Bright purple. Powerful red fruit liqueur, incense, oak spice and licorice scents are complemented by smoky mineral and floral nuances. Sappy, sweet and energetic in the mouth, offering deeply concentrated Chambord, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors and a hint of bitter chocolate. Excellent clarity and solid red fruit thrust on the persistent finish, which is given shape by harmonious tannins and sharpened by a spicy jolt of white pepper. The pH here is a strikingly low 3.25, and the wine is carrying a hefty 16% alcohol as well. Made from vines that were planted in 1900 and 1911; malo in French oak puncheons and demi-muids followed by 20 months of aging in new and neutral French oak demi-muids.

- April, 2021, Josh Raynolds