A slightly different blend to the 2013, the 2014 Avoyelles Oakville Ranch incorporates a splash of Petit Verdot and is 56% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Petit Verdot. This beauty is charming, supple and beautifully pure, with terrific notes of blueberries, spring flowers, graphite and licorice. It’s concentrated, fresh and focused, with the house style, and is ideal for drinking over the coming 10-15 years.

The 2014 Oakville Ranch Avoyelles is an intriguing blend of 56% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot. I thought this was an outrageously delicious, complex wine with notes of incense, camphor, blueberry liqueur, blackcurrants, licorice and a touch of new oak in the background. It is deep, full-bodied, velvety textured and voluptuous with superb density and relatively pure, deep blue and black fruits. This full-bodied wine will offer delicious drinking over the next 12-15+ years.