The red wines coming out of the 2007 vintage are built to impress: deeper, riper fruit, richer colour, bigger flavours. Something else that happened was longer barrel ageing than usual, to smooth out those robust tannins, and bottle ageing, for better integration. While it doesn’t seem very long, this one resided in French and American oak barrels for 7 months, was bottled in August and released in December (2008). The results are a wine with aromas that are pretty simplistic at this time, giving off cherry and floral notes. But this wine really shines on the palate, where it really brings most of its umph! A mix of raspberry, tobacco and smokiness – I also loved the very accessible price of $18 a bottle for a wine that delivers good flavour and value. As for the finish, it lingers with smoke, tobacco and repetitive hits of red fruit (you pick the berry – and it’s in there). Price: $18.00 – Rating: ****