A fruit-scented Cabernet from Spring Mountain, estate-grown at 1,800 feet. It offers aromas of cassis, black cherries, and black raspberries, but also juniper leaf and cedar bark, a crackle of black pepper. The weight is light, with a blaze of red cherry at the mid-palate. There are more black fruit notes here, too: blackberries and their seeds, coffee, cedar-earth, savory black currant. The finish is grippy, vigorously so, but the wine has the acidity, tannic structure, and fruit to carry it forward, and the tea-staining of age will taste good on it.
14.2% abv | $50 (sample)
That seems to be more than fair value, especially for Spring Mountain fruit.