96 Flora Springs Napa Valley "St. Rutherford" C.S.

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($26.99 btc; 14.0%) although now the equivalent of this from flora springs would be their regular napa valley bottling, in '96 this was actually a wine completely sourced from their home vineyard, which straddles the St. Helena and Rutherford districts, hence the St. Rutherford name. this wine is deep ruby, going orange at the rim. a gorgeous, full nose of licorice, spice and dark fruits (blackberry, plums, cassis), and those flavors are echoed on the tongue with great intensity. a wonderful entry and midpalate, leading to a finish that keeps going and going. there are still some slight Rutherford dust tannins that i expect will disappear in 2-3 years. i was fortunate to have found a case of this last week and will be thoroughly enjoying it over the next 5 years or so -- if i can make it last that long. 93 points.