2007 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep, bright ruby. Explosive nose offers cassis, blueberry, bitter chocolate, violet and minerals. Downright sexy on the palate, with penetrating blackberry, graphite, coffee bean, licorice and violet flavors carrying a full load of sweet oak that gives a slight youthful bitter edge to the long, seriously tannic finish. Not particularly fleshy but conveys an insidious sweetness of fruit. Merus is aged in 100% new oak, with Darnajou and Seguin-Moreau the preferred coopers.

Tasted too late to make it into the December issue, Merus’s 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits an inky/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of blueberry liqueur intermixed with graphite, charcoal, cassis, and spice. The wood seems pushed to the background given the extraordinary concentration of fruit. Full-bodied, powerful, and rich with chocolaty espresso notes intermixed with blackberries and blueberries, this pure, impressively textured, long Cabernet should evolve for two decades. Tel. (707) 251-5551; Fax (707) 251-3782

(includes 1% each petit verdot and malbec) Saturated ruby to the rim. Aromatic nose combines spicy black fruits, licorice pastille and fruity bitter chocolate. Sweet, smooth and fleshy yet with surprising acidity and a hint of minerality giving terrific definition to the very primary mid-palate. Finishes with superb clarity and juicy lift. The long 2007 harvest began at the end of September and continued until early November, noted general manager Erika Gottl, who is now making Merus with assistant winemaker Camille Benitah and consultant Paul Hobbs in Merus's new winery north of St. Helena, which is actually the historic Rossini Winery, formerly owned by Nils Venge. Cool nights in late August and September were responsible for a wine with a lowish pH by Merus standards.