Nickel & Nickel, Oakville (Napa Valley) Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

 This is the finest Cabernet Sauvignon from Nickel & Nickel’s bumper crop of vineyard-designate Cabs from the 2012 vintage, and that’s usually the case. The Martin Stelling Vineyard also shares its grapes with Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel’s sister winery, and the two together are perhaps the most dynamic duo of the Napa Valley, where Cabernet is quite clearly the money grape. Rich and luxurious on the palate, with a nose of violets and cedar and spice, supple tannins and remarkable length, the 2012 Nickel & Nickel Stelling is everything you want in a Napa Cab and more. Though pricey, when compared to comparable "cult" Cabernets from Napa, the price tag doesn’t seem so bad.