Here’s another 12 you don’t need to rush out and drink, but it IS Sonoma, so… I mean–I always LOOK at Napa, but then give Sonoma a bit of an asterisk, never positioning vintages in overwhelming washes often possible with Napa. Pretty sure RP just lists a “North Coast” et al on their charts, though. Others may as well. And I’m pretty sure the least expensive of recent 2012 openings. This thing opens up powerful and mint-tinged, the nose a shocking array of dusty, earthy briar and deep spice. Impenetrable black ruby in the glass, showing the most carless affectation of brick at the extreme rim. Grainy, black fruit churns from all pores, toasty-burnt–almost–but rich and delicious in bouquet.

Powerful on the palate as well, though not terrible complex. It exists on pure concentration rather than delineation across multiple planes of texture. The alcohol and lavish richness of the nose inflicts a multitude of inflections on the tongue, and shallow areas in nose and taste are padded with greatness in other areas. This is a wine I have drank for 30 years and–with the possible exception of BV Ruth–is probably one of the first single-AVA cabs I allowed myself to afford. It’s still a bargain as it climbs into $40-range (you DON’T want to know what we used to pay for it!), and I am especially appreciative of the way the fruit sweetens and simplifies late-middle. The finish is really the selling point here, as it tingles off into copious tannin while balancing all with raspberry and tart cherry. This is truly a supermarket wonder for the ages.

2012 BERINGER Cabernet Sauvignon Knight’s Valley Sonoma 14.3

www.beringer.com/