2005 Amapola Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (a very under-rated vintage for Bordeaux varietals in Northern California) has classic plum, cassis, forest floor and earthy undertones, a dark plum/ruby/purple color, and supple tannins. The wine actually seems more evolved than the 2005 Zinfandel Monte Rosso, which is surprising. Nevertheless, it is delicious, complex, and ideal for drinking over the next decade. Having sold the Arrowood winery to Jess Jackson, Richard Arrowood has stayed on as a consultant, but this is his own operation, which involves estate Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as purchased Zinfandel from the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard. These are all impressive newcomers, but that’s to be expected from Dick Arrowood, one of the most experienced and highly talented winemakers of the last four decades. Tel. (707) 938-3783; www.amapolacreek.com

Ruby-red. Strikingly perfumed red and dark fruit aromas are complicated by dried rose, vanillin oak and rooty sassafras. Juicy cherry and blackcurrant flavors are firmed by youthful tannins, picking up subtle herb and vanilla bean character with air. The tannins build slowly through a long, sweet finish, suggesting that this will reward patience. This is a small-production project-400 and 405 cases, respectively-of Dick Arrowood, which he told me he undertook "even though my wife said that she thought I had retired."