2014, Rivers Marie, Panek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Thomas Rivers Brown does a fabulous job with the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard, which is not that far from Vineyard 29's Aida on the valley floor just to the south of Larkmeade, north of St. Helena and the Culinary Institute of America. This is another sensational effort that flirts with perfection. Seventy-five percent new French oak was utilized for 20 months of aging, before the wine was bottle unfined and unfiltered. Opaque purple with notes of blueberry, black raspberry, incense, camphor and forest floor, the wine has an fabulous richness on the palate, a front-end-loaded appeal, but then carries through in the midpalate and finish with light tannin and good acidity. This is a sensational, sexy, up-front Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 20 years while waiting for the 2013 to hit its peak.

98 Robert Parker