The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Fred Vineyards is flat-out beautiful. Layers of expressive dark fruit, smoke, tar, incense and graphite caress the palate in this highly articulate, refined wine. With time in the glass, the wine shows gorgeous inner perfume and sweetness. Today the oak is a bit pronounced, but the wine appears to have the depth to provide balance over time. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. These are two beautiful wines from Selene and winemaker Mia Klein.Tel. (707) 258-8119

The dark ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Fred Vineyard is a more structured, less charming effort at present, but it has more layers as well as 10-15 years of upside potential. The tannins are noticeable, but sweet. Notes of plums, earth and spice can be found in this dense 2008. It needs 2-3 years of bottle age to come into its own. It’s a shame Merlot has taken such a beating. Certainly, the poor examples have fallen by the wayside, but some good ones are still out there and readers need to pay more attention to them. It’s a world-class grape so forget the absurdity of the anti-Merlot nonsense in the movie “Sideways.”Tel. (707) 258-8119; Fax (707) 258-8132

This is an ultrarich, ripe Cabernet, marked by jammy blackberry, blueberry and cherry fruit flavors, with a milk chocolate sweetness and soft, intricate tannins. Made in the soft, modern style, it’s best over the next six years. ——S.H.(11/1/2011)—— 90

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Fred Vineyard has a more opaque purple color, and slightly more intense black currant and blackberry fruit intermixed with a subtle touch of oak. More seamless, with riper tannin, and a fleshy, even voluptuous texture, it is a young, still somewhat primary, but overall more impressive, deeper, and broader Cabernet with sweeter tannins than its older sibling. It should drink well for 15-20 years. Mia Klein’s proprietary blends, dedicated to her mother, are all blends of Bordeaux varietals.Tel. (707) 258-8119; Fax (707) 258-8132

The palate can tell a superbly structured Cabernet from a flawed one, and this Cab shows off its pedigreed origins with flash. Great tannins, fine acidity, fully dry, and with a rich veneer of oak, it has perfectly ripened flavors of blackberries, currants, cherries and dark chocolate.——S.H.(9/1/2010)—— 93