2009 Obsidian Ridge "Obsidian Ridge Vineyard" Red Hills Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU #1112936 90 points Wine Enthusiast

If you’re used to soft, ripe Napa Valley Cabernet, this one, grown just over the Lake County border, will strike you as dry and unyielding. The tannins are pronounced, giving it a hard bite. But it’s rich and deep in crème de cassis, the sort of wine that seems ageworthy. Take a gamble and put it in your cellar for 6–8 years. (6/ 2012)

Wine Spectator

Notable for its savory herb and dried berry flavors, this is a firm, complex, tightly wound youngster built with chewy tannins. Needs a little time or a healthy decant. Best from 2013 through 2022. (Web Only- 2012)

K&L Notes

Don't let this wine's reasonable price scare you off. Paying top dollar for a Napa wine isn't the only way to get a top-quality Cabernet. The offering from Obsidian Ridge is a blend of six blocks from their own vineyard in Lake County which features volcanic soil at an elevation of 2600' in the Mayacamas Mountains north of Napa. The wine is aged in Hungarian oak barrels for 18 months and blended with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The fruit is pure, bright, and structured tending toward the blackberry and plum end of the spectrum and underscored by mocha, cinnamon and warm nutmeg spice. The tannins are big but ripe, and just need a little air or time in your cellar to soften. This wine has the bones to last for up to a decade.