Alexander Valley Vineyards Top of the Crop Cabernet 2004

Wine Enthusiast 92
"This is a limited-production line from this venerable winery. Its a very dense, focused Cab, a little too tightly wound to pop the cork quite yet. Theres a sharp pine or balsam zinginess thats a combination of smoky oak and deeply ripe cassis, fresh and zesty and dry. The wine needs time for all this to mellow. Best after 2008, and for a decade beyond. "

"Single vineyard wines are all the rage these days. So too are Cabs from hillside vineyards. Well here's a wine that carries both distinctions. Our reserve Cab is a wine loaded with personality. The Wine Enthusiast calls is a "very dense, focused Cab."
The wine also owes much of its charm to the fact that it's produced from 25-year-old vines. The older vines give this wine a lushness and richness you won't find in Cabs made from upstart vineyards.
The 2004 Alexander School Cabernet offers generous flavors of black cherry, plum and cassis and plenty of structure." ~Winery notes