Founding winemaker Casey McClellan and his heir apparent, Bobby Richards, combined for a handful of vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, and this marked their fifth vintage working together at Seven Hills. However, it was 30th expression of Cab from the vines Dr. James McClellan pioneered along Seven Hills Road in 1980. The time devoted to new French oak barrels, about half of the lot, is evident in the nose of sweet toast, dark cherry, dark chocolate and ground cloves. Those are mirrored on the palate, which offers richness and rewarding tannins akin to black cherry skins. Concentrated flavors of raspberry and pomegranate nectar, combined with a sense of dried herbs, give it immediate class while eventually also rewarding those who can afford to tuck away a few into a corner of their cellar.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 250 cases
Alcohol 14.9%
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