2007 State Lane Vineyard

Saturated dark ruby, offering extremely primary scents of cassis, licorice, bitter chocolate and violet. Then fat, full and strong on the palate, showing the sweetness of the Roberta's but not that wine's plushness of texture. Currently dominated by intense black fruits, spices and violet. Finishes with a savory dryness and slightly tough, chewy tannins that still need time to resolve. This wine strikes me as being in a rather clenched phase of its evolution, but it has the mid-palate extract to support its serious tannic load. (ST) 95+

Very deep purple in color, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard is still a baby on the nose, sporting extravagant crème de cassis, blueberry pie and spice box notes with hints of dried lavender, aged meat, tilled soil and Sichuan pepper notes with a touch of tobacco. Medium-bodied and firm with fine-grained tannins and wonderful freshness, it gives layer upon layer of black fruit and earth notions, finishing very long. Give it another 4-5 years in bottle and drink it over the next 20+.

(14.4% alcohol): Youthful bright, dark ruby. Vibrant, very deep aromas of blackcurrant, spiced plum, violet, dark chocolate, licorice and coffee bean. Plush, spicy and wonderfully broad, showing sexy high tones to its flavors of blueberry and blackberry pastille and licorice. Remarkably horizontal and long on the back end even if it's still young and tight. Finishes with a lovely touch of sweetness and wild spices. This is evolving very slowly. All of the Cabernet here was harvested in October in 2007.