2012 Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - Moran Manor

Dark cherry preserve, young tobacco, pulverized blackberry. Slightly tart blueberry, lava rocks, chocolate covered acai. Blue hydrangeas and blooming violet, dried mint and mild eucalyptus. Ripe black currant leads expressive & dark yet lean & bright fruit past flowers and subtle herbs on the way to the volcanic promised land. Basalt, iron, and red earth await them providing a tightly-wound and structured core, mellowed slightly by toasted wood and vanilla. Coffee bean, cedar, and mocha show further secondary complexity without detracting from gorgeous fruit or earth. Medium plus in body with grainy tannin and substantial acidity - clearly early in its development with structure that suggests many years of improvement in the cellar. This 2012 Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by Moran Manor is classically-styled and wonderfully balanced California Cab.

While some California producers prefer to shape their Cabernet Sauvignon into ripe, lush, and mouth-coating iterations of the variety, others proceed with a more traditional approach. This bottling, crafted by Moran Manor using Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their estate vineyard in the Knight's Valley appellation of Sonoma County, is an excellent example of how restraint can sometimes triumph over excess. Although it has already been 7 years since the great 2012 vintage this wine still feels quite young, yet its balance and poise allow for wonderful drinking after a moderate decant. The typicity and terroir expression here are near flawless as this clearly expresses pure varietal character along with a distinct sense of place. This stuff still has at least 10 years of improvement ahead of it and should drink well for many decades thereafter. An excellent throwback to the style of Cabernet that first put California on the map.