Clear ruby with pink edges.  Quite expressive candied fruit over a subdued dusty mint and euc bouquet.  A nice dollop of oak with really no sign of patina.  Foley’s wife has taken over the Sawyer brand and cellars and will be producing her own wine there.  In the mouth, restrained fruit–but ripe–gives way immediately to a rather generic red funk and bright, vivid, abrasive green tannins.  With considerable air, a polished and more elegant wine evolves, rewarding with dirty earthen nuances and focused–but thin–fruit.  I don’t see this improving much.  Drink up.

2006 SAWYER CELLARS Bradford Meritage Rutherford Napa Valley 14.0