Mayacamas Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

This is Mayacamas as Bob Travers made it: old-school mountain Cabernet from the man whose 1971 was picked for the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Travers bought the estate in 1968 at 30, after a year working with Joe Heitz and mentoring from André Tchelistcheff. He then ran it for forty-five years before handing it to new owners in 2013, so this 2006 comes from his era. His approach to Cabernet left little room for the usual Napa shortcuts. The house picks early to keep acidity. As a rule, Travers-era Cabernets fermented quickly in concrete, then spent two years in large old oak and redwood casks, another year in smaller barrels and two more years in bottle before release. The fruit comes from rocky, volcanic slopes high on Mount Veeder, where the stony ground keeps yields small. If you've had enough of plush, oaky Napa, this is the counterargument, and a chance to taste the estate before the change in ownership.