This wine comes in a funky port-style bottle which will make you immediately think it’s a sweetie. We wine drinkers have been conditioned to judge a wine by it’s bottle shape. The wine itself has gone through quite a bit to get into your glass, 33 months of ageing, 1 year in barrel, then “washed over pressed skins from the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage”, then returned to bottle for another 21 months. Think of this in terms of an Italian Ripasso. The result is a wine of interest and complexity. The nose is fairly simple, offering up raspberries and hints of cherry. My notes about the palate run the gamut as more and more air entered the wine. First it was cherry, vanilla, white pepper and woodsy tannins. Then the wood dropped out, leaving behind sweet fruit: a raspberry-cherry combo that was nuanced with vanilla. Finally, it became red fruit oriented, smooth with plum and cherry notes along with good palate cleansing acidity on the soft supple finish. This one’s good to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Price: $32.00 – Rating: ****