So extracted in fruit and oak now, it’s almost rude, with the blackberry, currant, cassis liqueur and sweet toast flavors swamping the palate. There’s no doubting its Napa ripeness, or how smooth and refined the tannins are. The question is whether the power eventually will mellow with age. Although this isn’t the winery’s best Wurtele bottling, it should gain traction over the next eight years, and possibly longer.——S.H.(12/1/2011)—— 90

8 4 A well-made wine, showing lots of terroir in the mineral-infused blackberry, black currant, chocolate and anise flavors. The tannins are structurally superb, while the finish is dry and complex. A very fine wine that should gather momentum for at least a decade. ——S.H.(6/1/2011)—— 95

The single-vineyard 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Wurtele Vineyard is an impressive wine, with sweeter black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with some dark chocolate, roasted herbs, and tobacco leaf. The wine is elegant yet substantial, medium to full-bodied, pure, and deep, with round heady tannins in the finish. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. These are the most impressive wines I have tasted to date from Terra Valentine.Tel. (707) 967-8340

Stunning, dramatic, but nowhere near ready to drink. Dry and complex in mountain tannins, the wine displays massively deep flavors of blackberries and cassis, and the new oak is substantial and sweet. Try holding until after 2010, and should develop for an additional six years. ——S.H.(12/1/2009)—— 94