2014 Rodney Strong Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Juicy black cherry and blueberry wrap around big, expansive tannins in this hearty red that is sourced from several of the producer's best sites. With a backbone of structure and oak, it's toasty in character yet robustly fruity. Virginie Boone

Artisanal winemaking is easier to say than do, but at Rodney Strong, Sonoma County’s first carbon neutral winery, the art is in the details. Reserve means a strict selection of individual Cabernet Sauvignon lots made from time tested, meticulously farmed sections of some of the best vineyards of the Alexander Valley and up in the mountains north of Lake Sonoma. It’s all individually harvested, fermented separately, and aged in French oak. After six months, each lot is tasted and graded and only the best considered for Reserve. The 2014 Reserve Cabernet came out of the small lot artisan cellar under the direction of winemaker Greg Morthole. Look for intense, enticing smoky, blackberry aromas and spice. The attack is juicy (yeah) with warm, dense, fine grained tannins - a reserve with meaning. I love the rich hillside black fruit flavours, but there is restraint and complexity now, not just brute cabernet power. Savoury dried herbs and toasted oak punctuate the finish of a wine so well balanced you can almost start drinking it now. This is a Sonoma County mix of 96 percent cabernet sauvignon (much of it from Rockaway), 3 percent petit verdot and 1 percent malbec that is aged 27 months in 43 percent new French oak barrels. (Anthony Gismondi).