The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is massively shut down and brooding at this stage. Swaths of tannin wrap around a core of inky blue/purplish fruit, sage, lavender, tobacco and incense. Readers will have to be especially patient here. The 2021 is a bruiser. Clone 337 Cabernet offers a notable aromatic presence, while a dollop of Petit Verdot in the blend adds somber complexity.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a wine of gravitas and substance. Gravel, incense, dark spice, tobacco and leather add sepia tones to a core of dark blue/purplish fruit. Mysterious and changing in the glass, the 2019 is a Cabernet that needs time to reveal all of its layers. But they are there. All the 2019 needs is a bit of cellaring.

A classic Sonoma County Cabernet that has a touch of Bordeaux style in its darker currants, lead pencil, crushed stone, and tobacco-laced aromas and flavors, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is medium to full-bodied and has a beautifully textured mouthfeel, lots of ripe tannins, and a great finish. This brilliant wine can be drunk today but will be better with 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for 20+.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is endowed with tremendous palate presence and intensity. Inky dark fruit, licorice, spice, sage, lavender and menthol all meld together in the glass. A Cabernet of depth and savory nuance, the Wedding melds together the structure of the mountain with layers of inky dark fruit. It is another magnificent wine in this range.

From a site in Sonoma, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is one of my favorites in the lineup. Deep purple-hued with rocking notes of crème de cassis, leafy tobacco, violets, white flowers, and graphite, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful purity of fruit, silky tannins, and a great finish. It's straight-up gorgeous stuff, and you can drink bottles today or cellar for two decades.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is dark, dense and enveloping, with real sense of richness and gravitas. Inky dark fruit, scorched earth, cedar, tobacco, licorice, menthol and incense all build in a potent, sumptuous Cabernet Sauvignon that balances fruit intensity with structure. A dollop of co-fermented Petit Verdot adds character. Unctuous, dense and bursting with explosive energy, the 2017 is another brilliant wine in this range from the Fisher family.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon co-fermented with 9% Petit Verdot. The nose offers hints of blue fruits and a blackcurrant core with touches of roasted coffee, chocolate, violets and dried herbs. The palate is medium-bodied, restrained and mineral driven, with a firm, grainy frame and good freshness, finishing minerally.

Deep ruby-purple, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard slowly gives up cassis, baked black plum and red and black cherry preserves with layers of warm chocolate, tobacco, cedar, pencil shavings and spice box. The palate is full-bodied, rounded and intensely flavored with firm but plush tannins, finishing very long with great freshness. This deserves another few years in bottle and should be long lived. 336 cases produced.

Fisher's 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard offers another striking expression of this multi-faceted Spring Mountain site. A wine of density, power and layers of flavor, the 2016 is fabulous. Bright floral notes develop with time in the glass, adding perfume, lift and sensuality to a core of dark cherry, plum, rose petal, lavender and spice. The Wedding Cabernet is often co-fermented with some Petit Verdot, an approach that seems to work especially well here.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard comes from Sonoma and is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot that was brought up all in new oak. There's under 400 cases of this beauty, yet it offers a pure, powerful display of black and blue fruits, crushed rocks, tobacco, and graphite. Rich, concentrated, and powerful, with plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age but is pure class. It's another thrilling wine from this estate.

Deep garnet-purple, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard has a show-stopping nose of violets, chocolate box, anise, cedar chest and red roses over a core of warm cassis, blackberry compote and black raspberries with wafts of wood smoke and iron ore. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, the palate delivers tons of tightly wound layers, framed by very firm, very finely grained tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long. Give it five years in bottle and drink it over the next 30. 231 cases produced.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a selection of the best four blocks within Fisher's Estate vineyard on the Sonoma side of Spring Mountain. Sumptuous and gloriously ripe, with superb concentration, the 2015 shows the more finessed side of Fisher's Sonoma property. A host of floral and savory overtones grace the mid-weight, silky finish.

Graphite, smoke, minerals, scorched earth and black-fleshed fruits give the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard much of its virile personality. A big mountain wine with serious intensity, the 2014 is going to require a good deal of patience.

Similar in style, but even denser purple, with slightly more structure and density, is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard. This is a real winner, but needs a good 4-5 years of bottle age. It’s impressively endowed, exhibiting loads of black fruits, spice and earth. It should drink well for 20-25 years.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a real knockout. Dark, powerful and somber in its personality, the 2013 presents intense black-fleshed fruit, graphite, smoke and licorice. There is more than enough depth to fill out the wine's ample, broad-shouldered frame. This powerful, virile mountain Cabernet is going to need a few years to fully come together, but it is impressive.

Opaque purple, with blackberry liqueur, licorice, truffle and a touch of charcoal and camphor is the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard. I believe this comes from a vineyard right in front of the winery, and is impressively concentrated, multilayered and full-bodied, with sweet tannin and a long, long finish. It’s the richest and most complete of what is an impressive group of Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Drink this one over the next 12-15 years.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard brings together the best qualities of the year. Dark, seamless and voluptuous, the 2012 stands out for its total sense of balance and class. All the elements fall into place in this gracious, super-expressive Cabernet Sauvignon. The 100% new oak is totally integrated.

Deep ruby. Tightly focused redcurrant and cherry aromas are complemented by a sexy floral quality and a hint of smoky minerals. Unfolds slowly on the palate, offering vibrant bitter cherry and spicecake flavors along with a sweetening note of vanilla. Finishes with excellent persistence, an echo of cherry and sneaky, firming tannins.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard has developed nicely since I last tasted it about a year ago. The Old World, mid-weight personality of the year is very much in evidence. Pine, mint, wild herbs, tobacco and incense add nuance in a soft, approachable Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next decade or so.

Full ruby-red. Dark plum, currant, spices, violet and tobacco on the perfumed nose. Suave, smooth and moderately sweet on entry, then classically Cabernet Sauvignon in the middle palate, with its black fruit, licorice and mineral flavors complicated by hints of tar and mint. Spreads out horizontally to saturate the palate without leaving any undue impression of weight. Still a bit brooding and medicinal, though, not to mention firmly tannic, but aeration brought building sweetness without any loss of tannic spine. This wine could use a bit more flesh, and it may yet expand.

Glass-staining ruby. A heady, complex bouquet of dark berry preserves, cherry-cola, vanilla and Indian spices, with a sexy floral overtone. Deeply pitched blackcurrant and cherry compote flavors stain the palate, with a smoky mineral note adding lift and back-end cut. Velvety tannins arrive late and add shape to a strikingly long, penetrating finish, which echoes the cherry and spice notes.

The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is striking in its beauty. A deep, implosive wine, the 2010 wraps around the palate with blue and black fruit, menthol, tobacco, licorice and violets. A surprisingly soft and seamless wine for the year and this Sonoma site, the 2010 is endowed with superb balance, depth and integrity of fruit. This is another beautiful wine loaded with character and personality. The 2010 is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc.

(includes 22% cabernet franc): Inky purple. Aromas of candied cherry, cassis, tobacco and licorice, with suave floral and mineral qualities gaining power with air. Fleshy and expansive, with a peppery, spicy quality lifting the sweet dark fruit preserve flavors. Dusty tannins arrive late and linger on the very long, sappy, penetrating finish. This wine's blend of depth, structure and sweetness bodes well for cellaring.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a beautifully balanced wine. All of the elements come together gracefully in the glass. Plums, blackberries, mint, violet and spices are all woven together on the well-articulated finish. The integration of fruit, structure and oak is terrific. In 2009 the Wedding Vineyard Cabernet includes 22% Cabernet Franc.

(14.5% alcohol): Medium ruby-red. Black fruits, smoky oak, flinty minerality, roast coffee, mocha and tobacco on the nose; quite sexy but a bit sauvage, even Syrah-like. Spicy, broad and ripe on entry, then quite firm in the middle and distinctly drier than the Lamb Vineyard example. Still, this wine comes across as more evolved, not to mention a bit leathery. Finishes slightly warm, with a broad dusting of serious but essentially supple tannins. Riper and more resolved on the end than the Lamb, and without the floral lift of the Coach Insignia. I'm not sure that this will reward additional aging. The outlier among this trio of '08s.

Opaque ruby. Explosive aromas of blackcurrant, cherry-vanilla, pipe tobacco, mocha, smoke and espresso. Youthfully brooding and powerful, with deep dark fruit compote flavors and exotic floral and spice nuances. For this wine's power there's excellent clarity and energy here. Finishes with broad, tooth-dusting tannins and superb length.

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is made from a very late-ripening site (the 2008 was picked in October) and includes some Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It boasts considerable density and sheer muscle in its black fruit, tar, licorice and violets. Patience is going to be the key here.

Inky ruby. A potent, highly aromatic bouquet of red- and blackcurrant, cherry compote, licorice pastille, cola and smoky Indian spices. Impressively complex and densely packed, offering sweet dark berry and bitter cherry flavors and exotic notes of candied flowers and peppery spices. For all this wine's density it comes off as graceful and precise, finishing with lingering floral and dark fruit notes. Give it at least a decade in the cellar.

Among Fisher’s 2006 reds, the top wines include the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc. Its opaque ruby/purple hue is accompanied by aromas of damp earth, black currants, blueberries, and spring flowers. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and moderately tannic, it reveals some austerity, but there is enough concentration to balance out the wine’s structure. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring and consume it over the following 15-20.

(includes 25% cabernet franc) Vivid ruby. Cherry-cola, black olive, tobacco and cracked pepper on the nose; almost smells like a syrah. Fleshy dark berry flavors are given a serious mien by chewy licorice and sweet tobacco qualities, with firm tannins adding structure. The tannins gain strength on the finish, which leaves bitter cherry and licorice notes behind. This needs even more time than the Lamb.

From a vineyard site situated directly in front of this beautiful winery, on the Sonoma side of Spring Mountain, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard boasts a dense ruby/purple color followed by notes of earth, blueberries, asphalt, acacia flowers, and graphite. Elegant, medium-bodied flavors display Bordeaux-like freshness and structure. This impeccably well-made Cabernet is not a blockbuster, but it is well-conceived, elegant, and flavorful. Enjoy it over the next 10-15 years.

Ruby-red. Musky aromas of currant, black raspberry, espresso, tobacco and dark chocolate. Supple and lush but with a restrained sweetness to the flavors of red and dark berries, minerals and dark chocolate. Ripe acidity gives this suave, nuanced wine plenty of verve. Finishes subtle and long, with a juicy minerality and a late hint of raspberry.

Ruby-red. Pretty redcurrant and cherry aromas are deepened by a tobacco note (from cabernet franc, I suspect). Mineral-accented red- and blackcurrant flavors show firm spine and lift. Dusty tannins add structure and give this an Old World character. Gains sweetness with air, taking on a note of raspberry preserves.

Ruby-red. Black cherry, raw berries, tobacco, cedar, graphite and licorice on the nose, along with a lightly vegetal nuance. Then creamy-sweet in the mid-palate, with flavors of raw berries and herbs. The herbal quality repeats on the finish, which features slightly tough tannins. The most backward of these 2002 samples.

Saturated deep ruby. Black fruits, violet and spices on the nose; more exotic than the Lamb example. Fat and dense on entry, then considerably less sweet in the middle than the Lamb, with an impression of lower alcohol. Offers a lush, creamy texture for this bottling, but comes across as youthfully unevolved.

The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (a south-facing vineyard planted on a steep slope adjacent to the winery on the backside of the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma County) exhibits a gorgeous perfume of scorched earth, charcoal, creme de cassis, sweet cherries, spice box and earth. Sweet tannin, an opulent texture and a long, rich finish make for another strikingly superb 2001 that is approaching full maturity. Given its density and overall balance, it has at least 15 years of life ahead of it.

Bright ruby-red. Ripe aromas of black cherry, lead pencil and tobacco. Sweet, dense and generous, with intense black raspberry and licorice flavors nicely framed by harmonious acidity. Seems less energetically extracted than the '99 version of this wine, a good decision in light of the style of the 2000 vintage. But this has a firm backbone for aging.

Dark ruby-red. Liqueur-like aromas of crystallized black and bitter cherry, bitter chocolate and flowers. Quite closed and dry on entry, with a strongly mineral quality, then denser and broader in the middle, with mouthcoating flavor. Opens out nicely on the long, subtle back end. Tannins are broad and very fine.

Full medium ruby. Pure, liqueur-like aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, bitter chocolate and licorice. Juicy, dry, penetrating and quite backward. Nicely concentrated wine with a long, subtle finish. The fine tannins dust the teeth and tongue. This should get silky with seven or eight years of bottle aging.

Full medium ruby. Subtly perfumed nose hints at pure dark berries, minerals, tar and mint, all sweetened by a liqueur-like quality. Dense but bright in the mouth, with slightly inky flavors of cassis and blackberry. Tannins are strong but fine, reaching the sides of the tongue. This has excellent fruit and terrific clarity of flavor. These vines were planted in 1973.

There are no reservations about the 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (430 cases). It boasts an opaque purple color along with gorgeous aromas of graphite, sweet barbecue smoke, earth, licorice, creme de cassis, and a hint of prunes. It is dense, full-bodied, and layered, with considerable power and tannin as well as exceptional extract, richness, and balance. It will be its finest between 2005-2020.

Deep ruby. Blueberry and menthol on the nose, along with a briary quality. Cleaner and more intensely flavored than the above, even if a bit rigid today. The briary note repeats on the palate. Structured and quite long, though the tannins are somewhat dry. Finishing notes of oak and chocolate.

Full medium-ruby color. Complex nose melds cassis, black cherry, lead pencil, mocha, tobacco and smoky oak. Sweet, fruit-driven and lush, with lovely ripeness and restrained sweetness. A distinctly suave, claret-like style, not as dense or tough as the Lamb Vineyard bottling today. Finishes with fine, palate-coating tannins.

The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a blockbuster 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with an opaque purple color, and the same characteristics as the 1996. However, there may be more licorice and sweet blueberry/coffee-scented fruit to this massive monster of a Cabernet. It reveals a style that can only be described as La Mission-Haut-Brion on steroids. The 1997 will have 30-40 years of longevity, although it will be drinkable in 4-5 years.

The potentially perfect, opaque purple-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (400 cases of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is made from 27-year-old vines, and is aged in 100% new French Taransaud barrels. This prodigious Cabernet Sauvignon has only gotten better since my tasting last year. The finest Cabernet I have tasted from Fisher, it represents a California interpretation of La Mission Haut-Brion. The wine offers sweet, tobacco-infused, scorched earth, blackberry, and blueberry notes, with a liquid minerality. The aromatics are matched by the immense, concentrated, seamless, staggeringly rich, powerful palate. This wine will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring, and keep for 35-40 years. A modern-day California legend, it is one of the most profound California Cabernet Sauvignons ever made on the Sonoma side of California's North Coast viticultural region. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.

Saturated ruby-red. Claret-like aromas of cassis, currant, roasted plum, graphite, tar and tobacco. Gutsy, dense and rather powerful, but quite smooth. An intriguing combination of briary, youthful fruit and animal notes. Finishes with leather and rust nuances and substantial chewy tannins balanced by the wine strong extract. A dramatic wine.

The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (produced from one-fourth ton of fruit per acre) continues to remind me of a hypothetical La Mission-Haut-Brion made from California's ripe fruit. The roasted tobacco, cedar, scorched earth and creosote nuances are present, in addition to copious blackberry, blueberry, and cassis flavors. This is a terrific, full-flavored, highly-extracted wine with plenty of tannin. However, the tannin is sweet and well-integrated, as is the wine's lusty alcohol (14.1%). This is a profound example of Cabernet Sauvignon that should be accessible in 4-5 years, and last for 25-30.

Saturated, dark red-ruby color. Flamboyant aromas of plum, Cuban cigar tobacco, grilled meat, minerals and spicy oak; not for cabernet lovers with brett allergies. Large-scaled, supple and lush, with nicely integrated acidity. Strong in extract, but can't quite match the '96 for sweetness or charm. Here the tannins are a bit tougher. Similar finishing note of leather. Perhaps the perfect accompaniment to a good cigar.

The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a massive, full-bodied, black/purple-colored wine with gobs of fruit, as well as high tannin. It offers up mineral, black cherry, spicy, and charcoal-like notes in the nose and flavors. Extremely dense and powerful, yet needing 4-5 years of cellaring, this wine may evolve for two decades or more. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2025.

The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (500 cases) displays a knock-out Graves-like nose of sweet, medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated flavors, good acidity, high tannin, and profound concentration and length. It comes across like a race horse ready to burst from the starting gate. This wine needs 4-5 years of cellaring, and should keep for two or more decades. The Wedding Vineyard cuvee is the flagship Cabernet of the Fisher winery. Made from a vineyard planted in 1974, this wine possesses a striking aromatic profile consisting of cedar, cigar smoke, tobacco, and minerals. In that sense, it resembles California's version of Bordeaux's famed Chateau Haut-Brion or Chateau La Mission-Haut-Brion. This wine can also test the patience of readers, as it is rarely accessible when released, but it does possess 20-30 years of aging potential.

Fred Fisher has performed a complete turnabout with respect to the quality of his wines. For much of this decade his Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon have been among the most exciting wines being made in California. The 1993 reds appear to be richer and more impressive than the 1994s. Proprietor Fred Fisher produces 600 cases of a Wedding Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, which is extremely chocolatey and concentrated. The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is a rich, authoritatively flavored, gorgeously pure, intense wine with plenty of smoky, toasty oak married to ripe, super-intense fruit. This full-bodied, tannic, large-scaled Cabernet Sauvignon should drink well upon its release next year and last for 20 years. It was interesting to see how crisp, restrained, and less concentrated Fisher's 1994s were when compared to the extremely rich and successful 1993s.

The 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard (to be released September 1) is an awesome example of California Cabernet. It is opulent as well as tannic, with huge, chocolatey, roasted herb, cassis aromas, magnificent flavor concentration, a big, graceful richness on the palate, and stunningly focused components that coat the palate with viscous flavors and superlative purity of character. This is a staggering Cabernet for drinking over the next 20+ years.

The two current Cabernet Sauvignon releases, the Coach Insignia and the Wedding Vineyard, are both exceptional wines. They are among the finest of the outstanding 1991 vintage. The 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Wedding Vineyard is more backward than the Coach Insignia, as well as strikingly rich and unequivocally superb. There are only 100 six-bottle cases of this Sonoma Cabernet. The wine exhibits a black/purple color, and a tight but promising nose of cassis, underbrush, vanillin, and chocolate-covered black-raspberries. Full-bodied, with superb definition, structure, and tannin, this wine possesses immense concentration and a wonderfully natural mouthfeel. It should open up with 2-4 more years of cellaring and keep for at least 20 years.