Brion Wise Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain Vineyard 2014

“The really great part about that vineyard location is being at the southern end of the valley, up on a plateau, up on the hill surrounded by some of the more famous vineyards in the area. There’s a pedigree to these vineyards for a reason. Beautiful red soils all throughout. That type of site is hard to replicate.”

—Garrett Buckland, viticultural consultant

Tasting Notes:

It’s funny that the highest-rated wine is from the Moon Mountain District in Sonoma (which is on the backside of the Mayacamas Mountains), rather than any of the sites in Napa. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain is a stunning wine for a vineyard just north of the Kamen property. This is all volcanic soil in this area and the wine shows notes of scorched earth, charcoal embers, blackberry, cassis, licorice, pen ink and a huge full-bodied mouthfeel with terrifically sweet tannins and low acidity. This deep, full-bodied, multilayered wine should drink well for at least two decades or more.

RP96, robertparker.com

Aromatic; candied raspberries, blackberries, stradberry cobbler, sweet tea box, black cardamom; silky tannins