The wine showed a dark ruby almost opaque color. Blackberry, black cherry, cassis, raspberry, eucalyptus, licorice and oak all arrived on the complex, yet nuanced nose. Blackberry, cherry, cassis, raspberry preserves, eucalyptus, vanilla, licorice and oak followed on a palate singing with berry fruit. The wine exhibited great structure and length, along with moderate tannins. This wine would be a suitable pair for a classic chateaubriand. (To read more, please click here.)

This beautiful wine includes 9% Cabernet Franc that gives a lift of floral violet and grainy cedar. Classic all around in its etchings of coconut shavings, graphite, spice and dust, the fruit is additionally savory in bright red currant and a crunch of cassis, with an underpinning of soft, succulent blackberry.

The 2013 Annum Cabernet Sauvignon is a fantastic effort from David Ramey. This blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Cabernet Franc delivers bold aromas of ripe blackberries and dark currants woven together with sweet spices, dried sage, violets, cherry pipe tobacco and underlying hints of graphite which all take shape as this unwinds in the glass. This is full-bodied and layered with excellent concentration as this leads up to the multidimensional finish. Overall, the 2014 Annum Cabernet an excellent showing with wonderful aging potential and should continue to evolve for years to come. (Best 2018-2030) 

The brilliant 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Annum has licorice, floral notes, smoky underlying subtle oak, blackberry and cassis and a full-bodied mouthfeel with moderate but sweet tannin. This dense wine is exuberant/boisterous and should offer gorgeous drinking over the next 20+ years. 

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Annum is one of the richer wines in David Ramey's range, but I don’t see it as meaningfully more complex than the straight Cabernet Sauvignon, perhaps because the 100% new oak is a bit pronounced at this stage. Most of the fruit for the Annum is sourced from hillside vineyards in Mount Veeder, Oakville and Rutherford.