate of pasta.  It won't get better from here, and these should probably be drunk in the next five to ten years depending on how you like you