Way back at the end of the prior century, the 1996 version was the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year. Now, 25 years later and no one really seems to care anymore. The truth is this is an excellent wine. A proprietary blend, I am told this is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, tobacco, soy sauce and spice. Full bodied. Medium tannins. Good balance. On the palate, cassis with some forest floor and spice. This is a "cooler" climate wine that got perfectly ripe. Drink over the next fifteen years. It will work well with all but the lightest foods or sea food. It would work well with a nice pot of Chili on a cold winter day!
