2009 Wallis Little Sister Proprietary Red Wine

The 2009 Little Sister is a beautiful, perfumed wine laced with silky red berries, flowers and spices. It is a gracious, supple wine endowed with remarkable textural finesse and exceptional overall balance.

The 2009 Little Sister is a beautiful, perfumed wine laced with silky red berries, flowers and spices. It is a gracious, supple wine endowed with remarkable textural finesse and exceptional overall balance. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Although Edward and Marilyn Wallis purchased their estate on Diamond Mountain in 1975, the first vines were only planted in 2000. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown gives the Cabernet Sauvignon roughly 10 months in French oak barrels, 85% new.

Delicious now, this has waves of blackberries, cherries, currants, dark chocolate, spices and oak. It seems almost sweet, but the finish is a swirl of dry tannins. Might develop over the long haul, and will it certainly last to 2015. Give it a few hours in the decanter.

(a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 10% cabernet franc): Medium ruby. Brooding aromas of dark berries and menthol. Then sexy and savory in the mouth, with good verve and nuance to the black raspberry and licorice flavors. Finishes with substantial chewy tannins and good length. Fruit from this Diamond Mountain property previously was sold to David Ramey and Lokoya, and still goes to the Napa Valley Reserve.