The 2002 Cardinale Red Wine is a stunning blend of 88% Cabernet with the remainder Merlot. 26% of the fruit was sourced from the To Kalon Vineyard. This begins with exotic aromas of rose petals, red cherry and blackberry cobbler with coffee grounds. This has a marvelous combination of weight and tension. Blackberry pie, mocha, anise and creme de cassis flavors impress. Downright delicious, this has a long life for the cellar.

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The nose is a supple blueberry and licorice-soaked black cherry with dense layering of chocolate and notes of cranberry, forest floor. The palate entry is a subtle red fruit with a core of beautifully formed velvety, spiced cherry and polished blue plum. Impeccable layering of cedar, plum, spice, cherry and cocoa all wrapped up in seamless acidity.

The 2014 Cabernet Franc comes from younger vines and was brought up in 70% new French oak. While Cabernet Sauvignon gets all the love in the Valley, this beauty offers sensational notes of black raspberries, crème de cassis, crushed flowers, graphite, and hints of crushed rocks. Deep, layered, and concentrated, yet also pure, elegant and seamless, it’s a gorgeous wine that can be drunk anytime over the coming two decades.

Checking in as a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is another gorgeous wine from winemaker Chris Carpenter. Brought up in 90% new French oak, this classic, tight, focused beauty boasts sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, toasty oak, and ample minerality. These all flow to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, layered, tannic 2014 that has remarkable purity, impeccable balance, and a great, great finish. It’s classic, old-school, yet awesome Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that needs 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for 2-3 decades.

The massive wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot. This wine opens with a bouquet of coffee grounds, creme de cassis and dried herbs with a touch of blueberry cordial. This has a marvelous tension and weight. Creme de cassis, anise, mocha, blueberry compote and sandalwood flavors show impressively. The combination of weight and tension is marvelous here. Try to resist this gorgeous wine for at least another year.

The 2007 Cardinale Red Wine is a blend of 86% Cabernet with the remainder Merlot. This opens with aromatics of creme de cassis, coffee grounds, eucalyptus and wild thyme. The rich texture is outstanding here. Black fruits masquerade with chocolate and coffee notes alongside solid structure.

This is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot. This begins with aromas of black tea, blackberry jam and mocha with crushed mint. Massive and hugely dense, this shows mocha, black tea, graphite and creme de cassis flavors that sit alongside some nice tension. The mid-palate weight is intoxicating. The finish is extremely lengthy and generous, as this is just a spectacular showing by Cardinale.

The 2005 Cardinale Red Wine is silky blend of 88% Cabernet with 12% Merlot. This warm vintage wine opens with a bouquet of black tea, graphite, mocha and creme de cassis. The texture is voluptuous as you can feel the heat of the vintage. Mocha, sandalwood, Chinese black tea and blackberry jam flavors impress. Mineral driven and rich, this is a stunner by Chris Carpenter.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain is the most approachable, sexy and opulent of the 2014s and offers a gorgeous perfume of red and black currants, Asian spices, sandalwood, and white chocolate. This is a ripe, huge wine, yet it stays beautifully balanced and elegant, with no weight or rusticity, and it picks up a beautiful minerality with time in the glass. It's already impossible to resist yet is going to keep for three decades.

The wine is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder Merlot. The wine begins with aromas of black cherry, Turkish coffee and tar. The texture is highly compelling as the wine yields black cherry, black olive and Turkish coffee flavors. Rich and decadent this will cellar well for a decade or more. The wine is a show-stopper right now.

The 2012 Cardinale Red Wine is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot. This begins with aromas of anise, creme de cassis, black tea and mocha. Dense and layered there are ripe black tea, mocha, crushed mint and blackberry pie flavors. Massive and still young, this needs another year in the bottle to fully evolve. There is a wonderful sense of elegance in this wine.

The star of the show is clearly the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon which has everything you could want from a Mountain Cabernet. Cassis, blueberries, violets, leafy herbs, and graphite notes all emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated, yet plush, forward, incredibly sexy 2014. With no hard edges, impeccable balance, and a great finish, drink this beauty anytime over the coming 15+ years.

The 2014 La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon also includes a percentage of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, which were sourced from their Howell Mountain vineyard as well as the W.S. Keyes Vineyard. This begins with seductive aromatics of black cherries, dark currants and a touch of blueberry followed by graphite violets, spices along with hints of anise and dusty nuances. On the palate this is full-bodied, voluptuous and polished, showing remarkable depth and concentration, as layers of ripe dark cascade on to the long, opulent finish. While this offers immediate appeal, it also possesses the potential to age beautifully.

A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, this wine is now more than 20 years old! Earthy aromatics dominate with leather, dusty earth and red cherry with red currant jelly. The texture is outrageously good as the wine shows red cherry, boysenberry jam, smoked meat and cherry tomato flavors that connect with nice tension. This fantastic showing is best enjoyed over the next decade.

Deep vivid ruby. Heady, smoke-accented red and blue fruit preserve, spicecake, vanilla and floral pastille scents show excellent clarity and pick up notes of exotic Indian spices and cola with air. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated, alluringly sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and cherry cola flavors that show appealing spiciness and a touch of smoky minerality. Weighty yet surprisingly graceful in style, finishing with powerful thrust and velvety, slowly building tannins that fold quickly into the plush fruit.

Limpid ruby-red. An expressive, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red berries, cola, incense and vanilla, complemented by a sexy five-spice powder accent and a hint of smokiness. Stains the palate with sweet raspberry liqueur, spicecake, floral pastille and vanilla flavors that become more energetic as the wine stretches out. Shows a compelling blend of power and elegance, revealing no rough edges and delivering an impressively long, floral-tinged finish.

I loved the 2014 Cabernet Franc from this team. It has classic floral and mineral notes as well as blueberry and red currant fruit, medium-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannin, and a clean, focused, lengthy finish. It's already hard to resist (and I see no need to delay gratification) but it’s capable of lasting for 10-15 years.

The 2014 Merlot is a beauty that shows how good this variety can be on its own. Aged 19 months in 76% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it offers classic black cherry and plum fruit as well as complex notes of spice-box, chocolate, and dried flowers. With a ripe, sexy personality, nicely integrated acidity, no hard edges and impressive purity of fruit, drink bottles anytime over the coming 15-20 years.

A terrific value in Napa Cabernet, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pleinair (91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot) sports a deep ruby/purple color as well as terrific notes of crème de cassis, spicy oak, white chocolate and flowers. It offers loads of fruit, a full-bodied, pure, elegant texture, sweet tannin and just a charming, balanced, classic style that begs to be drunk.

This wine a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon with 16% Merlot. Aromas of red cherry tomato, red cherry preserves and blackberry pie. The polished and soft texture makes this wine shine. Black tea, anise and blackberry pie flavors show their appeal. This has less weight and intensity than the other vintages but will continue cellar well over the next decade.

Publisher's Picks From its caramel-pear nose to its spectacular silky texture, this is certainly a stunning wine from the winery's collaboration with Drew Barrymore. The blend of 79% Pinot Grigio and 21% Chardonnay really addresses its mouthfeel and flavor profile. Crisp white grapefruit, lychee, and peach tones are lifted due to 100% stainless steel fermentation, and white pepper dots the finish.

Brilliant red. Ripe cherry and black raspberry scents are complicated by suave floral pastille and incense nuances. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated, oak-spiced red and dark berry liqueur flavors that turn sweeter on the back half. Shows excellent clarity and power on an impressively long, penetrating finish framed by silky, even tannins.

The nose is a violet, cranberry, licorice and cedar. The palate is lush red fruit, chocolate and floral notes with well-polished acidity.

Limpid ruby-red. Fresh red and dark berry and pungent floral aromas on the nose, along with suggestions of cola, mocha and licorice. Appealingly sweet and lively on the palate, offering intense, oak-spiced black raspberry, cherry, spicecake and rose pastille flavors that deepen slowly on the back half while maintaining vivacity. Fine-grained tannins frame the finish, which hangs on with outstanding, red-fruit-preserve-driven persistence.