Composed of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, with 66% coming from Sonoma and 34% from Napa, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve displays a very deep purple-black color and nose of crushed red and black currants, black cherries and pencil shavings with touches of cloves, bay leaves, damp earth and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with juicy red and black fruits, supported by silky, silt-like tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long with an herbal lift. 1,546 cases were made.

While no less tannic than its rough-around-the-edges sibling just below, this deeply filled Cabernet Sauvignon is in all ways a richer wine and more than lives up to its "reserve" designation. It is plump and polished and immediately inviting on entry with a wealth of ripe, beautifully rendered, blackcurrant fruit comfortably buffering its ample structural tannins, and generous oak provides a turn of complementary sweetness throughout. The wine is arguably a bit of a showboat at the moment, but there is plenty of depth and genuine varietal gravitas at work here as well, and, as five to ten years in the cellar will make abundantly clear, this one is far more than a pretty face.

Reviewed: August 2017

2014 Pride Mountain Vineyards, “Reserve,” 66% Sonoma County and 34% Napa County ($145) – Mediumdark ruby; attractive, forward, ripe, spicy, cedary, black cherry and blackberry fruit aroma with note of cassis, black olive, and dried herbs; full body; rich, deep, ripe, mouth-filling, red and black fruit flavors with herbal notes and hints of dark chocolate and licorice; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Showed some elegance and complexity as it aired in the glass, and worthy of a good five more years of aging. Very highly recommended. 14.8% alcohol; 1,546 cases; blended with 3% PV; released March 2017. (Group Score: 16.8, 3/1/1; My Score: 17 [92/100], fourth place)

Coming both from Sonoma County and Napa Valley, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve offers a deep, concentrated, dense style as well as loads of chocolaty dark fruits, black cherry, graphite, scorched earth, tobacco and background oak. It's a rich, full-bodied beauty that shows the more plush side of the vintage in its fruit and texture, yet offers an incredible core of fruit and mid-palate density that's going to allow it to age beautifully. I'd hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.