2012 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley 750 ml

A dozen years ago, the team at Freemark Abbey were furiously getting ready for harvest: cleaning the presses, fermenters, and sorting equipment, making sure the destemmer operated properly, and locking in for the annual crush.

They’d been blessed with a beautiful, easy growing season until that point: ideal budbreak, excellent flowering, and warm summer days that seemed to always end in cool, foggy nights. But the last month or two of harvest would make or break the vintage—as it always does—and everyone was wondering whether the perfect conditions would continue into the fall.

When all was said and done, the 2012 vintage went down as one of the easiest harvests ever on the North Coast—and Freemark Abbey’s Knights Valley Cabernet from that vintage is an absolute showstopper today. Sourced from Sonoma’s premier Cabernet appellation, it’s rounded and lush from time in the cellar, showing a beautiful core of dark fruit and the intriguing secondary flavors that come with age. 

We enjoyed our samples with a perfectly grilled Flannery ribeye, but the star of the show was the wine. The second it’s poured, there are aromas that are just impossible to find in young wines—an interplay of blackberries and cassis with dusty dark chocolate tones, hints of pencil shavings, and just a touch of damp soil. On the palate, the same notes reappear, joined by a hint of espresso and dried herbs.

This is a delight now and will continue to drink well for nearly another decade. You’ll be glad you stocked up for the long run.