The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch is an extraordinary wine that has a European structural profile imposed on the incredibly rich, pure fruit of Napa. Incense, creme de cassis, licorice, toasty oak, and spring flowers are all present in the complex aromatics. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied, very rich in extract and depth of concentration, but there is a beautiful delineation because of the structural aspects and the sweet tannins, which are present but never aggressive. This is a beauty that should hit its stride in 5-7 years and last for three decades-plus. (Not yet released)This is a terrific place to taste wine with David Abreu and his assistant, Brad Grimes. Finally some new vineyards are coming into production, including the Cappella, which I talked about last year as a tightly spaced vineyard on the back streets of St. Helena, and his 12-acre vineyard on Howell Mountain planted in very red soils. Abreu is, of course, an uncompromising viticulturalist and manages some of the finest vineyards in Napa with his viticultural company. A connoisseur of Bordeaux, he has tried to recapture the complexity of a great Bordeaux wedded to the extraordinary purity and ripeness of fruit that Napa can achieve so frequently. There are approximately 280 cases of the Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch, a wine that comes from the lower hillsides of Spring Mountain, just northwest of St. Helena. Lastly, there are close to 250 cases of what could well be his finest wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon that comes from the Thorevilos Vineyard that Abreu planted in partnership with Ric Forman. This is usually a blend of about 80-85% Cabernet Sauvignon with the rest Cabernet Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot. One sees the style of the three vintages of Abreu vividly displayed in the Thorevilos cuvees,Fax (707) 963-5104