Lots of blackberry and black olive-skin aromas with some purple fruit. Lead pencil, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with chewy tannins at the back of the palate. Juicy and savory. Needs two or three years to soften. Better after 2025.

Fresh, salty edge to the subtle lime and pineapple aromas. Full and very linear, with brightness and wonderful length. Steely and minerally. Firm phenolics give it a tannin texture and great length. Goes on for minutes. Drink or hold.

Readers looking for a killer Cabernet that won’t break the bank should check out the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Carbone from Favia. This dense purple-hued beauty boasts classic cassis and blueberry-like fruit intermixed with lots of tobacco, lead pencil shavings, violets, and spring flower nuances. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant Cabernet with a great mid-palate and the class to evolve for 10-15 years. It’s well worth seeking out.

The 2019 Carbone Chardonnay is one the most striking Chardonnays I have tasted in California of late. It emerges from organically farmed vines in Coombsville planted in 1988. Bright, focused and bristling with energy, the 2019 is a wine of total precision and class. Blocked malolactic fermentation keeps the flavors nicely focused. Lemon peel, white pepper, mint, chalk and light tropical inflections all open in the glass. The 2019 is beautifully perfumed, gracious and full of character.

The 2018 Carbone Cabernet Sauvignon is a bright, effusive wine. Sweet red berry fruit, mocha and a whole range of floral/savory aromatics burst from the glass. Medium in body and inviting, the 2018 drinks well now, but it also has the vibrancy to develop nicely in bottle. Carbone is the second wine of Favia.

Coming from the old vines beside the estate and the first release for the cuvée, the 2018 Chardonnay Carbone was barrel fermented (no malolactic) and aged roughly 10 months in 20% new French oak. A Chablis-like nose of lemon curd, salted citrus, tart pineapple, and sappy white flower notes all just jump from the glass, and it's racy and vibrant on the palate, with more salinity, yet still packs plenty of richness and depth.

The second wine of the estate that's from wines that didn't make the blend, the 2017 Carbone is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Cabernet Franc that spent slightly less time in oak. It's a great introduction to the wines of this estate and offers loads of crème de cassis, tobacco, forest floor, lead pencil, and chocolate aromas and flavors. Rounded, supple, beautifully textured, and with ripe tannins, it's a smoking good Cabernet Sauvignon that punches above its price point.

The 2018 Carbone Chardonnay is a gorgeous and compelling wine. Thirty years old vines yield a Chardonnay of real phenolic intensity and distinction, qualities that are further enhanced by the blocked malolactic fermentation. Lemon peel, mint and jasmine are some of the notes that pulse through this distinctive, totally beguiling Chardonnay from Favia.

Stones and sliced cooked apples with straw and green-melon undertones. Full-bodied, tight and chewy. Extremely dense, yet bright. No malo gives it the edge. Tastes like traditional Chablis. Yes. Drink or hold.

Blueberries and slate with hints of cedar. Medium to full body, lightly rounded tannins and a flavorful finish. Drink or hold.