The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon also contains 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc and was aged 28 months in 48% new French oak. Deep ruby in color, it has very pure, layered aromas of raspberry and cherry preserves with notes of cardamom, aniseed and rose petals. The full-bodied palate is intensely layered and perfumed, seamless and long. It’s an elegant rendition of an appellation-wide Cabernet Sauvignon from what can be a rich, powerful vintage in Napa.

This is a lively and engaging Cab, brimming with damson plum, red currant and bitter cherry fruit, liberally laced with sassafras, red tea and juniper accents. Fresh and open-knit through the finish.

I was able to taste two Cabernets from Ramey. Starting with the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which comes from Napa, it offers textbook, slightly old-school Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, sweet tobacco, cedar, and chocolate. It doesn’t pull any punches on the palate and is ripe, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, with a dense mid-palate, yet it brings good freshness, notable structure, and a great finish. It will keep for 15 years or more.