Behrens Family 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon “The Anchor”, Napa Valley
NVWE Notes: Loaded with concentrated fruit and exotic spice, this dramatic bottling outperforms Cabs at triple its price. The nose is a layered perfume of black currant jam, black cherry, red cherry, fig, sweet pipe tobacco, black licorice, cedar, clove, graphite, laurel and dried rosemary scents. It proves as grand as expected on the mid-palate where near operatic ripeness is balanced by quiet zest, a supple texture and fruit that is pure and opulent enough to smother the tannins. The finish is as complex as the aromas suggest, yet the savory-herbal spice notes are swamped by a wave of gorgeously sweet-natured fruit. Three or four years from its peak, it is sensational already. 490 cases produced.