Jeremy Nickel Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Jeremy Nickel knows a thing or two about making great Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The son of the founders of Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel, he now makes his own wines, and I was deeply impressed when I tried this one last week. Just 10 barrels were produced from the 2015 vintage, and all of the fruit comes from Atlas Peak. With 50% new French oak barrel fermentation, this is a dense, rich, inky purple-colored wine that offers earthy almost charcoal ember-like notes with plenty of blackberry and cassis fruit. This is a substantial, full-throttle, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon built for long-term cellaring and should easily last a quarter of a century.