Lots of ripe fruit but not overdone with meat, blackberries and boysenberries. Full-bodied with plush, velvety tannins and a light toffee undertone. Lovely ripeness and opulence but framed and gorgeous. Drink in four or five years.

Another sensational wine in the lineup is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard, which comes from a great site in Rutherford. All Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels, it has a regal, full-bodied, structured yet lively style that brings beautiful cassis and assorted darker cherry-like fruits, building tannins, a gravelly earth-like sense of minerality, and the vintage's pure, focused, incredibly impressive style. I love everything about this beauty, and while it offers pleasure today, it warrants 4-6 years in the cellar. It will drink well for at least two decades.

What a gorgeous wine from Amici Cellars, where consultant winemaker Tony Biagi works with Dante West, who joined in 2020. Sourced from the Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford on the western side of Highway 29 and aged 22 months in 100% new French Oak from coopers Sylvain, Taransaud, and Darnajou. This is polished, expressive, and beautifully built. Fragrant black cherry and black currant notes mingle with heady, toasty oak and sagebrush. The full-bodied palate leads with a satiny explosion of blackberry, cherry, and raspberry fruit leather, nuanced by tobacco and spearmint. Even at 15.6% alcohol, it finds a fantastic balance. A dusty tannic backbone lays a structured foundation with crisp blood-orange acidity, signalling a lengthy and refreshing finish.

My favorite of Amici's recent wines is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard. While it aged In100% new French oak—and it does offer scents of mocha, cedar and creosote—it's also richly fruited, with layers of deep plum and black cherry. Full-bodied, rich and expansive, it's nicely ripe and supple without being over the top, and it boasts a long, licorice-tinged finish.- JC

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard is texturally gorgeous. In fact, the 2021 is the most refined and harmonious Amici wine I have tasted off this site. Hints of rose petal, lavender and spice are beautifully delineated, but it is the wine's silkiness and creaminess in texture that impress most today. This pliant, expressive Rutherford Cabernet is a winner. - By Antonio Galloni on December 2023