The real stunner is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. There are 1,600 cases of this prodigious wine. Dense ruby/purple to the rim with a smoky, roasted herb, creme de cassis, melted licorice, and espresso-scented nose with subtle pain grille in the background, it is full-bodied, fleshy, with a terrific multi-dimensional mouthfeel, well-integrated acidity, and ripe, silky tannin. This is great stuff, and a fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon that may well turn out to be the best wine yet made at Snowden unless it is eclipsed by the very promising 2006 Reserve, which, of course, is not yet in bottle.

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Smooth and rich for the vintage, with ripe, plush, concentrated currant, black cherry and blackberry fruit. Deep and focused, this finishes with firm, dry tannins, but also good length and depth.

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This will be good in time but it's still too tannic and astringent right now. Once it opened, this was a bit more balanced. I think 3-5 more years in the cellar will do wonders for this. Plush round fruit and spice means this has the structure and heft to age. Right now, this is an 88ish. I think with age it wil be in the low 90s; just needs to mellow a bit. Scoring it a 90 right now.