A barrel sample of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall is opaque purple-black colored and bursts flamboyantly from the glass, revealing notes of spice cake, potpourri, Ceylon tea and incense notes over a core of black currant cordial, black forest cake and baked blackberries with a waft of dusty soil. The palate is full, rich, spicy and seductive with a velvety texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and perfumed.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Hall is plush, dark and jammy, with tons of palate presence and resonance. Medium in body and pliant, the 2017 is shaping up nicely. Red fruit, cedar, iron, licorice, dried herb and earthy notes all develop in the glass. Most of this fruit is from Hall's Sacrashe vineyard in Rutherford.

Delightfully ripe, with succulent blackberry, plum and cassis flavors rolled together, carried by a well-buried graphite edge and ending with a flurry of additional fruit, while licorice and violet notes chime in. Shows the slight toothy edge of the vintage, but has enough fruit to succeed. Best from 2021 through 2030. 6,445 cases made.