A sleeper offering is the 2003 Cabernet, an old French oak-aged 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. I have been drinking up my stash of the 1997, and it remains very young at ten years of age. Made from 15-year-old vines with yields of 1.5 tons of fruit per acre, it offers beautiful sweet black currant fruit interwoven with notions of cherries, road tar, cedar, and spice box. It would be interesting to insert this classic, top-flight Cabernet Sauvignon in a blind tasting of the finest Bordeaux. A beautiful full-bodied texture and sweet tannin suggest it will keep for 10-15 years. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283

Just the thing if you like high-alcohol (15.5%) Barossa Cabs with lifted red cherry and blackberry flavors. Hints of wintergreen and black pepper add interest; another reviewer noticed hints of prune as well. This is a very good wine, but not as layered and rich as it could be. Drink over the near term. ——D.T.(10/1/2006)—— 88