The blend for this flagship wine is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. The fruit predominantly comes from the highest elevation site on the estate’s Black Sage Bench Diamondback vineyard with only the Petite Verdot and Malbec sourced from the Golden Mile Bench. The grapes are destemmed and partially crushed, leaving some whole berries and pumped to stainless steel tanks for fermentation, which is then pressed and racked to 40% new French and Hungarian oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing for 24 months. It has a robust, heady nose of thick black currants, juicy blackberries, dark plums, flecks of crunchy red fruits, mocha, elegant spice notes and sweet tobacco. It has a spicy bite on the palate with a range of concentrated dark fruits, kirsch, plums, raspberry preserves, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, subtle earthiness and a big, long finish. Top notch wine here that call cellar 15+ years.
March 2019