Bright clear garnet out to slightly bricking edges.  Great clean dark-fruit nuances with Christmas spices, baked bread, some old-world funk, steely wet cellar floor.  Over-all, just clean, pure slightly-roasted fruit.  Somewhat thin in the mouth, and crisp acidity tell a story of not-over-ripe, classic Napa Valley–err: Rutherford–provenance.  No overt oak, thankfully.  Tiny little mint and eucalyptus. Not to many signs of polish even yet on this bottle.  Chewy, bitter tannins punctuate the wet-leather and cigar-smoke finish.  The structure will probably out-last the fruit on this one, but I will be eagerly monitoring this progress with its 11 brothers and sisters over the next decade.  It is not going to go away quickly.  This is clearly wine made in a classic house style and not created in a lab for the tourist palate.  How refreshing!  No indication of blend on label.

2006 SAWYER CELLARS Meritage Rutherford Bradford Napa Valley 14.0