Today's recommended wine
2005 Bennett Family The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley , $25
This wine is made by William Grant and Sons USA, a subsidiary of the third largest producer of Scottish whisky in the world (which pioneered the famous single-malt Glenfiddich), and also makes wine in Napa Valley. The Bennett Family label is named after one of the early branches of the William Grant family. This Cab is is a sprightly one, dark as midnight, bursting with black cherry, cassis, and spicy oak aromas. The palate has good weight, lovely tannins that frame the still tightly wound fruit, and acidity for more structure. It would probably relax more with some aging, but it's drinking lovely now. It needs a sophisticated marriage with food -- fine, blue-veined cheese; grilled beef with a demi-glace sauce; or a veal chop. The smoke from the wood barrels drills through the palate. It's quite nice, and for Napa, a good buy.
