This 100% Cabernet has a good structure and plenty of ripe, flashy blackberry and blueberry jam and cassis flavors. It’s a bit coarse now in tannins, which undoubtedly is a function of youth. Give it another five years, by which time it should be throwing lots of tannins, so be prepared to decant it carefully.
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)
A very ripe style, rich in cherry, plum and cocoa flavors. A little chunky now, with firm, dry tannins that lead to some astringency on the finish, but it could gain ground after 2007.
— S.H.
(8/1/2006)
This is a strongly flavored, brawny, tannic and heady wine. In other words, it’s classic Petite Sirah. The variety does particularly well in St. Helena, whose heat brings extra ripeness, but whose cool nights preserve acidity. Varozza’s ’08 has delicious flavors of black currant, plum, bacon and black pepper; it should last at least a decade.
— S.H.
(10/1/2012)
A good followup to the ’01, the ’02 is a soft, dense, chocolaty Cab, a bit one-dimensional. It offers a solid array of ripe blackberries and smoky oak, with a melted fudge opulence.
— S.H.
(5/1/2007)