First off, this one is really fruity. I mean really fruity up front. Maybe a little fruitier than I tend to gravitate towards in a Cabernet. Big, luscious, glowing berry, of a very modern style–let’s just say. It breathes out to a smoky, chocolate-themed drop with gorgeous oak influences. Luscious and sweet on the palate, some biting shards of acid boosting things into proper Cabernet territory, and a finish biting firm with heat and vaguely-twisted structure laying somewhat below a still-relevant candy-coating of beautiful ripe blackberry and quince paste. This is an extremely marketable wine. It’s not going to insult you like some top-shelf popular brands I won’t mention by name, but it also doesn’t carry complex depth or grating foundations of *being* characterizing classic BDX or Napa and Sonoma offerings I find stimulating. It’s not a huge concentrated RS-laden bomb–don’t get me wrong–it’s just a really beautiful, extremely safe wine which will please a large number of un-judgy tastebuds. Here at 5, it is still a baby: I think it has nearly infinite aging capacity–unless it turns flabby. Given its uncomplicated beauty and coma-inducing balance, one can hope it will all be consumed within the year on a sunny patio somewhere under red umbrellas with a cheese-board and everyone watching. But let’s hold a couple bottles back for the future–just to see if I am wrong.

2020 DUSTY NABOR #cabernetsauvignon Villa Coibri VYD #losolivosdistrict #santaynezvalley #santabarbaracountywine 14.5