Lexington Gist Ranch Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 750ml

Lexington's Gist Ranch sits high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 17 miles inland from the Pacific, where the Fogarty family planted vines densely in 2000 at up to 2,300 feet.

The vines grow in heavily fractured Vaqueros sandstone. The 2017 season brought record rain after four years of drought, a mild spring, then record heat around Labor Day, and the estate rates it its best crop since 2012.

Cherry runs all the way through: cherry liqueur and cherry pie, with damp earth, leather and tobacco on the nose, then green olive and black licorice. The texture is lively and the acidity bright.

Charles Krug Napa Valley Cabernet is the pick for a younger valley-floor bottle; choose Lexington when you want mountain Cabernet with years of bottle age behind it.

Give it half an hour in a decanter so the earthy notes settle, then let that bright acidity cut through a cheddar burger with caramelized onions or flank steak with a cherry balsamic glaze.

Browse more Cabernet Sauvignon and California wine, or head back to our red wine page. Pick it up at our Brooklyn store, get same-day delivery in Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens, or have it shipped.