2001 Seavey - Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon - USA - California - Napa - Napa Valley - Red

($36; includes 5% petit verdot) Bright ruby-red. Fascinating, superripe nose combines plum, iron, leather, mocha, hot rocks, underbrush, licorice and game, plus a light note of raisining fruit. Then sweet, pliant and generous, with exceptional depth of texture. Very suave, seamless wine, finishing very long and sweet, with huge, broad tannins that coat the cheeks and the front teeth. Seavey's flagship wine has performed consistently well in my tastings in recent years.

Readers looking for a St.-Estephe look-alike should check out this brooding, monster Cabernet Sauvignon from Bill Seavey and winemaker Philippe Melka. Tasting nearly the same as it did eight years ago, it reveals stunning, sweet chocolaty notes interwoven with notions of burning embers, loamy soil, black currants and forest floor. The complex aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, powerful, backward wine that still needs 8-10 years of cellaring. This blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot from the dry-farmed hillside vineyards of Bill and the late Mary Seavey is a 35-50-year wine. Only for true connoisseurs and those with patience!

Dense and chewy, with ripe, rich tannins holding sway over the earthy currant, sage and herbal notes. It finsihes with creamy, mocha-scented oak, which gives it an added dimension. 1,500 cases made.

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