Still youthful and potent this is very rich and concentrated with layers of currant black cherry and blackberry fruit that's well-defined. This is still quite tannic yet it's deftly balanced finishing with a long persistent finish. Easily the best of four bottles tasted.--1996 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2014. –JL

The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful concentrated dense ruby/purple-colored wine. Full-bodied and muscular it exhibits copious quantities of black currant fruit intermixed with blackberries minerals cedar and Chinese black tea-like notes. The tannin is sweet in a vintage where this component can be slightly coarse. It can be drunk now or aged for 25 years. Tel. (707) 944-2676; Fax (707) 944-8411