This 100% Cab wants some time in the cellar. Right now, it’s fresh and powerful in black cherries, currants, licorice, mocha and sweet toasty oak, with firm tannins and a streak of citrusy acidity. A masculine wine, brooding and aloof, it needs at least 6–8 years in a good cellar to begin to come around.

Generous and rich at every turn, and a touch on the ripe side for some palates as the result, this outgoing effort builds from first aromas of ripe black cherries, a whiff of currant and a minerally, graphitey note into full-bodied, somewhat rounded and supple entry impressions. It tannins, while not massive, are on the hard side, and while there will be those who revel in its muscularity set against a softer background and enjoy the wine now, we are of a mind that patience is a better course.

Aromas of blueberries, minerals, flowers and spices follow through to a full body, with fine tannins and a citrus, smoke and walnut aftertaste. Slightly hollow center palate now but should come together with two or three years of bottle age.