The palate is a bit closed and tannic right now, but that's why you should try to hold off for a year before diving in. Still, if you can't wait (and I understand), you'll get sweet cherry and plum flavors, with light berry joining the party fashionably late (again, about 45 minutes after being opened).

The finish is plenty long, and shows its minty, fruity potential.

J. Lohr's '99 Seven Oaks cab begged to be drunk immediately. Attentive/schizophrenic wine lovers could hear a small voice coming from the bottle while it was still on the shelf: drink me… drink me…. Many of us adhered to that command and were rewarded for it. Take note that if you hear that coming from the 2000, you're just nuts.

Cheers,
TSW

P.S.: The secret to affordable California cab is to look beyond the Napa Valley. Much further south is Paso Robles, an area known for great zinfandel, Rhone varietals (syrah and viognier, especially) and more recently, cabernet sauvignon. A few wineries have figured out how to grow great cab in the area, and J. Lohr is one of them (Eberle is another).

Of course, Sonoma cab doesn't suck either. While there is cheap cab to be had in Napa, a better bang for your buck is growing in other parts of the state.

The year 2000 saw a lot of previously considered universal truths and prophecies to be less than ironclad. It was proven that United States presidents don't have to be voted into office, the world did not turn to instant chaos in global computer glitches, you actually can eat too many Mike 'n' Ikes (a personal revelation), and good cabernet sauvignon doesn't always require approval for a second mortgage.

OK, so that last one was disproved a while before that, but J. Lohr's cab from 2000 definitely reinforced the notion. The 1999 was a tough act to follow, but I think this one will be just about as good with a year of bottle age.

The color is a deep ruby-toned garnet. It's a wine that clearly dressed up for the new millennium!

It splashed on some great cologne, too. Currant, black cherry and light oak come out right away. Mint leaf and just a little bell pepper showed up after sitting in the glass for about 45 minutes.