Deep purple-ruby in colour with a nose of leather and black plums perfumed with oak spice; full-bodied, dry, peppery plum flavour, well balanced and firmly structured.
The deep, intense purple colour suggests richness of flavour, which you get in spades. The spicy, cedary, blackcurrant nose leads into a full-bodied, dry wine that’s juicy and fruity with a flavour of blackcurrant jam held in check by ripe tannins.
From 75-year-old organically farmed Carignan vines, this is from Testa Vineyards' sandstone and loam soils in Mendocino, just over 520 m in altitude. After a 10-day maceration, this spent an additional 10 months in neutral French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Dusky plum, raspberry, mineral, black cherry, dried thyme is carried with fine, persistent acidity, lifted and bright, all with a persistent perfumed overhue of wild bush blueberry. Bottled unfined and unfiltered (an overt cloudiness), this has a grippy duskiness on the lingering finish. A lovely pour, though wish it was about half the price.
This is an elegant Napa Cab with a solid vertebrae of tannins. Full-bodied, there is cassis, tobacco, cocoa, spice and leather. Personally, I would hold until 2020 and then drink until 2030.
Dark colour with purplish rim. Rich nose of black berries with lots of oak. Very smooth texture, velvety tannins, ripe flavours, concentrated mid-palate. A well-made technical wine.
Blackcurrant, raspberry, vanilla, tobacco, anise. It starts off with a rich texture, then the grippy tannins of the 2013 vintage clamp down on the finale. Grill up a rib steak and top with a mushroom demi-glace and enjoy.
Super-ripe, jammy and oaky, this blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Syrah exudes copious amounts of crème de cassis, Chambord liqueur, kirsch, chocolate fudge and coffee. Thick in the mouth, the tannins are buried under all the richness. Excellent length.