3 | Wine | Cabernet Sauvignon, 91 to 95, 2008

"The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a gorgeous, mid-weight wine laced with mint, cassis, sweet herbs and tobacco. It is an understated, gracious wine from start to finish. This is a relatively approachable vintage for the Estate. It shows tons of finesse and mid-palate generosity while maintaining a medium-bodied personality. Today it is quite young, although it is drinking well. Readers who prefer more tertiary notes will want to cellar the wine for at least a few years."

"A tight, vivid, juicy, concentrated yet graceful youngster, focused on dense mineral, dark berry, currant and blackberry fruit, ending with chewy tannins and notes of espresso and spice. Comes on the heels of a 2007 that seemed out of sync with the vintage."

"Tough-edged, earthy and leathery, though deeply concentrated and muscular. Built around a core of dense dark berry fruit, mineral, cedar and graphite, this is not the early-allure charmer it's been in recent years."

"The flavor profile is slightly darker than normal and everything is just a bit richer, deeper and more balanced than the wines I have tasted from this site previously. Dark cherries, plums, menthol and licorice wrap around the sensual, textured finish. This is a terrific showing for the Bisou."

"The tannins are velvety soft and the wine is beautifully textured and full-bodied. The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection is the first example of this cuvee to include Merlot (about 14%) in the blend. The Merlot component has given the wine a cocoa/chocolate nuance to its black currant, licorice-infused fruit. It is ideal for drinking now and over the next 15 years." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"This ripe, dense red delivers base notes of humus, mocha and toasty oak supporting the rich cassis, black cherry and dark plum fruit character. There's fine tannins for support, but this is all rich fruit on the spicy finish."

"One of the better values in high end Napa Cabernet, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Elegant Bordeaux-like aromas of berries, loamy soil, graphite, mocha, black currants and cedar are followed by a medium-bodied, stylish wine with excellent texture, underlying floral notes and a long finish. Nearly as French-like as Napa’s Dominus wines, it should age effortlessly for 10-15 years." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"From the Oakville estate of Plumpjack...the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, licorice, and graphite. Flawlessly put together, with delicate tannins, full body, but elegance combined with power, this impressively pure, layered, multi-dimensional Cabernet Sauvignon is already drinkable." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"Slightly more powerful with sweeter fruit as well as more glycerin and fat. ...this is a big, full-bodied Stags Leap Cabernet offering abundant notes of roasted herbs, chocolate, cassis, incense and earth." Reviewed by Robert Parker.