(14.6% alcohol): Medium ruby-red. Very pure, very ripe but bright aromas of black cherry, dark berries, licorice pastille, minerals and Rutherford dust, lifted by a violet topnote. Wonderfully creamy and sweet but with firm structure underlying its black cherry, loam, mineral, tobacco and licorice flavors. Very concentrated, structured wine with excellent delineation and beautifully refined, building tannins. Finishes quite subtle and long, with a lingering black cherry taste and excellent delineation. This is impeccably balanced and thus accessible today but I suspect there's more ahead. A wonderfully complete Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winemaker Celia Welch. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from 8 vineyard blocks. Fruit from the oldest vines fermented in open-top tank and punched down. The other lots had pumpovers and cap irrigation. Aged separately in 100% new French oak for a year before blending, then a further 11 months in barrel. Oak is keeping it closed down at the moment. Thick and rich and dense. Lacks energy. Dry and pretty tough and so dense that the flavour is overridden by the texture. Where's the pleasure? (JH)

Scarecrow’s inky/purple-colored 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is a prodigious effort. It reveals a liqueur of crushed rocks intermixed with a smorgasbord of spring flower, blueberry, creme de cassis, and assorted blue, black, and red fruit characteristics. It also possesses extraordinary concentration, but what sets it apart is the fragrant aromatics combined with uncommon purity and elegance for such a full-bodied, massively concentrated wine. Its perfect balance suggests it can be drunk at a relatively young age, but it should easily evolve over 30-35 years. Congratulations to all involved! Tel. (707) 963-3361; Fax (707) 968-9367