Rich staining garnet with considerable sediment. Stunning polish in the nose, with a little heat irresistible woven into a delectable spice and dusty rose charcoal maraschino, wrapped around wet redwood and wet tent.
One of a handful of my favorite Santa Cruz Mountain producers, this unsung producer cranks out stunning Bordeaux varieties of world-class quality in an area of California often overlooked in the roster of top wine-producing regions. This one–granted–is sourced from Alexander Valley, another one of my favorite Cab-producing regions, and represents a stellar mountain vineyard in that AVA.
A handful in the mouth, acerbic until you find the soft parts–and the soft parts have a definite issue with visibility. The nose is far more cherry and dessert than the palate, where fruit dense and mountain-grown–dirt under its nails and leaves in its hair–takes a moment to introduce itself against the heady bouquet. Butter and brown sugar, carmelized but not a speck of oxidation, banana-peel chalky, tannins always getting in the way… Rich round saddle and bay dominate a fruit I can not help but say is fading. But oh yeah, this one looks good at eleven and has a few more years.
2005 BYINGTON Cabernet Sauvignon Reichel Vineyard Alexander Valley 13.8
Stephen McConnell 