2019 Booker Harvey & Harriet

Deep ruby-purple, the 2019 Red Blend has beguiling crushed red and black cherries, tar, coffee beans and dark spicy and savory accents on the nose. Full-bodied but light on its feet and easy to drink, it offers a fine balance of powerful fruit intensity and seamless freshness, a style that will appeal to a wide range of red-wine drinkers, from lovers of Zinfandel to fans of Cabernet.

As to the reds, the 2019 Harvey and Harriet can be thought of as the more approachable, lush red in the lineup, and it always seems more black fruit-driven than the straight Cabernet Sauvignon. Blackberries, sweet tobacco, cedar, and some floral violet nuances define the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a beautiful texture and silky tannins. It’s a smoking value, and while it has plenty of up-front charm, it certainly has a decade or more of overall longevity. Eric Jensen’s My Favorite Neighbor lineup continues to grow and now includes numerous single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon releases. While the Harvey and Harriet and straight Cabernet Sauvignon are larger production releases, the single vineyards are tiny production cuvées. As I’ve written numerous times in the past, all of these would run two to three times the cost if they were from Napa Valley.