Beautiful clear dark ruby with thin edges.  Steely initial quickly morphs to deep, ripe fruit and a briary note comes alive.  Crisp oak, bright new car, and a little oxidation masquerading as banana-peel.  Could this be?  A great stemmy vibrancy, nutty cassis and just at the tail end it shows a little alcohol and flabby fruit.  Been a huge fan of BerKV for DECADES and keep a fair vertical for consideration from time-to-time.  This was one of a grouping I purchased recently when CVS abandoned the line and there were many 10’s, 11’s, and 12’s to be had for 50% off.  And one store in a bad part of town had a few 09’s.  In the mouth, clean and mouth-filling with just enough velvety structure to convince you it is Cab with a pedigree, but not enough to scare off the bunco-crowd.  This is really yummy wine.  I mean–seriously: you can shit on it all you want for being supermarket plonk but this thing hits on a bunch of levels.  Crisp and dense, elegant but not jammy, tannins green, bitter and vibrant.  14-3   ♦♦