2005 Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley
from the website: "Created entirely from our vineyards, Snowden Reserve consists of the best lots within our vineyards, and is characterized by balance and consistency with blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Snowden is aged in tight grain oak barrels from the northern forests of France. This is a wine that has exceptional depth, and is the pinacle of what our vineyard site has to offer."
"The real stunner is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. There are 1,600 cases of this prodigious wine. Dense ruby/purple to the rim with a smoky, roasted herb, crème de cassis, melted licorice, and espresso-scented nose with subtle pain grille in the background, it is full-bodied, fleshy, with a terrific multi-dimensional mouthfeel, well-integrated acidity, and ripe, silky tannin. This is great stuff, and a fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon that may well turn out to be the best wine yet made at Snowden unless it is eclipsed by the very promising 2006 Reserve, which, of course, is not yet in bottle." 94ptsRP