Sometimes, before you cast a quick aspersion on a wine, you have to let it sit, breathe and show what it really has to offer. In this case, while there is something about the aroma of the wine that I detect which I don't like (and note that it could be just one element that I am sensitive to), the taste is rather splendid.

I chose to give this wine a 9 versus an 8 because of its solid backend finish. This wine's flavor seems to develop at the end, versus hitting you at the beginning. What I taste is dark plums over a nice coffee bean (reminds me of Breyer's Coffee ice cream) with very mellow tannins. This taste does have some depth, but with this coffee aspect, it's different than the bold and rich dark fruits that one normally would come to expect with a Cab. The one flavor that I recognize [and I will admit that I had to look at the back label to associate it] is that of figs/; hell, I rarely have a Fig Newton anymore, I prefer those made from other fruits.

I will admit that the amount of oak is not necessarily too my liking (it yields dry tannic character), but the weight on your tongue is a sublime velvet, reminding me of chocolate cake.

While this is a 2006, I am interested to see what happens in the next few vintages.