(includes 8% merlot): Good full ruby. Slightly high-toned aromas of crushed cassis, licorice and bitter chocolate; can't quite match the 2008 for sheer verve. Fat and moderately sweet on the palate, with flavors of dark berries, chocolate and mint nicely framed by sound acidity. Less fruity than the '08 version, but riper than the '09. Finishes with chewy, dusty tannins.

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The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, a blend of estate and non-estate fruit (from mountain vineyards such Ink Grade, Outpost, True, and Pestoni), is closed at present, but it appears to be loaded with potential. Abundant notes of cassis, black raspberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with notions of chocolate, cocoa, and bay leaf are followed by a structured, tannic, medium to full-bodied wine that needs some time in the bottle. Give this well-built, masculine Cabernet Sauvignon 4-5 years of cellaring, and consume it over the following two decades.

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Combines power with pleasure, at first firm, tight and muscular, then slowly more accessible, built around mineral, graphite, dried currant and blackberry, with the flavors slowly building. Ends with chewy tannins.

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Almost inky black. Deep and brooding with aromas of plum and currant. Full bodied with a split second hint of fruitiness in the mid-palate. Then finishes with long, dusty tannins.