Robert Craig, Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

My experience with this wine through the years is that it’s a bit of a time bomb. Very good in its youth, I almost always underrate it. Then seven to ten years out from the vintage, the time bomb goes off and you have one of those Napa Valley reds that delivers the sort of profound experience that made Napa Valley the top destination in the United States for wine. This vintage has all of the earmarks of another superb, long-lived Robert Craig Cab. It’s rich and powerful, yet balanced and elegant. Showing black and red-fruited aromas, a hint of spice and beautifully integrated tannins at this stage — and it’s only going to get better over the next decade.