Since I've cut way back on wine purchasing, I am now drinking thorough stuff from a couple of years ago.
This mid-priced Napa Cab (30s or 40s) comes from a well-known pioneer in boutique mountain cab production. Mostly from the mountains on the eastern edge of the Napa Valley. And...my verdict was "solid but not exciting." A bit fumey on the nose (14.5% nominal abv really does show here) but there are some interesting herbal and leather notes going on. A slight bit of bricking in the color. Flavors-still quite primary. Surprisingly smooth and fruit forward-this was not the tannic monster I expected. Some nice currant and blackberry fruit with just a hint of leather/tobacco/anise. Again, whatb stands out is the smoothness.
Looking back at the last couple of weeks, I would say this ranks below the Sojourn and the Newton Puzzle but well above the Pellegrini. I definitely prefered the mixture of flavors in the Bartholomew Park, but your experience with that wine might vary (per M. Malinowski). 85 points. Solid, well-made, but not very interesting-at least not yet.