The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Fortis is the biggest and richest of the 2009s from Pine Ridge. There is certainly no shortage of concentration, but I find better balance and harmony in the mid-range wines. Black fruit, tar and smoke wrap around the palate, but here, too, the oak seems overdone and the tannins excessively firm. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Tel. (800) 486-0503

The flagship 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Fortis (with a different label and a heavier bottle) has an opaque ruby/purple color and gorgeously sweet, concentrated black currant fruit with sweet cherry, plum, Asian spice, and some subtle oak. It is full-bodied and very graceful, with superb equilibrium and intensity. This is a terrific, very young but very promising, prodigious Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well for 20-25 years. Barrel samples of the 2009 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Fortis Cabernet Sauvignon all showed forward fruit, deep color, charming tannins, and perhaps less weight than the 2008s or 2007s, but lots of style and elegance. They will be drinkable early on and I am sure will put on additional weight during their upbringing in barrel.Tel. (800) 575-9777; Fax (707) 253-1493