The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a 6,250-case cuvee that tips the scales at 14.9% alcohol. Winemaker Tony Biagi told me they had 16 different passages over a 30-day harvest just to pick the fruit when the parcels had ripened. The 2003 boasts full body as well as expressive aromatics of black fruits intermixed with some smoky oak, earth, and coffee. Dense, full-bodied, and impressive with sweet tannin and gorgeous symmetry as well as depth, it should drink well for 12-15+ years. Kudos to Plumpjack! (Release date 2/06)Tel. (707) 945-1220; Fax (707) 944-0744

Pickles and dill in the nose, with underlying cherries and blackberries. In the mouth, it enters brawny and rustic, and very tannic. The fruit is locked down. Seems sound, but disappointingly tough. Could develop, but it’s a gamble. Tasted twice. ——S.H.(9/1/2006)—— 86