Medium to deep garnet in color with a touch of brick, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards has a maturing crème de cassis, dried mulberries and baked blackberries nose with hints of sandalwood, leather and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, it gives a good amount of slowly evolving, juicy black fruit flavors with a chewy frame and lively finish.

New oak dominates this wine, and the tannins, which are derived from both the wood and the grapes, give it an unrelieved astringency. Not showing much pleasure now, but there’s a solid core of blackberries and black cherries. It’s unclear if the fruit will outlast the tannins.——S.H.(5/1/2011)—— 88