This is an "older' Implicit Cellars wine. It seems their first wines were made from Sonoma grapes but with the help of their new winemaker, Kirk Venge, they have moved to Napa grapes. This bottling is from Knights Valley in Sonoma which also has a history of making some excellent wines. It clocks in at 15.4%abv so ripeness is not an issue. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is deep with black cherries, cassis, coffee beans, slight green tobacco leaves and spice. Full bodied. Firm tannins. On the palate, black cherry fruits with a bit of coffee, slight bell pepper, spice and char. This is still youthful and should develop more complexity. There is some evidence of alcohol on the palate and especially the finish but it is not dominant. Nicce on its own, this would work well with a bit of spicy food. Pepper steak might be a nice choice. Drink over the next ten years.
