The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Few and Far Between is a huge wine bursting with ripe red fruit, flowers, spices, licorice and tobacco. Today the 2008 comes across as relatively soft and accessible despite its size. I have little doubt the 2008 will be better in another year or two, but it is already hugely delicious. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2028. (Not yet released)Proprietor Jayson Woodbridge makes some of the most unique, deeply personal wines in Napa Valley. Very late harvests and minimal intervention in the cellar, including no rackings until bottling, are just some of the choices that inform these wines. Woodbridge’s vineyards are in St. Helena (Kayli Morgan), the lower part of Howell Mountain (Ark) and Calistoga (Few and Far Between). Woodbridge is less reliant on outside consultants than many of his colleagues, so the wines bear very specific signatures that are unlike those of other wines being made in the Valley. The late harvests give the wines super-ripe fruit that can at times veer towards sweetness, but it is the extreme silkiness and finesse of the tannins that differentiates these wines. Woodbridge believes wines must be ready to go upon release and frowns upon decanting or advance aeration, which he doesn’t think should be necessary. As outstanding as these wines can be upon release, the reality is that the wines have also proven to age exceptionally well. I tasted a huge number of wines with Woodbridge and his team, but it was two wines with some bottle age (the 2000 and 2006 Kayli Morgan) that made the deepest impression. I hope Hundred Acre fans can find the discipline to put away a few bottles. The transformation of these wines in bottle is remarkable. These no-holds-barred Cabernets aren’t for everyone, but they are compelling and highly individualistic, just like Woodbridge himself.Tel. (707) 967-9398

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Few and Far Between is medium garnet colored and gives up flamboyant kirsch, pepper, cinnamon stick, anise, earth and a core of redcurrants and kirsch with blackberry pie, cassis and tilled soil. The palate is full, rich, concentrated and earthy with wonderful graininess and incredible length.

So soft and sweet, it’s like a melted dessert pastry. Explodes in blackberry and cherry pie filling flavors, with the smoky, buttery toast of oak barrels. Defines deliciousness. The tannins are soft enough to drink this 100% Cabernet now, and it is probably best enjoyed over the next six years before it loses freshness. ——S.H.(2/1/2012)—— 94