Lancaster Estate 2012 Alexander Valley Red Wine, "Sophia's Hillside Cuvée." Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 4% each of Merlot and Malbec. 14.7% abv.
This is the first of two bottles we bought at the winery a few years ago when we found ourselves staying in Healdsburg around Christmas. We hadn't made advance plans and there weren't a lot of open wineries to choose from. We stopped in to Lancaster on, I dunno, Christmas Eve morning? The parking lot was empty. The tasting room was empty, except for the two young women who were holding down the fort, and who I imagine greeted our arrival with some mixture of relief and mild dread, though they showed nothing but hospitality. The wines, though not exactly our style, were quite good, and we found a couple we liked enough to buy.
This was the one Andrea liked better than I did; I thought it was too plump and soft and worried that it wouldn't last, so I made a note to drink them up soon. But now, I think this has shed some of its baby fat, and it's really pretty good. Deep and black-fruited, rich and velvety, currant and boysenberry and plum fruit, not over-wooded, with enough acidity and tannin to give it length, and a sense that it might develop for after all, though still not beyond five years, I'd say. Andrea remembered this wine being brighter and redder than this, but enjoyed it in this darker, deeper mood too. Not profound, but it's nice to be pleasantly surprised.