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85 Points

Monday, January 28, 2019 - Opaque purple with purple bubbles in the pour. Very lush and soft, with completely resolved tannin and an undertow of fruit sweetness and licorice. Acidity is noticeable only at the end of the swallow. For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is outside the normal range for fruit-acid-tannin balance, to its detriment. The low acidity especially reduces how refreshing and mouth cleaning the wine is. A good hint about what the problem comes from is the very high 15.9% alcohol. While the taste does not have separated alcoholic fumes or burning heat, only late harvested grapes would achieve the higher sugar level needed to reach 15.9% alcohol. A very common side effect of late harvest is a serious dip in the acidity level. This wine got a flattering 93-95 review from the Wine Advocate, which most likely could happen only because the wine was at its best from the young and tasty fruit and some tannin. But kept to where the tannin started softening and getting less prominent, the wine lost the grip it needed to age well.

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