The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Annum is a big, super-ripe wine. This is a decidedly opulent style of Cabernet. Personally, I prefer some of the other wines in the lineup, as the Annum is especially flashy in 2008. Endless layers of dark fruit crescendo to the juicy, intensely rich finish. As outstanding as this is today, it will be even better in a few years’ time. The 2008 is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot from J. Davies and Pedregal. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2023. David Ramey is one of the few California winemakers who thinks in terms of structure, not just flavor, something that sets him apart from many of his peers. All of the wines I tasted at Ramey’s cellar just outside Healdsburg were terrific. I also sampled a number of older wines, all of which have held up very well. Best of all, most of the wines remain very fairly priced considering the quality of what is in the bottle. My visit ended with the 2001 Cabernet Jericho Canyon Road, which was stunning. At age 10 it remains an infant. I only wish I owned it. The next best thing is Ramey’s new Annum bottling from 2009 forward, the vintage in which the main vineyard source switched to Shartsis, a parcel in Rutherford close to Dana Estates’s Helms vineyard. The Pedregal, from a vineyard in Oakville, is perhaps even better, but it also costs twice as much. The appellation Chardonnays spend 12 months in oak, ranging from 20-25% new, while the vineyard designates spent 18 months in oak, with a higher percentage of new barrels.Tel. (707) 433-0870, www.rameywine.com

Deep ruby colored, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Annum is blended with 5% Petit Verdot and opens with unusual blue fruit notes—baked blueberry and boysenberry—with dark chocolate, smoked meats, cracked pepper, toasted cumin and fenugreek, graphite and loamy earth. Silky in texture but firmly structured by grainy tannins and juicy acidity, it's medium-bodied with a very long, chocolaty finish. 380 cases were made.