Cabernet Sauvignon

From: California Price: $14 Serve with: Pasta dishes, grilled meat This lush, ripe blend of zinfandel, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot is all about decadent pleasure. It's one of those smooth red wines that is so fruity it gives the impression of sweetness without being sweet. There's a lot of berry action - black, blue and wild - and hints of chocolate and coffee. There's no point in sitting on it. Drink now.  

The following Chilean and Argentine red wines were purchased in Maryland stores and tasted over the past month. Prices listed are the prices paid. Wines could be more or less at other stores.ARGENTINATop quality* 1990 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva. Mendoza ($16)* 1983 Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza ($15)Very good quality* 1988 Weinert Merlot, Mendoza ($13)Fine quality, good value* 1989 Flichman Argenta, Mendoza Red Wine ($5)* 1988 Flichman Cabernet Sauvignon, Proprietor's Private Reserve, Mendoza ($6.49)

Tasting barrel samples is not a perfectly reliable way of predicting which wines will be best when finished, but it's the best way we have. Based on my tastings of California wines at the Macarthur Barrel Tasting March 28, these are the wines I'd most like to have in my cellar:1990 top choices* Dalla Valle Maya Reserve, Napa Valley ($245/half-case). The production of this magnificent wine is tiny, but the special efforts required to find it are worth the trouble. It has tremendously intense flavors of blackberry and black cherry, and the length on the palate is exceptional.

2004 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County ($24) This winery is not the industry leader it was back in the 1980s, but this cabernet sauvignon is a strong showing for the brand - now part of Australia's Foster's Group empire. It's a lush, full-bodied red wine with impressive length and complexity. The flavors are typical California cabernet: black cherry, black currant and hints of vanilla. It's drinkable now but will repay five to 10 years of cellaring. Serve with beef, lamb.

1998 J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles ($15). The reliable J. Lohr winery has produced a fine cabernet sauvignon from the erratic 1998 vintage. It's a rich, chunky, red wine with generous flavors of black raspberry, black currant and herbs. There are some rough edges that smooth out quickly when this cabernet is served with food. It should smooth out and gain character with a few more months in the bottle, but it offers a lot of character and impact for a wine of this price.

1997 Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County ($18). It isn't inexpensive, but this cabernet sauvignon stacks up well against others in its price range and should be broadly available. It displays an appealing cigar box aroma, along with intense black currant, black cherry, smoked meat and mint flavors. In structure and weight, it bears a resemblance to a good Bordeaux. If you're looking for a white wine to precede this moderately complex red, Benziger's 1998 sauvignon blanc from Sonoma County is a fine value at $12.

Big red is right. This blend of zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and valdiguie packs a wallop as it delivers a mouthful of spicy, robust, meaty flavors with hints of chocolate, blueberry and tomato. It's a little rustic, but graceful nevertheless, like a man who can wear cowboy boots with a tux and carry it off.

1999 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). The Hess Select line from the Hess Collection has emerged as a reliable source of well-made, widely available wines at reasonable prices. This medium-bodied cabernet offers generous black-currant and black-cherry flavors with pleasant herbal nuances and impressive intensity. It is well-suited to accompany any red meat and most pasta dishes.

"The Wines of Maryland Cup" was presented to Catoctin Vineyards for its 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon at the Maryland Wine Festival, at a festival sponsored by the Association of Maryland Wineries. This was the first year for the award, which the Maryland vineyards plan to make an annual event.The best blush wine award went to the Eye of the Oriole wine from Catoctin Vineyards. The best white hybrid award went to the 1990 Vidal blanc from Boordy Vineyards. The best non-grape wine award went to Barry Wine Peach from Liganore Wine Cellars.