Cabernet Sauvignon, Screaming Eagle 2007

The most profound Screaming Eagle since the 2002 and 1997, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (an 800-case blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc) offers up a prodigiously pure, complex nose of cassis, spring flowers, licorice and black currants, the latter component being so intense and lingering that it makes this cuvee stand apart from other Napa Valley wines. Full-bodied in the mouth, like a ballerina on her toes, this wine glides gracefully across the palate with a cascade of purity, equilibrium and compelling complexity. Extraordinary balance and elegance combined with power make for an utterly stunning wine that should drink well for two decades or more. Even though the estate is being reconstituted and a new winery built, this wine still came from the old sector of the vineyard (15.5 acres) that was used by the previous proprietor, Jean Phillips.

Certainly 2007 and 2008 are the best back to back vintages at Screaming Eagle since 2002 and 2001. Like the 2007, the 2008 should drink well for at least 20-25 years based on the fact that the 1992, the debut release (which I just had), at age 18 is still an adolescent. Kudos to the winemaking team led by Andy Erickson who is backed up by the blue chip viticulturist David Abreu and the omnipresent Michel Rolland.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon may merit a three-digit score if it continues to evolve as it is currently. This blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc has closed down somewhat, but, wow, is it showing awesome potential! In the past, the hallmark of this wine has always been its extraordinary intensity, purity, and depth of creme de cassis fruit, and this characteristic is again present in the 2007. Additionally, notions of camphor, licorice, and smoke, extraordinary opulence, and a seamless integration of acidity, wood, tannin, and alcohol are all found in this incredibly velvety-textured, full-bodied wine that is elegant as well as substantial in flavor intensity. I can't wait to taste it after a few years in bottle.