The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is a killer effort and a fabulous sleeper of the vintage. It is a big cuvée of 5,500-plus cases, aged 20 months in 40% new French oak, and a final blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot from both the Sonoma and Napa sides of their vineyard. Deep purple, with notes of white chocolate, créme de cassis, blackberry, crushed rock and spring flowers, the wine has great intensity and a full-bodied mouthfeel, as well as beautiful purity, ripeness and length. It can be drunk now or cellared for at least another 12-15+ years, which is very much in keeping with the style of the dramatic but great 2012s.

2012 Pride Mountain Vineyards, 60% Napa County and 40% Sonoma County ($70) – Medium-dark ruby; deep, herbal, black cherry and blackberry fruit aroma with notes of cassis, cocoa, and graphite; full body; spicy, dark fruit flavors with good balance and depth, and some suppleness and silkiness in the mouthfeel; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Approachable now though deserving at least several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended. 14.6% alcohol; 5,566 cases; blended with 9% Merlot and 7% PV; released November 2014. (Group Score: 16.3, 0/2/1; My Score: 17 [90/100], fourth place)

Well-built, with a tight core of currant, dark berry, black licorice and cedary oak flavors. A mix of graphite and curshed rock nuances emerges on the finish, where the tannins impart focus and persistence. Drink now through 2028. 5,566 cases made. - J.L.

Pride's 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is soft, creamy and voluptuous. Sweet cherry, rose petal, mint, plum, cinnamon, new leather and cedar open up effortlessly in the glass, with silky tannins that add to the wine's sheer appear. The Cabernet Sauvignon captures the open-knit, radiant personality of the vintage to the fullest.

-- Antonio Galloni

The producer sources from both sides of its bi-county property for this lovely concoction, a mouthfilling mix of black pepper, juicy black plum and berry. Intriguing and complex, it's sublimely elegant, with a dusting of chocolate shavings on the long, velvety finish. -V.B.