Here is the quintessential Nicholas Cole—the first wine from the estate vineyard, with a blend that is, for the first time, Cabernet-based. It’s dark, chewy, dense, tense and deeply compact, with layers of blackberry compote, and lingering flavors that meld smoke, fruit and acid in perfect proportion. A big wine in a big bottle, for those who want their reds no holds barred. ——P.G.(8/1/2009)—— 94