91+ From the home appellation, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap has an intriguing nose of black cherries, black currants, lead pencil shavings and a subtle dosage of wood spice. Medium to full-bodied, with good underlying structure largely concealed by rich cassis fruit and a cedary, spicy, floral note, it is a well-balanced, beautifully made wine to drink over the next 15 or more years.

Starting out with complex, deeply filled aromas of cassis, cherries, sweet oak and tea leaves, this carefully crafted Cabernet follows with like-minded flavors that are complex, keenly focused and show great extension. If never a dramatic wine or an especially bold one, it wins high marks for its continuity and insistence, and it joins those deftly made bottlings whose lengthy lifelines come from composition rather than sheer power.

Well-crafted to offset both the ripe, suppleness of the plum and blackberry fruit yet benefit from the structure the acidity and tannins provide, finishes with a roasted herb and savory edge that is drying. Drink now through 2019. 1,376 cases made. –JL