2009 Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard

Dark medium ruby. A bit less energetic on the nose than the Helena Dakota, with its medicinal kirsch , menthol and licorice flavors joined by some funky nuances of leather and game. Plusher than the Helena Dakota but more medicinal too, showing little easy sweetness to its dark fruit and tobacco flavors. Finishes rather tannic and distinctly dry, with a faint metallic quality. I would probably want to drink this wine over the next five or six years. (14.5% alcohol)

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard has the big, broad shoulders typical of this wine, but in this vintage there is a little more fruit than normal, which makes the wines incredibly accessible at this young stage. Rich, voluptuous and impeccably layered, the 2009 shows great balance and class. The level of tannin finesse and pure elegance are both above the1988. Hints of mocha, espresso and violets wrap around the juicy finish. This round, enveloping Cabernet is sexy and unbelievably sexy.