Dark red to purple color. There are blackberries, cooked cherries, grape flavored fruit-roll-up, cassis, and a lot of vanilla on the nose. interestingly, on first impression, I was getting apricots. there's some black pepper, ripe dark fruits, A LOT of oak (a little too much, even for me, an oak lover), and good strong tannins on the palate. the fruit comes in on the front and you get the tannins and oak on the back-end. This has a medium to long finish, with a resonating oak dryness left in your mouth. I drank a whole bottle of this on purim (3/9/09) and loved it. The bottle was opened three hours before drinking. Although I'd like to see it aged for 12 rather than 16 months, it was silky smooth, well balanced and well integrated. Definitely a new favorite.
Submitted: 3/12/09