The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Wall Vineyard includes 11% Cabernet Franc in the blend. It is a stunning, opaque purple-hued effort displaying notes of creme de cassis, camphor, incense, and licorice. Deep, pure, and full-bodied with broad, savory flavors, and sweet tannin, it should drink well for two decades or more. Ed Sbragia, the highly renowned winemaker at Beringer, has settled into his own operation, producing just over 5,000 cases of reds and whites that focus on Sbragia’s strengths, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. He is also experimenting with small quantities of Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc.Tel. (866) 222-4342

The big wine, and still quite young, is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Wall Vineyard from Mount Veeder. This one gets blended with about 10% Cabernet Franc, and is the youngest of all of these wines. Deep purple in color, with an enticing nose of licorice, charcoal embers, hot rocks and creme de cassis, the wine hits the palate with a full-bodied authority. It offers up gorgeous purity, texture and length. There is some light to moderate tannin still to resolve, as this wine has not hit its peak. While accessible, it should be even better with another several years of bottle age and last two decades.

This has not been a successful bottling for Sbragia. The ’05 is excessively sweet and oaky, with some vegetal notes and hard tannins. It’s an unbalanced wine that’s not going anywhere.——S.H.(4/1/2009)—— 83