The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Mount Veeder aged for 22 months in 75% new French oak. No 2017 vintage of this wine will be made. Deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers a very serious nose of baked plums, crème de cassis, dried mulberries and dark chocolate with nuances of tapenade, chargrill, licorice and menthol with a waft of tree bark. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house with a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the taut, muscular black fruit, finishing on a provocative mineral note.

This shows steeped blackberry, plum and black currant fruit set against a backdrop of warm tar, smoldering charcoal and sweet tobacco notes. A tarry edge and dark fruit meld beautifully through the finish due to well-embedded acidity. A textbook mountain Cabernet. Best from 2022 through 2035.