Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard 2006

This brawny Cabernet with gobs of concentration is a blend of four Napa Valley vineyards - Hyde, Stagecoach, Dr. Crane, and To Kalon - from which Hobbs produces single-vineyard bottlings; it includes a small amount of Merlot from the Michael Black Vineyard. The nose offers rich aromas of opulent dark fruit and roasted coffee with deftly applied toasty oak. This immense wine harmoniously reveals many layers on the palate including a core of decadent chocolate, black stone fruit and cassis with notes of cigar and graphite. Well-proportioned and rich with sweet and chewy tannins, it boasts complexity and muscularity with an enduring finish.

This rich, plush, concentrated young Cabernet exhibits layers of firm currant, black cherry and plum that are supple and harmonious. Picks up momentum, with the flavors unfolding gracefully on the finish, revealing extra nuances, and ending in a remarkably complex aftertaste. Best from 2007 through 2014.

Full medium ruby. Pungent aromas of cassis, menthol and pepper. Less fat and more clenched than the Cross Barn, but with purer and more primary dark fruit flavors. Nicely balanced, very fresh wine that will require at least three or four years of bottle aging.

Sleek, polished and concentrated, with vivid black cherry and blackberry fruit, turning savory and smoky and gracefully unfolding to reveal extra facets of nutmeg, mineral and sage before ending with a firm, tannic backbone. Best from 2007 through 2012.

Good full ruby-red. Subdued aromas of black plum, cassis,. menthol, and bitter chocolate. Deep and plush but still a bit muscular and unforthcoming in the middle. This has much more sweetness and stuffing than the Cross Barn, and thus the tannins come across as finer.

The dark ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, impressively-endowed 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa offers up notes of charcoal, smoke, creme de cassis, and toasty oak. A wealth of glycerin, concentration, and fruit suggest it will provide ideal drinking now and over the next 10-15 years.

It is obvious Paul Hobbs prefers the influence of Taransaud cooperage on his Bordeaux varietals because they tend to give the wines a chocolatey character, and that is seen in the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (3,120 cases), a Cabernet Sauvignon with terrific concentration, remarkable opulence, and layers of cassis- and licorice-infused tobacco leaf notes that just cascade over the palate with an unctuous texture. The wealth of fruit and concentration hides some relatively serious tannin in this large-scaled wine. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2020.