1997 Dunnewood Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

[newsguy]

7,800 cases made. reddish purple in color. aromas of vanilla, ripe plum, sweet oak, cassis jump from the glass. tastes of same, with touches of berry (blackberry?) and mocha thrown in. solid mouthfeel, good finish with slight drying tannins. simply put, this is a nice california cab at a very nice price ($13 per by the case).

the head chef at a gourmet food/wine shop i frequent in gainesville had me try this a while back. my wife and i were there for a tasting, and although this wasn't one of the wines being tasted that night, he opened a bottle and insisted i try it. i tasted it without knowing what it was, and guessed this was a CA cab that was easily fetching more than $20 per bottle.

forget the dunnewood name on the label. what you really need to know is: this reserve bottling spent 30 months in oak barrels, and it's a '97 cab from napa valley. if you can find it, consider buying it by the case. i did, and will be enjoying them over the next 2 years or so.