Cassis liqueur marks this structured Cab divine in firm, lengthy tannins and a chewy grip of black licorice. Given similar treatment to the winery's other highest echelon Cabs, it has 22 months in new French oak that will help it age through 2020–2030.

A big burst of sweet, creamy oak leaps to the fore in the nose but is quickly joined by a full measure of solid, young Cabernet fruit, and, with a moment of air, the aromas reveal scattered suggestions of dried herbs and loam. Once in the mouth, the wine settles into balanced firmness with rich, if youthfully tight flavors that again key on cassis, herbs and oak, and, although not harshly astringent, it is still sufficiently tannic to make us want to hide it away in the back of the cellar until it nears its tenth birthday.