The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard is a dead ringer for a great vintage of Ducru-Beaucaillou. Pure crème de cassis, graphite, smoked earth, and tobacco leaf notes all flow to a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon that exudes class, elegance, and purity, all while still carrying serious depth and richness. Made from 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Petit Verdot, it has ripe tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish, all promising a long life.

This blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Petit Verdot comes from a small hillside vineyard in eastern Oakville, just below the Dalla Valle winery. Pedregal means 'rocky place' in Spanish, and the soil is iron-rich volcanic rock. The vintage, a drought year, was classic, with harvest on 19 September. The wine is dark, deep, and layered, with mineral overtones and a silky richness, its tannins smoothed by ageing for 25 months in new French oak.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard is a classic wine from the Eastern Hills of Oakville. Pliant, supple and radiant in the glass, the 2014 offers superb depth and textural richness. The dark cherry, plum, espresso, licorice and floral notes all blossom in an effortless, sumptuous Cabernet endowed with personality and class. The 2014 will be easy to drink with minimal cellaring. Today, it is fabulous.