Wine & Spirits - December 2021 - 58

Year's Best Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends
feel ripe but compact, with a warmth and
easy intensity that would welcome barbecue.
-P.J.C. (150 cases) §
91 | Big Basin
$85
2018 Monterey County Altitude 2292 ^
This blend comes from Coastview Vineyard,
overlooking the Salinas Valley, where fi ve
Bordeaux varieties grow with a uniformly
cool expression. The wine leads with scents
of bay laurel, pine and eucalyptus, all framing
dark blackberry fl avors. It feels tight at
the moment, still years from its peak. Cellar.
-P.J.C. (225 cases) §
91 | Buttonwood
$32
2017 Santa Ynez Valley Estate Cabernet
Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ Pleasingly dusty
and a touch sanguine, this wine's fi rm tannins
will put you in mind of Tuscan reds. It's
woodsy and a touch smoky, with mildly spicy
and savory cherry fl avors, for tri tip. -P.J.C.
(400 cases) §
91 | Donati
$36
2017 Paicines Ezio Cabernet Sauvignon ^
This little-known AVA, an inland valley in
San Benito County, produces warm rustic
reds like Ezio. The dark cherry fruit smells
sunbaked and concentrated, with a dusty,
chewy density and grip that made one taster
think of the red clay roof tiles. It'll pair beautifully
with long cooked brisket. -P.J.C. (502
cases) §
90 | Donati
$36
2016 Paicines The Immigrant ^ This blend of
merlot with malbec, petit verdot and cabernet
franc smells of consommé and dark-red
cherries, with a fl eshy middle and dusty fi nish.
For barbecue. -P.J.C. (613 cases) §
fi lings, with a depth of fl avor that's hard to
overstate; after a few days, it's more suave
and settled, something the cellar, and time,
should promote. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/21; 350
cases) §
90 | Foxen
$60
2018 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
7200 Vogelzang Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
^ Scents of olive, smoke and green peppercorn
render this a savory, satisfying red.
The fruit is fully ripe, dark-red-berry tinged
with cinnamon and a whiff of tar. The texture
is on the lean side, crisp and taut, a great
match for tri-tip. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/21; 346
cases) §
90 | Ghost Hull
$30
2019 San Lucas Monterey County San
Lucas Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Bright red fruit gives this cabernet a pleasant
sunbaked berry character. It's medium bodied,
with the refi nement for smoked chicken
or duck breast. -P.J.C. §
90 | Grassini Family
$80
2017 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Warm and
fi ggy, this wine channels the warmth of
Happy Canyon with an easy intensity. It
starts out with an aroma of juicy plum, giving
way to dried-fi g fl avors, modestly extracted,
with a grainy texture that will work well with
lamb. -P.J.C. (146 cases) §
90 | Smith & Hook
$25
2019 Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Nice for the price, this wine has a hint of
herb to go along with dark plum and plumskin
fl avors well-framed by oak. Its texture
is sleek and dry, a great pair with a mediumrare
smashburger. -P.J.C. §
90 | Sunstone
$65
2019 Santa Ynez Valley Estate Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ A delicious red that's demonstrably
red-fruited-strawberry scents and dark
raspberry fl avors-it has a hint of leather and
tobacco on the fi nish. The lightness of tone
surprises, but it remains fl avorful and bright
for roast chicken. -P.J.C. (95 cases) §
89 | Muirwood
90 | Foxen
$76
2018 Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
7200 Los Potreros Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Powerfully sanguine and savory, this cabernet
smells of baked fruit, blood and iron
58
WINE & SPIR IT S
DE CEMBER 2021
$16
2019 Arroyo Seco Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This wine leads with a vinous,
leathery scent supporting deep blue-black
fruit fl avors. That savory lining gives the wine
impressive complexity for the price. -P.J.C. §
92 | Le Vigne
87 | Pareto's Estate
$15
2018 Monterey 8020 Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This burly wine has a dark oak
scent, with smoked-plum fl avors and fi rm
tannins that need a hearty meal to tame
them, like tri-tip. -P.J.C. (1,461 cases) §
PASO ROBLES
92 | J. Lohr
$50
2017 Paso Robles Cuvee Pom ^ Inspired by
Pomerol, this blend of merlot and malbec
possesses a Right Bank elegance. Scents of
plum and black cherry have a beguiling overlay
of amaro and fi ve-spice powder. The fl avors
play a tight weave between warm Paso
fruit stylings and generous, well-balanced
oak. -P.J.C. (660 cases) §
$50
2018 Paso Robles Di Domenico Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ From a vineyard planted in the
early 1980s, there's no doubting this wine
comes from a warm place, but its fl avors
suggest old-vine balance: a scent of ink and
black cherry, along with a faint menthol note.
It's broad and fl avorful, with a warmth to its
structure and powdery tannins that fi nish
with a briary spice. -P.J.C. (400 cases) §
92 | Tooth & Nail
$21
2018 Paso Robles Squad Series Red Blend
(BEST BUY) Cabernet sauvignon, merlot
and petite sirah come together in a wine
https://www.jlohr.com/wines/2017-cuvee-pom https://shop.levignewinery.com https://www.foxenvineyard.com/wine/current-releases/foxen-7200
Wine & Spirits - December 2021

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