2014 Accendo Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon gives a deep garnet-purple color and leaps from the glass with notes of warm black currants and red currants preserves plus touches of sandalwood, cigar box, spice box, licorice and menthol and the faintest hints of forest floor and potpourri. Medium-bodied with a fantastic intensity of red and black fruits and accented with pepper, spice and earthy notions, it has a firm, chewy backbone and great freshness, finishing with lingering mineral notes.

A wine of precision, nuance and tension, Accendo's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon continues to grow in bottle. There is a sense of translucent vibrancy in the 2014 that is especially admirable. Red and purplish-toned fruit, lavender, mint and crushed rocks are all beautifully delineated, but it is the wine's shape and drive that I find most alluring today. This is a fabulous showing.

Precise and nuanced, classy and bright, this red leans heavily towards the savoury side of the flavour spectrum, with its smoky, cedary notes. Scented and deep, it has lush, cool fruit that reflects the balanced vintage.

This was made in Angwin while the Wheeler Farms winery was being built, next to Raymond on Zinfandel Lane. Relatively pale crimson (for Napa). Pretty deep, bright crimson for, say, France. Very healthy-looking. Much more intense nose than the 2013, with the same balsam note, but with more lusciousness and layers – and more ripeness. Still quite youthful and sprightly. Dry, long finish and good potential. Still fairly embryonic. (JR)