Coup de Foudre 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

This wine is from John Schwartz, who partners with Heidi Peterson Barrett to make Amuse Bouche. For Coup de Foudre, he has paired with Danielle Price, MS, and wine director at Wynn Las Vegas, to produce this stunning Cabernet, which contains 12% Syrah. Grown in a 5-acre Stags Leap District vineyard, it shows stunning levels of blackberry and chocolate fruit enhanced with waves of smoky oak. Yet somehow, for all the opulence and power, there’s an almost weightless elegance to the wine. Sometimes cult Cabs can lack restraint, be too obvious. This one teases with richness, then pulls back under a velvety cover of tannin. A major debut.