December 2002 Over the last twelve months, Wine & Spirits tasted 675 Cabernet & Red Blends. The following wines received the strongest praise from our critics. A list of all Cabernet & Red Blends tasted, with the recommended wines highlighted, is included with subscription copies.

Cabernet & Red Blends
96 I Andrew Will $35 1999 Washington State Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Classic beauty can seem so simple, as if there were no effort behind it, the form taking shape with its own perfection, completely relaxed. When a wine reaches that place, it doesnÕt give any individual impressions, it doesnÕt appear in separate parts. It just lives as a whole, pushing every button with a soft, imperceptible touch. So I am loathe to describe this wine as black currant, black raspberry, loamy earth, graphite tannins. ItÕs the impression of the texture that appeals to me, the voluptuous feel, as if sculpted from a mouthwatering fruit so you can feel all the curves, the tone of freshness, the precision of the form. That form is so complete that you could open a bottle now and wonder at its beauty, then damn yourself for opening it, as you imagine what the wine will be like when fully mature. (195 cases) (W&S 2/02) Andrew Will Cellars, Vashon, WA
95 I Cadence $35 999 Red Mountain Tapteil Vineyard Tapteil is the highest vineyard on Red Mountain, which has only once before been bottled as a vineyard designated wine (a small production back in the eighties). This blend of cabernet sauvignon (43 percent), merlot (36) and cabernet franc hums with energy, with a red spice and a black, five-spice complexity that you can breathe in and out after each sip of the wine. That energy vibrates even more powerfully a day after opening, the spiciness spreading out in all directions, the strength of the tannins giving way to black currants baking in the sun, to cloves and clay and dust in a finish that never seems to end. What is buried in the soils of Red Mountain that lends vines the power to grow grapes like these? (225 cases) (W&S 6/02) Cadence, Seattle, WA
95 I Laurel Glen $50 1999 Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Grown in the rocky, red volcanic earth of Sonoma Mountain, this cabernet is completely individual, its power lithe, like a cat; and thereÕs a beautiful glow to the color, a succulence to the fruit without any excess fat, the tannins imperceptible but firm. The perfume of the wine might bring roses to mind, while the flavors gently yield to the touch Ñ perhaps black fig, black plum, black currant Ñ and last for several minutes after each sip. Conservatives might cellar this, to let some of its youthful sexiness fade to a more comfortable, plush middle age. But itÕs hard not to open it now, especially if thereÕs a good cut of beef on the menu, with a wild mushroom sauce. (648 cases) (W&S 10/02) Laurel Glen Vineyard, Glen Ellen, CA
95 I Pine Ridge $33 1999 Napa Valley - Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon Gary Andrus has learned to farm his cabernet vineyards like few others. He makes several bottlings to express the distinctions among Napa ValleyÕs districts, and though this Rutherford wine is among his least expensive, itÕs one of the most expressive in its youth, and hard to resist. ItÕs a pure cabernet as Rutherford should be, clean and beautiful in tone, young, bold and fruit-forward. Take a sip and youÕre blasted with cherry, raspberry, cola nut and a delicious warmth. The alcohol lets you breathe in all the fruit, adding finesse, contributing to the form of the wine. ItÕs a sophisticated terroir expression; buy a case so you can enjoy its development over the next ten years. (W&S 4/02) Pine Ridge Winery, Napa, CA
94 I Bell $55 1998 Rutherford - Napa Valley Baritelle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Anthony Bell, formerly an assistant winemaker and viticulturalist at Beaulieu Vineyards, has been making this Rutherford cabernet since 1991. His intimate knowledge of the vineyard paid off in Õ98, a difficult year that produced some spectacular wines and any number of duds. Prepare to fall in love with its bright raspberry appeal, with the meltingly rich texture, with the bold spice that opens up in the finish as wide as the Napa sky. On one level, itÕs almost a Port; on another, itÕs fruit sweetness in service of a place, expressing the terroir with a cigar box and leather scent underscoring all the freshness. (1,208 cases) (W&S 4/02) Bell Wine Cellars, Yountville, CA
94 I Cadence $35 1999 Walla Walla Valley Spring Valley Vineyard A deep well of chocolate flavor shivers in the middle of this wine, surrounding every other taste, integrating all the red fruit before it explodes from the spicy finish in counterpoint to the deep and flavorful tannin. This blend of merlot (83 percent) with cabernet franc manages to be both enveloping and lifted, a balm of chocolate and higher toned cherries macerated into a smooth texture. A pleasure now, and a more complex pleasure with age. (240 cases) (W&S 6/02) Cadence, Seattle, WA
94 I Cadence $35 1999 Red Mountain Ciel du Cheval This blend of cabernet sauvignon (46 percent), cabernet franc (41) and merlot is fragrant as a basket of fresh-picked berries. It opens with air to a floral complexity, a sunny warmth over hops and gentian, over purple flowers of thyme. Generous red fruit layers with black raspberry, strawberries and blueberries, all presented with freshness, all held tightly within the potential energy of the wine, the unyielding grip of tannin that never masks the clarity of the aromas and flavors. Cellar as much as you can find, then check on it eight to ten years from the vintage. (340 cases) (W&S 6/02) Cadence, Seattle, WA
94 I LÕEcole No. 41 $36 1999 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon From the outside, through the sheen of oak, this wine seems dense, hard as cherry pits, their flesh pushed to fruited glory. Bold as it is on the surface, if you spend some time with it youÕll find a tender richness, a delicacy to the fruit that it shares with fraise de bois or other wild red berries. And as it takes on air, hours later or a day later, the wineÕs earthiness is more detailed, layered as a pile of leaves in the woods with a black, loamy soil character. ItÕs a firm expression of Walla Walla, rich at its core yet structured for long, expressive aging ahead. (987 cases) (W&S 10/02) LÕEcole No. 41, Lowden, WA
94 I Leonetti $95 1998 Walla Walla Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Inky black, then red and lovely, this is what great cabernet is all about. Leonetti winemaker Gary Figgins has it down, blending his best selections from the Seven Hills, Windrow and Spring Valley vineyards into this super-charged wine. All the luscious black currant and blackberry fruit stands up to all the oak; it hits the oak with a wave of deliciousness and doesnÕt stop, pouring fruit on for minutes after each taste. Beautifully ripe, this will last for a decade or more, gaining complexity as it matures. (576 cases) (W&S 4/02) Leonetti Cellar, Walla Walla, WA
91 I Leonetti $60 1999 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Dense and immense, this wine gives an immediate blast of flavor out of the glass, yet itÕs not merely a power trip. ThereÕs a firm hand bringing this blend of fruit from Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge vineyards together, weaving an note of perfume into the red cherry fruit and the foresty tannin. The flavors extend with air, lengthening markedly a day after opening. By then, the fruit takes on a wild berry scent, the texture no longer tense but soft as down, the tannins a pleasant pine-needle edge. Probably best at ten years of age; decant this and give it plenty of air if you choose to drink it now. (2,329 cases) (W&S 12/02) Leonetti Cellar, Walla Walla, WA
94 I Pine Ridge $60 1999 Napa Valley - Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon A mirror on SLD, this may take some time to evolve past its rich, black-roast-coffee tannins, which themselves are indicative of the place, toward all the bold, super-ripe, currant flavor. ItÕs as much of a blast of fruit as the Rutherford wine, but in a darker tone, and needing a day to take off. When first poured, it reads as a document of the black SLD earth; the next day it soars, the fruit lifted out of the earthy tannin, lasting with a rib-sticking goodness. It may well last longer than the Rutherford Õ99, and should be equally intriguing to watch as it matures. (W&S 4/02) Pine Ridge Winery, Napa, CA
94 I Pride $55 1999 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon PrideÕs cabernet vines on top of Spring Mountain ripened their grapes to a potent completion in Õ99, yielding a reserve with superb integration of tannin, texture and fruit. The ripe damson plum fruit and sweet toast of oak comes together in the flavor of dense chocolate crust on the bottom of a baking sheet. While oak dominates the young wine when first poured, thereÕs a gravelly rasp of tannin that brings the fruit to the fore. ItÕs what cult wines should taste like, supple, sexy and delicious, all dressed up with the inner strength to pull it off. (900 cases) (W&S 10/02) Pride Mountain Vineyards, St. Helena, CA
94 I Shafer $150 1998 Napa Valley - Stags Leap District Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon From a severely reduced crop harvested a month later than normal, Shafer made one of the best cabernets of the vintage in Õ98. It offers a sanctuary of flavor, a tender core of blue fruit, what the Bordelais would call tondue. That fruit is embedded in a rocky soil character, juice and stone interwoven, layered, the smooth fruit lifting out of the tannin and rising through the finish. ItÕs a flavor re-creation of the Stags Leap hills, rock solid, built to age. (2,000 cases) (W&S 12/02) Shafer Vineyards, Napa, CA
94 I Von Strasser $50 1999 Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Sumptuous even in its backward, youthful, undeveloped state, this is round and juicy as a bursting fresh cherry, hard as iron filings, yet giving and smooth. ItÕs all those things as it rolls around the tongue, firm and lovely, not ready, but powerful. You can sense the richness and the good bone structure; and sense it more clearly tasting the wine a day later. All you need is the time. Von Strasser blends this wine from six vineyards on Diamond Mountain. (1,001 cases) (W&S 6/02) Von Strasser Wine Co., St. Helena, CA
94 I Andrew Will $40 1999 Washington State Klipsun Cabernet Sauvignon ThereÕs an energy to this wine that keeps pushing new elements to the fore, even as it seems perfectly supple, completely clean. That simple framework allows any number of lines to weave in and out, like the line of minerals that runs through with a dark, earthen spice, or the woodland black cherry, the black currant and elderberry all wrapped in a tannic blanket yet still remaining crisp, juicy, luscious enough to burst out. Perhaps one line does, touching on overripe fruit and mint; but thatÕs just a complexing aspect, another layer in an overall balance that should hold this wine well as it develops over the next ten years and beyond. (480 cases) (W&S 2/02) Andrew Will Cellars, Vashon, WA