The Spring Mountain Vineyard name itself and 845-acre property hold more history than can be included here. Put simply, the Spring Mountain District AVA wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Spring Mountain Vineyard. Many of the vines under their ownership were originally planted by the renowned Beringer brothers; Charles Lemme (who planted the first Cabernet on Spring Mountain); and Tiburcio Parrott, who, according to the winery’s website, was “...a champion of freedom and of every man’s right to earn a living, regardless of race, creed or color. His standoff and ultimate victory against the State of California, amid the most divisive era in American history, reversed a discriminatory addition to the California State Constitution of 1879 that prohibited the employment of Chinese or Mongolian workers by corporations in the state.”

The wine erupts with deep, intensely concentrated mountain berries, dried black cherries, black plums, licorice, crushed volcanic rock, iron, vintage leather, smoke, old cedar box, damp earth, cigar ashes, and beautifully integrated baking spices. The palate is full, both in breadth and depth, and resonates with supreme freshness beside fine-grained tannins. There’s so much dark-fruited profundity and terroir expressiveness to be had, and it only keeps enhancing as hours two and three arrive.