Even more compelling is the 2001 Jericho Canyon Vineyard Proprietary Red, a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 19% Cabernet Franc from a vineyard near Calistoga. A superb effort, it boasts a saturated purple color along with an extraordinary smoky nose revealing scents of roasted coffee, melted licorice, graphite, and copious amounts of blackberry and cassis liqueur.

Deep, concentrated and conveying a fine sense of potency in its complex, richly oaked and optimally ripened black cherry and currant aromas, this big, broad-beamed opus is positively plush on the palate with a wealth of well-extracted fruit that is met step for step by lots of lovely sweet oak spice.

Medium-dark ruby color; attractive, intense, complex, concentrated, ripe blackberry and black cherry fruit aroma with overtones of vanilla and creamy oak; full body; big, rich, concentrated, textured, highly extracted, slightly jammy, very ripe, dark currant and blackberry fruit flavors with overtones of creamy oak; full tannin; lingering aftertaste.

Full medium ruby. Superripe nose is distinctively porty yet bright.