I know some CTers like to compare wine to women but I am going in a different direction. After a 60 minute decant, the 2013 Altagracia was like a bulldozer. Not a Cat D11, but still big with a dark plum and dark chocolate paint job. After another couple of hours the wine had shed some of its brawn - more like a big pickup with dark cherry paint, a hunk of chocolate in the cargo bed, and some nice detailing in herbal green. Really liked driving around in the pickup.
What can I say? Sometimes fine wine brings to mind an exquisite painting, and sometimes it’s heavy equipment.
P.S. The Altagracia was last night’s wine. Tonight’s is a 2009 Ovid, which is definitely a Porsche.
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Poured into a decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Medium+ nose of violet, black cherry, blueberry, liquorice, vanilla, toast, and espresso. Equally concentrated blue fruits on the palate. Medium+ acidity, medium+ silky tannins, and medium+ complex finish. Everything was remarkably in balance. At $190 off the list, this proves the rule of going after second wines of great producers in great vintages.
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I agree with Mark1npt TN. Have to cut back a couple of points value-wise because up here in Canada this is fully priced after taxes at USD220 on the list @ The Courtney Room in Victoria BC. However, it is a ten-year old delight. Deep rich garnet crimson colour. Complex nose of cassis, black cherry compote, mission fig paste, tapenade, mocha and dried sage. Mouth filling but the acidity keeps it lithe on the palate. Lingering finish. Went well with appetizers and antipasti. Would definitely hunt this down south of the border <$90.
One of the top vintages in history of Napa produced this fine second label of Eisele CS. CS based blend with 10% CF, 6% PV and 4% Malbec, wine is aged in FR oak barrels for 15 months. Deep opaque ruby colour. Medium+ intensity fragrant aroma of cassis, lavender, violets, roses, chocolate, tobacco, earthy hints. Full body, complex, deep and intense with rich, floral and touch smoky black fruit flavours. Muscular and well structured with great restraint and fine medium+ grippy tannins, long savoury finish.
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Spread this over 3 nights. Opened with short decant with a filet. Big bold blue fruit and still some moderate tannin. Touch of herbs and leather. Night 2 the herbal is more in evidence. The balance is outstanding. Night 3 the fruit is mostly gone and an iron, almost metallic note blends with the herbs to give an old world feel to it. Best on night 2 so a good decant or some more time is recommended.
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My first of this vintage, picked up at auction in the secondary market. Pnp'd for our Super Bowl event this afternoon/evening. Enjoyed over about 3 hours. Right from the pnp, the class is evident. It's resolved and integrated, yet has high toned acidic backbone giving it life. More red to dark red fruit, smooth with great weight and balance. I picked this up at $76/bottle and feel like it is worthy of 3x that price. Expertly balanced. It drinks very well, right now.
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Coravined a glass last night and opened the bottle tonight. Smooth on the entry and then dense, with dark blue fruits, Italian herbs, and a curtain of tannin that descends on the 20 second finish. May be better in few years if the tannins soften.
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More enjoyable than I expected from reading other’s notes, but I respectfully dissent from Mickle’s view that this is a feminine wine. For me it’s like a bowling ball sliding towards the pins—dense, chewy and assertive with more iron, graphite, and menthol than fruit. Great intensity but not much that is delicate. With this much stuffing, I’m interested to see how this wine evolves over the next decade or more. I need to put a few bottles away in the time capsule section of my collection.
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Opened last night. Open for business, very soft and lush and feminine. Very dark purple-ruby, and throwing a very fine sediment. Lovely nose of cassis and cocoa. Complexity personified. This is very elegant and rich, but it has a big fruit presence on the palate. Big-time mouth-coating dark fruit, with gobs of chewy tannin, and a bit of an herbal streak. This should last many more years, and may even improve. Very beautiful wine. 5-13-17-9: 94/100.
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Based on what I’ve read here, I was predisposed not to love this wine and right out of the bottle, it’s very approachable. I’m sure with some breath time, will improve, however it’s very enjoyable now. I do agree with several comments where it is kind of flat (both on the nose and pallet) and not as tannic as I would have expected. It’s also more fruit forward than the old world style I was expecting. I will update, if this significantly evolves.
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Half bottle. Has been several years since I had one of these. Not too much has changed and this could probably still use additional bottle age. The oak/vanilla aspect is still a bit prominent.
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opaque ruby violet; blackberry, licorice, graphite, camphor, mint, vanilla, hints of smoke; classically styled, medium+ acid, fine grained tannins, 14.8% ABV; blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec, majority from the eastern parcels of the Eisele Vineyard, farmed organically and biodynamically, 2nd wine to the Eisele Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 1st vintage under Pinault rather than Araujo ownership
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The good thing is that I don't have to put a number to my rating. If I rated this wine based on my experience, it would probably be a 92 or maybe a 93. Don't get me wrong, this one is worthy of probably a 96. But that's probably in 2023 as well. Lots of tannin and oak barrel on the finish here. But the front and middle of this wine is very youthful, chalky, classic blackberry Napa fruit that is really quite unmistakable. Sweeter in the Middle with a little bit of cocoa powder. Finishes with a toasted tannin. This one has a really good future ahead of it, and I am really interested in possibly acquiring a couple of these for the long haul ahead!
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80% C.S., 10% C.F., 6% Petit Verdot, & 4% Malbec; Released 3/9/16
N: RIPE, CHOC; Intense, POWERFUL
P: LM body; NICE, almost swtish frt NICELY off-set by an astringency that's INITIALLY a bit rough, but then smooths out markedly into the quite LONG finish with a bitterswt choc flavors. 14.8% ABV; My EXC with potential for some level of exceptionality? 95 pts Suckling, 93 ea WA & WS, 92 Jeff Leve, and 18/20 Jancis Robinson!
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I bought 6 bottles and the first two were very disappointing. I rated one bottle 90 and that was probably based on hope, well, this bottle was what I was hoping for, Great, well balanced, big dark fruits. Wine is always evolving, changing, that's what makes it so interesting.
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Camphor on the nose. On the palate, dark fruit with notes of bitter tobacco/cocoa on the medium finish, with light tannins and good acidity. This is an average value at about $80.
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Perhaps not the "wow" of the bottle I opened a few months ago, but still a very strong presentation. Great mix of fruits and structure with remarkably mellow tannins.
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Like purple in. Graphite chocolate, nutmeg, Earth and cedar nose. Needed a solid 30 minutes in the glass to begin to open though it's surprisingly open right out of the bottle. The tannins are not integrated and the wine had plenty of sharp edges as should be expected with it's youth. Lead pencil, red currants, a hint of chocolate, cinnamon, toast. This is too young but nonetheless delicious and shows great promise.
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80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. Soft ripe dark fruit, marsipan, vanilla from oak, cedar and some black currant on this rather forward nose. Again dense on the palate and with a soft acidity. The finish is surprisingly short for such a dense wine and there is an inkiness. Big and generous wine.
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Dark red berries and floral aromas kick things off. Loads of freshness, cocoa and black raspberries on the medium bodied palate, giving you layers of polished, sweet, dark, red fruits. The wine was made from a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec.
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This opaque crimson wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It is a classically-styled wine that is structured and focused. Ripe black currant, blackberry, graphite and licorice aromas are followed by similar flavors. Medium-to-full-bodied, fresh, seamlessly alcoholic (14.8%) and with plentiful firm tannins, it is layered in the middle and finishes long. Patience will be rewarded with this one. Drink 2019-2030.
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Fresh picked black cherries with floral aromatics are the first thing you notice. The wine is soft, forward, medium bodied, fresh and lively, ending with an elegant, spicy, smooth ripe, sweet, black cherry note.
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2/3/2024 - Red Sox Fan Likes this wine: 94 Points
I know some CTers like to compare wine to women but I am going in a different direction. After a 60 minute decant, the 2013 Altagracia was like a bulldozer. Not a Cat D11, but still big with a dark plum and dark chocolate paint job. After another couple of hours the wine had shed some of its brawn - more like a big pickup with dark cherry paint, a hunk of chocolate in the cargo bed, and some nice detailing in herbal green. Really liked driving around in the pickup.
What can I say? Sometimes fine wine brings to mind an exquisite painting, and sometimes it’s heavy equipment.
P.S. The Altagracia was last night’s wine. Tonight’s is a 2009 Ovid, which is definitely a Porsche.
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12/22/2023 - billyloveswine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Poured into a decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Medium+ nose of violet, black cherry, blueberry, liquorice, vanilla, toast, and espresso. Equally concentrated blue fruits on the palate. Medium+ acidity, medium+ silky tannins, and medium+ complex finish. Everything was remarkably in balance. At $190 off the list, this proves the rule of going after second wines of great producers in great vintages.
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12/21/2023 - Canoehead Likes this wine: 93 Points
I agree with Mark1npt TN. Have to cut back a couple of points value-wise because up here in Canada this is fully priced after taxes at USD220 on the list @ The Courtney Room in Victoria BC. However, it is a ten-year old delight. Deep rich garnet crimson colour. Complex nose of cassis, black cherry compote, mission fig paste, tapenade, mocha and dried sage. Mouth filling but the acidity keeps it lithe on the palate. Lingering finish. Went well with appetizers and antipasti. Would definitely hunt this down south of the border <$90.
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12/13/2023 - Ernestas Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of the top vintages in history of Napa produced this fine second label of Eisele CS. CS based blend with 10% CF, 6% PV and 4% Malbec, wine is aged in FR oak barrels for 15 months. Deep opaque ruby colour. Medium+ intensity fragrant aroma of cassis, lavender, violets, roses, chocolate, tobacco, earthy hints. Full body, complex, deep and intense with rich, floral and touch smoky black fruit flavours. Muscular and well structured with great restraint and fine medium+ grippy tannins, long savoury finish.
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6/28/2023 - barrytaylor wrote: 85 Points
OK, not great, expected more, dark color
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4/29/2023 - ddingley Likes this wine: 94 Points
Spread this over 3 nights. Opened with short decant with a filet. Big bold blue fruit and still some moderate tannin. Touch of herbs and leather. Night 2 the herbal is more in evidence. The balance is outstanding. Night 3 the fruit is mostly gone and an iron, almost metallic note blends with the herbs to give an old world feel to it. Best on night 2 so a good decant or some more time is recommended.
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4/1/2023 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine: 90 Points
No notes. The wine needs a bit more time.
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2/12/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
My first of this vintage, picked up at auction in the secondary market. Pnp'd for our Super Bowl event this afternoon/evening. Enjoyed over about 3 hours. Right from the pnp, the class is evident. It's resolved and integrated, yet has high toned acidic backbone giving it life. More red to dark red fruit, smooth with great weight and balance. I picked this up at $76/bottle and feel like it is worthy of 3x that price. Expertly balanced. It drinks very well, right now.
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9/26/2022 - PDavisMarble wrote: 92 Points
Very nice but still too young
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6/11/2022 - Red Sox Fan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Coravined a glass last night and opened the bottle tonight. Smooth on the entry and then dense, with dark blue fruits, Italian herbs, and a curtain of tannin that descends on the 20 second finish. May be better in few years if the tannins soften.
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12/10/2021 - Red Sox Fan Likes this wine: 93 Points
More enjoyable than I expected from reading other’s notes, but I respectfully dissent from Mickle’s view that this is a feminine wine. For me it’s like a bowling ball sliding towards the pins—dense, chewy and assertive with more iron, graphite, and menthol than fruit. Great intensity but not much that is delicate. With this much stuffing, I’m interested to see how this wine evolves over the next decade or more. I need to put a few bottles away in the time capsule section of my collection.
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10/13/2021 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened last night. Open for business, very soft and lush and feminine. Very dark purple-ruby, and throwing a very fine sediment. Lovely nose of cassis and cocoa. Complexity personified. This is very elegant and rich, but it has a big fruit presence on the palate. Big-time mouth-coating dark fruit, with gobs of chewy tannin, and a bit of an herbal streak. This should last many more years, and may even improve. Very beautiful wine. 5-13-17-9: 94/100.
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9/12/2021 - Orange Tsian wrote: 92 Points
一进杯子就觉得很浓厚而甜,但是不肥腻,黑莓、蓝莓、黑樱桃和黑布林等,都好像切碎了做成果酱一般,质地光滑,还有玫瑰花和精油的香味。中后段场面更大一些,蛋糕、椰丝、香草、烟草和点点咖啡,层叠丰富。入口还是有不错的线条感,不会太肥,颇为紧致,但感觉整体感和结构稍欠。单宁多且细而光滑,黑樱桃、黑莓等黑果中还带着点红果。中后段有植被、花香、复合香料、烟草和烟熏,享乐不会过分沉沦。(92/100)
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7/1/2021 - NapaBias Likes this wine: 91 Points
Based on what I’ve read here, I was predisposed not to love this wine and right out of the bottle, it’s very approachable. I’m sure with some breath time, will improve, however it’s very enjoyable now. I do agree with several comments where it is kind of flat (both on the nose and pallet) and not as tannic as I would have expected. It’s also more fruit forward than the old world style I was expecting. I will update, if this significantly evolves.
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12/6/2020 - B Paul wrote:
Half bottle. Has been several years since I had one of these. Not too much has changed and this could probably still use additional bottle age. The oak/vanilla aspect is still a bit prominent.
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12/14/2019 - Markzittman wrote: 67 Points
Didn’t love
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9/26/2019 - TomOfCT Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fine...but a little flat. Not ordinary...but not exciting.
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9/7/2019 - ashikoh Likes this wine: 93 Points
opaque ruby violet; blackberry, licorice, graphite, camphor, mint, vanilla, hints of smoke; classically styled, medium+ acid, fine grained tannins, 14.8% ABV; blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec, majority from the eastern parcels of the Eisele Vineyard, farmed organically and biodynamically, 2nd wine to the Eisele Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 1st vintage under Pinault rather than Araujo ownership
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5/11/2019 - Kwlharvey wrote:
a bit green, raw. Still not drinking didn’t like
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11/22/2018 - amitnagra wrote:
Good promise but shutdown. Needs another 5 years.
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9/29/2018 - mflesh wrote:
The good thing is that I don't have to put a number to my rating. If I rated this wine based on my experience, it would probably be a 92 or maybe a 93. Don't get me wrong, this one is worthy of probably a 96. But that's probably in 2023 as well. Lots of tannin and oak barrel on the finish here. But the front and middle of this wine is very youthful, chalky, classic blackberry Napa fruit that is really quite unmistakable. Sweeter in the Middle with a little bit of cocoa powder. Finishes with a toasted tannin. This one has a really good future ahead of it, and I am really interested in possibly acquiring a couple of these for the long haul ahead!
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3/3/2018 - srh Likes this wine:
Sat, 03/03/18, 4 Shared Bottles (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Unknown contributor (Had been open ~ 3 days)
80% C.S., 10% C.F., 6% Petit Verdot, & 4% Malbec; Released 3/9/16
N: RIPE, CHOC; Intense, POWERFUL
P: LM body; NICE, almost swtish frt NICELY off-set by an astringency that's INITIALLY a bit rough, but then smooths out markedly into the quite LONG finish with a bitterswt choc flavors. 14.8% ABV; My EXC with potential for some level of exceptionality? 95 pts Suckling, 93 ea WA & WS, 92 Jeff Leve, and 18/20 Jancis Robinson!
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2/21/2018 - mattiasjansson wrote: 91 Points
Eisele Vineyard Tasting (Gordon's): Medium-dark red. Round and pleasant.
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2/14/2018 - Justinwine wrote: 95 Points
Stunning , elegant.
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2/9/2018 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 93 Points
I bought 6 bottles and the first two were very disappointing. I rated one bottle 90 and that was probably based on hope, well, this bottle was what I was hoping for, Great, well balanced, big dark fruits. Wine is always evolving, changing, that's what makes it so interesting.
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2/6/2018 - BBencz Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cocoa and dark fruit. Long finish. Tannins still evident, but faded after an hour in the decanter. Still has several years to go. Nice wine.
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2/4/2018 - RichardP wrote: 91 Points
Camphor on the nose. On the palate, dark fruit with notes of bitter tobacco/cocoa on the medium finish, with light tannins and good acidity. This is an average value at about $80.
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11/9/2017 - michigan dogs Likes this wine: 90 Points
disappointing compared to earlier vintages, will give it some time before drinking other bottles
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9/2/2017 - TomOfCT Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perhaps not the "wow" of the bottle I opened a few months ago, but still a very strong presentation. Great mix of fruits and structure with remarkably mellow tannins.
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7/5/2017 - PDavisMarble wrote: 92 Points
Like purple in. Graphite chocolate, nutmeg, Earth and cedar nose. Needed a solid 30 minutes in the glass to begin to open though it's surprisingly open right out of the bottle. The tannins are not integrated and the wine had plenty of sharp edges as should be expected with it's youth. Lead pencil, red currants, a hint of chocolate, cinnamon, toast. This is too young but nonetheless delicious and shows great promise.
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6/17/2017 - TomOfCT Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wow. Still early, but this is drinking extraordinarily well. A robust mix of fruits with plenty of backbone...but no excess tannins. So good.
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4/23/2017 - tb76 wrote: 92 Points
Nearly opaque, blackberry, chocolate, spice, medium body, soft tannin. Recommend a short decant (30 mins) at this stage to fully open up.
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12/24/2016 - Ultimatewinekick_Andreas wrote: 90 Points
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec.
Soft ripe dark fruit, marsipan, vanilla from oak, cedar and some black currant on this rather forward nose. Again dense on the palate and with a soft acidity. The finish is surprisingly short for such a dense wine and there is an inkiness. Big and generous wine.
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11/5/2016 - Vinophiliac559 wrote: 92 Points
A Matter of Taste (Meritage Resort & Spa Napa, CA): 91-92
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9/19/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Dark red berries and floral aromas kick things off. Loads of freshness, cocoa and black raspberries on the medium bodied palate, giving you layers of polished, sweet, dark, red fruits. The wine was made from a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec.
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5/8/2016 - B Paul wrote: 92 Points
Out of half bottle. Nice now, but has more structure than past vintages (that I've had) and I think 2-3 years would benefit this wine.
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4/15/2016 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 92 Points
This opaque crimson wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It is a classically-styled wine that is structured and focused. Ripe black currant, blackberry, graphite and licorice aromas are followed by similar flavors. Medium-to-full-bodied, fresh, seamlessly alcoholic (14.8%) and with plentiful firm tannins, it is layered in the middle and finishes long. Patience will be rewarded with this one. Drink 2019-2030.
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9/22/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Fresh picked black cherries with floral aromatics are the first thing you notice. The wine is soft, forward, medium bodied, fresh and lively, ending with an elegant, spicy, smooth ripe, sweet, black cherry note.
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