2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(14.8% alcohol): Bright, full ruby-red. Explosive nose offers raspberry, blackberry, leather, mint and a hint of pepper. Svelte, glossy and elegant, offering compelling inner-mouth lavender and violet perfume to its layered flavors of purple and black fruits, spices and celery seed. Boasts lovely harmony of components and finishes very long, with building dusty tannins. This is pliant enough to give pleasure relatively early but is still quite primary.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to have clamped down a bit since I tasted it last year. An unusually up-front, juicy wine from Forman, the 2009 is laced with expressive dark red fruit, flowers, mint, cinnamon, licorice and menthol. There is a softness and suppleness to the 2009 that is impossible not to love. Layers of fruit continue to build on the juicy, silky finish. The 2009 looks to be one of the more accessible wines of the vintage, but it also needs at least several years to lose some of its baby fat and primary notes. The French oak is also a bit prominent, providing one clue as to the wine's ultimate potential vis-à-vis the monumental 2010. The 2009 is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to have clamped down a bit since I tasted it last year. An unusually up-front, juicy wine from Forman, the 2009 is laced with expressive dark red fruit, flowers, mint, cinnamon, licorice and menthol. There is a softness and suppleness to the 2009 that is impossible not to love. Layers of fruit continue to build on the juicy, silky finish. The 2009 looks to be one of the more accessible wines of the vintage, but it also needs at least several years to lose some of its baby fat and primary notes. The French oak is also a bit prominent, providing one clue as to the wine’s ultimate potential vis-a-vis the monumental 2010. The 2009 is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. Ric Forman is arguably Napa Valley’s first superstar winemaker. Although sometimes overlooked today, there is little question Forman has had a profound influence on a number of younger winemakers who still speak of him with great reverence. In 2012 Forman celebrated his 46th harvest. Today, Forman counts on the assistance of his son Toby, in running this small, family-owned jewel of an estate. As for the wines, they are superb, but, best of all, remain realistically priced for the consumer who wants to drink top-flight Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon without having to take out a second mortgage. The Chardonnay is made in the non-malo style Forman pioneered in the 1970s. Forman’s Cabernet is one of the classic masterpieces of Napa Valley, even if recent vintages come across as a bit riper than the norm. Still, it is impossible to go wrong with any of these wines. Tel. (707) 963-0234