WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
The color is opaque red-black. Crimson-purple rim. Powerful impression of blackberries, with a hint of wood smoke and sweet vanilla. The nose begins to open up and develops notes of dark chocolate. The initial impact is very full bodied, with a plush, soft structure. Flavors of dark berries dominate; wild blackberries and dried plums, with notes of espresso coffee.
Pair with rice based dishes like paella, beef, pork, pasta, grilled vegetables.
TASTING NOTES:
An elegant, medium- to full-bodied red, with an underpinning of smoky mineral and flavors of baked blackberry, herbed olive and toast. Well-spiced, with creamy tannins and a lasting, fresh finish.
- Wine Spectator, 92 pts.
Berries on the nose with some cloves and peppercorns that follow through to a medium body with ripe fruit and creamy tannins. Flavorful finish. Just the right amount of wood to make it interesting.
- James Suckling, 91 pts.
Saturated violet. Dark berries, candied licorice, vanilla and a spicy black pepper accent on the oak-spiced nose. Supple and appealingly sweet, offering ripe blackberry and cherry liqueur flavors complicated by suggestions of vanilla and floral pastilles. Broad, fleshy and appealingly jammy, finishing very long and smooth, with a repeating vanilla note and slow-building tannins.
- Vinous, 91 pts.
