The medium garnet colored 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time opens with super intense Ceylon tea, sandalwood, new leather and unsmoked cigars scents with a core of kirsch, blackberry tart and mincemeat pie plus nuances of tilled black earth and wood smoke. The palate is full-bodied, offering a powerful burst of mouth-coating, maturing fruit layers plus a firm, youthfully grainy texture and loads of savory sparks on the very long finish.

The three vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time include the just bottled 2005, which spent four years in an assortment of barrels. It was the best tasting I have had of that wine. These wines have a more chocolate, espresso roast character as well as tons of fruit, and a natural, concentrated character. They are very thick and rich, yet the oak seems less noticeable than it does in wines scheduled for earlier bottling. Altogether, this is a remarkable winery with a highly personalized vision that is producing extraordinary wines, and we’re all the better for it.(Not yet released)Jayson Woodbridge’s vision of high quality Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is increasingly confirmed with each new vintage. His debut vintage, 2000, was not an easy year to launch a high end, luxury Cabernet Sauvignon, but it was so delicious upon release, that I couldn’t believe it would get much better. After having a taste of it in late October, I’m happy to say I was wrong. At nine years of age, the 2000 is doing great. All of these wines are 100% Cabernet Sauvignons, and all are aged in 100% new French oak in various sizes, from small barrels to 500-liter puncheons, and 600-liter demi-muids. The flagship wine is from the home vineyard known as Kayli Morgan (just east of St. Helena). Woodbridge also has a 15-acre parcel on Howell Mountain, the Ark Vineyard, a new offering called Few and Far Between near the Eisele Vineyard southeast of Calistoga. Lastly, there is a limited cuvee called Deep Time where he is experimenting with small lots aged 36-50 months in oak. Woodbridge is irrefutably a contrarian, but he is the kind of person you want going against mainstream, conventional thoughts. His wines are among the most individualistic in California. Even with their lofty prices and limited availability, they merit support.Tel. (707) 967-9398; Fax (707) 968-9658