Deep, layered, complex and very ripe yet also filled with both fruit and energy, this bold, commanding wine is not for the faint of heart or those who find too much personality in Napa Valley Cabernets. The rest of us, however, are going to luxuriate in its rich and sophisticated expressions of currants, tea leaf, crème caramel and sweet herbs. And we will not be put off by the wine's seeming sea of tannins because they guarantee that time in the cellar will be rewarded.

The 2009 Dancing Hares is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot that spent 22 months in 90% new French oak. It exhibits a dark ruby/purple color, supple, sensual tannins and notes of incense, red and black currants, licorice, and hints of wet pebbles as well as baking spices. This attractive, medium to full-bodied red suggests a hypothetical blend of a top Bordeaux with the fruit intensity and purity of a high end Napa proprietary red.

Aromas of redcurrant and licorice. Sappy, slightly medicinal flavors of black cherry and licorice accented by fresh herbs. The building dusty tannins avoid going dry. 'In a hot year this site gets very hot,' noted winemaker Andy Erickson, 'but 2010 and 2009 were cooler vintages.'