J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

From winemaker Steve Peck, a cabernet sauvignon built not for speed but rather comfort, with some density but perhaps not necessarily distance. Ripeness is a great virtue, jamminess more than a fleeting possibility and tannins quite fine. Hilltop is not a cabernet 'reluctantly crouched at the starting line' and yet it's not the quickest out of the gate. It glides and slides across the tongue with silky greased wheels and goes down even easier. It could pass for a caky soft (yet spicy) zinfandel with its brambly fruit, ripe acids and plush texture. And yet it's vanilla, chocolate and nutty-cappuccino swirl is so very barrel-aged cabernet.