The 2014 Cardinale is another awesome wine from winemaker Chris Carpenter, and I actually like it more than the 2015. A blend from multiple estate vineyards, its deep purple color is followed by a larger than life bouquet of sweet crème de cassis, scorched earth, graphite, tobacco leaf and spicy wood. A big, opulent, sexy wine, it has incredible grace and elegance as well as beautiful purity and a great finish. This is a tour de force in Cabernet Sauvignon that does everything right. It's approachable today (as are almost all 2014s) yet is going to cruise in the cellar for another two decades or more. Bravo! These sensational wines come from winemaker Chris Carpenter, with the estate falling under the Kendall-Jackson Family umbrella.

A magnificent wine made the by the brilliant winemaker Chris Carpenter, who also works for the Kendall-Jackson empire at Lakoya and a handful of other estates, this blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot is sourced from multiple vineyards owned by the Jacksons, from Veeder Peak to Spring Mountain to Howell Mountain. In 2014, it reminded me of a great vintage of Pontet-Canet from Pauillac, but slightly bigger than life. The inky purple color, the stunning nose of cedar wood, unsmoked cigar tobacco, graphite, crème de cassis and subtle new oak is followed by a multi-layered, profoundly concentrated, large-scaled wine with sensational levels of blackcurrant fruit moving toward blackberries. A wine of great intensity, silky tannins and adequate acidity, this is clearly one of the great, great wines of the vintage, and another tour de force in winemaking from Carpenter. It is a 15- to 20- year wine, but the window for drinking its is probably that big as well. P.S. If you want to catch Chris Carpenter doing something other than making exhilarating wine, check out the Rutherford Grill on Friday nights, where he tends bar and makes some pretty badass cocktails.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot. Deep crimson. Really pretty luscious on the nose but not over the top – apart from the price! A fine-grained, very slightly sandy texture keeps it interesting. Although it’s not short of alcohol, it’s not sweet. Luscious but I think I would understand it better if I knew exactly where the fruit came from. Clean, bracing and far from heavy. (JR)