Monthly Archives: July 2021

Predominantly cabernet, with 4 percent merlot, 3 percent cabernet franc and 1 percent malbec, the Calla Lily Audax Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Napa Valley, aged 27 months in French oak, 50 percent new barrels. The result is a solid, sizable wine with plenty of girth and depth. The color is dark to medium ruby-magenta; the nose displays iodine and mint, iron and graphite that slowly open to notes of spiced and macerated black currants, cherries and plums; on the palate — bastions of dusty, velvety tannins that reach deep and extend in every direction through dark, vibrant acidity and layers of briers, brambles and underbrush; it’s quite dry, yet offers glimmers of juicy black fruit flavors. 14.7 percent alcohol. Production was 268 six-bottle cases. Try from 2023 or ’24 through 2033 to ’35. Very Good+ for now, with Excellent Potential.