The 2005 Kubernetes is 100% Syrah from the Watch Hill Vineyard. Possessing a style somewhere between the Bossman and the Optimist, it is soft, ripe, and fleshy with tangy acidity as well as complex aromatics of smoke, soy, and game-like characteristics interwoven with scents of black cherries and black currants. The tannins are velvety, and the wine is supple, medium to full-bodied, fleshy, and delicious. It is made in a more restrained and elegant style compared to the beefier, richer, more tannic Bossman, and the voluptuous, exceptionally complex Optimist.This interesting operation uses distinctively artistic labels, much in the style of Sine Qua Non, as well as heavy bottles.Tel. (805) 640-9432

One hundred percent Syrah from the Watch Hill Vineyard, in the Los Alamos Valley section of Santa Barbara County. It’s very new-oaky now, with an explosion of buttered toast, char, vanilla and wood tannins. Underneath is a funky red wine just waiting to emerge. Already showing notes of bacon, teriaki beef and massively ripe blackberries. A helluva wine, impressive and dramatic. The big question is what will it do? Should develop for an additional 4–6 years. ——S.H.(2/1/2011)—— 94