2014 Duffy Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Optima Winery

Smokey dark cherry, smoldering tobacco, crushed black currant. Tart Damson plum, dried lavender, raspberry purée. Dusty blackberry, wild blueberry, and açaí join forces with spearmint, cinnamon, and red cedar in an incredibly tense and tightly wound attack. Notes of bright violet and menthol expose deep natural beauty before pronounced impressions of ash, crushed basalt, and smoke reveal a stern and serious edge. Bitter baking chocolate, vanilla, and lifted spice emerge in an attempt to soften pent up angst yet cannot overcome astoundingly firm structure as intense chalky tannin and booming acidity radiate throughout boisterous medium plus bodied profile. Young, nervy, and extremely muscular; perhaps still decades away from reaching its peak. This 2014 Duffy Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon by Optima Winery is a powerful, well built, and classically styled red from Alexander Valley.

Located near the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains opposite from Napa Valley, Alexander Valley is one of Sonoma County's most well established sub-appellations for the production of Bordeaux varietal wines. This bottling, crafted by Optima Winery using Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their estate Duffy Vineyard in Alexander Valley, showcases the sheer power and strength this region is capable of producing. At 6 years of age this wine somehow shows few signs of maturation, and its primary intensity and structure are still as fresh as a barrel sample. Its immense potential is obviously apparent and although it can be enjoyed now with a decant this wine will benefit from significant time in the cellar. An impressive small production single vineyard offering.