I know I keep harping on this, but this wine keeps blowing me away for a 25 buck cab. Repeating myself:

This wine rolls up and smokes Napa and Sonoma cabs double the price. It fucking hotboxes them!

It takes a loooong time to open up; this is the 2003 Smith&Hook Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Lucia Highlands (whew). Or just the S&H Cab.

About 7 hours after opening: Dripping, lush, syrupy fruit along with crazy cedar, pencil lead, minerality, acidity. A little smoke, a little hog (as in crispy bacon); a very right-bank Bordeaux style but with the super-plush California fruit. Will DEFINITELY age; I’m going to have to squirrel a few of these away.

This wine, these vineyards are a labor of love for the Hahn family. This wine has been made every year since 1979; how many other California wines can say that and still are producing wines of this quality?