SANTA YNEZ VALLEY | CALIFORNIA | $24
Mature red plum, mission fig and wild berry fruit, softened by bottle time, yields to cardamom, cedar, dried mushroom and graphite. Exceptional balance, medium-bodied with no alcohol heat — a remarkable trick given the high 15.1% alcohol. A beefed-up character in a slender tuxedo balancing on a tightrope, and somehow it works. And works well. A very good wine. (Reviewed 6/11/11)
