The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is aromatically closed currently, although it should be noted that this is the first year that the Cabernet Sauvignon was bottled under screw cap. In the mouth, the wine is like a time capsule for the fruit, yet the tannins have not had the same opportunity to soften and open their weave as they would have under cork. Personally, I'd rather have this and deal with decanting/preparation rather than the unpredictability of cork. It is just so much fresher and tighter than the wines tasted before it, and the wine here is harder to pinpoint in age than the others. It has mulberry, blood plum, raspberry, dark chocolate, a gritty splay of fine tannin and layers of the nori/kelp/brine that we come to associate with this coastal region. There is dried bay in profusion through the finish. It's exciting to witness the impact of closure here. Twenty years on, and the wine could be a decade younger. This is a good one for a blind wine night, perhaps. Untold time to go. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Full-bodied, soft and a bit woody, this wine’s smoky, hickory-scented aromas end up slightly dominating the fruit flavors. After 20 months in French oak, the fruit has taken on a dried character, ending on a cedary note. Drink now. Imported by Tom Eddy Wines.——J.C.(2/1/2008)—— 87