2014 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - Optima Winery

Chocolate cherry liqueur, blooming rose, blackberry compote. Black currant, cigar box, ripe blueberry. Crushed clove and vanilla, menthol and tobacco smoke. Warm dark fruit meshes with well-integrated oak and a barrage of baking spice - but then the bass drops. Red & black volcanic earth hits hard with coffee grounds & licorice in a symphony of terroir and tension. Structured and tight with grainy tannin like trying to chew pulverized dark chocolate. This 2014 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by Optima Winery is rich and racy Sonoma Cab.

California Cab Sauv can get as lush and juicy as it likes, but at the end of the day it's just no fun without the grip of underlying tension. This bottling, crafted by Optima Winery using fruit sourced from Sonoma's Alexander Valley appellation, is chock-full of that wonderful vitality we crave. This stuff is relatively dense but avoids flabby oversaturation, instead relying on acid to roll through the ripe tannin profile. Dried violet seduces as allspice and cardamom point to expert barrel treatment. With time terroir reveals itself to be the headliner of this show. No rush to pop the cork here, this rockstar has yet to reach its peak. If you're a Cali Cab fan and aren't drinking Alexander Valley juice you're missing out on quite a treat.