Cabernet Sauvignon 'Colima'

Score

94

"The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Colima is an exceptional wine, especially for the year. It's a blend from Paratus on Mt. Veeder, Lupina on Moon Mountain and Peter Martin Ray, Marianis and Black Ridge, all in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the latter two planted with cuttings from Peter Martin Ray. John Raytek's original idea was to bottle a number of single vineyard Cabernets and the Colima, as the entry-level Cabernet. Vintage conditions did not allow all of those wines to be made, but the best lots were blended into this wine, with notable success. The 2021 range will include four Cabernets.Dark and imposing in the glass, the 2020 Colima is packed with blackberry, gravel, incense, dried flowers and licorice. In 2020, the Ceritas Cabernet is especially potent. There is some hardness to the contours, but that is a pretty small critique for a year in which conditions tested winemakers to the maximum."