2007 Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard

Full ruby. Precise aromas of dark berries, crushed rock, licorice and violet, plus a whiff of white flowers. Sweet, intensely flavored and deep, with a slightly exotic cast to its ripe fruit flavors. A serious wine from a relative cool site, unusually voluptuous in 2007 but with a strong underlying tannic spine calling for considerable patience. From vines planted on bedrock. (ST) 93+

From a single 9-acre parcel, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard exhibits extraordinary aromas of acacia flowers and violets along with an irrefutable minerality, an abundance of blueberry and blackberry fruit, outstanding texture, full-bodied richness, great depth, and ripe tannin. This Cabernet will benefit from 4-6 years of cellaring, and should evolve for 40 years. This has always been an impressive source for good Zinfandel as this vineyard originally produced the Lamborn Family Zinfandels. Kudos to proprietors Kathy and Frank Dotzler and winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Tel. (707) 965-1718; Fax (707) 965-1761

(100% cabernet sauvignon; aged in 80% new oak) Good medium ruby. Deep aromas of dark raspberry, graphite, smoke, truffle and black olive lifted by a floral note. Impressively rich, pure and youthful, with an utterly captivating smoky, rocky minerality adding an element not apparent in the estate's regular cabernet. Wonderfully supple, suave wine with a very long, slowly building finish that features a sweetness to its tannins that I've rarely encountered in Howell Mountain cabernet. Winemaker Thomas Brown told me he does quick, hot fermentations here for the purposes of tannin management. This may well surpass the terrific 2006.