2002 Kunde "Drummond Vineyard" Sonoma Valley. This wine showed a purity of red fruit (cassis) and anise with excellent acidity and fully resolved tannins. Very enjoyable-I love wines with a hint of tangyness. 90 points.
2001 Trefethan "Halo" Cabernet Sauvignon. Wow. This is a major discovery. A prestige bottling, with the heavy, heavy bottle and fantastic label art providing a warning. I feared overextraction, over oak, and fruit bomb.
But, Trefethan is old school, and this wine rocked my world and was "almost" "worth" the price
(Forbes Magazine actually rated it as a rare wine over $100 that merits said price!) Beautiful color-clear garnet with just a hint of color change on the rim. Nose of anise and red fruit-layers and layers of scents. Palate really came through, though. This wine is almost bracing in its acidity. Mouth smackingly good acid...this is no flabby fruit bomb! The fruit tends to the red side of the spectrum, with piercing purity of red berry and anise. Tobacco and black cassis appear later on in the mix. The mouth feel is light and elegant and beautiful, but there is definitely some tannic backbone still in place. I think this wine was made to age and could go another firve-to-ten years? Long finish, with strong savory notes that go on and on. This wine was simply scrumptious in its layers of flavor. One of the best California Cabs I've tasted since I became a wine geek. Ranks up there with the Corison Kronos-95-97 points. Outstanding. Good things can come in overwrought packaging!