In this wine honoring his wife Francis Ford Coppola has extended yet again the range and reach of his substantial wine interests. With grapes drawn from his holdings in the north coast he has followed the Aussie model of blending these varieties into a rich supple and succulent wine and in so doing has eschewed the directives of the "new paradigm" crowd. While never a wine that goes over the top so too is this deeply drafted effort not a bottling that relies on restraint and limited intensity. Luscious at every stop it smells and tastes of currants black cherries black pepper and caramelized vanilla is full and nicely mouthfilling on the palate and finishes with fine-grained tannins that will hold it in good stead for years to come.

Ripe layered and structured with floral scents to the pure dark berry spice and cedar notes ending with a measure of elegance and grace amid fine-grained minerally tannins. This has all the goods in all the right places borrowing the best from Sonoma (72 percent) and Napa (28 percent). Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2025. 1986 cases made. -JL