We made a weekend trip to the Napa Valley last month, carefully balancing some wine tourism with kid tolerant activities.

On our first night in Calistoga, I ordered a glass of this Cabernet at a family-friendly restaurant. I primarily chose ti because it was local. It was fantastic: Slightly fruity, but that was balanced out by some other business. I asked to see the menu again after dinner to remind myself of what I’d ordered and the waitress talked me into buying a bottle. (I confess that once I had the bottle in my hands, I was charmed by the vineyard‘s aol.com email address.)

When I opened the bottle a couple of weeks later, it was good, but less striking than the glass I’d had at the restaurant. Tricia and I both had a glass and I re-corked and shelved the bottle. I poured a glass the next night and it was much better, perhaps better than the glass at the restaurant. Lesson learned: let it breathe. I may break out the crystal decanter we received as a wedding gift for further experimentation.

This bottle came from my “Instant Wine Cellar”, a collection that I won at a fundraiser for my son’s school. We’ve tread lightly as we’ve dipped into that collection, generally saving the higher end bottles for sharing. This was one of the first bottles we opened on our own that made a big impact.

The label copy makes much of the wine’s extended oak barrel aging period. That is with good reason; the oak dominates the wine’s complex layering of flavor. This bottle was fantastic and I gather that it would have improved if we’d held it for a few years longer.

The grapes came from my Dad’s hometown, though Husch is located one valley over.