From the winery: Each year our Hillstone Cabernet is created from a prime hillside vineyard at the home of George and Carol Biel. Planted in 1993, these vines are rooted in cobbly, light loam soils, terraced on a steep, west-facing slope in Rutherford. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in new French oak, the 2011 vintage opens with a brooding black character that gradually gives way to a thicket of blackberry fruit, a forest of cedary oak, beeswax, clove and camphor. Deeply fruited and sinewy, the wine shows a softer side with ganache, espresso and white chocolate before tailing off in a stream of supple tannins. 125 cases produced.