Sometimes, before you cast a quick aspersion on a wine,
you have to let it sit, breathe and show what it really has
to offer. In this case, while there is something about the
aroma of the wine that I detect which I don't like (and note
that it could be just one element that I am sensitive to),
the taste is rather splendid.
I chose to give this wine a 9 versus an 8 because of its
solid backend finish. This wine's flavor seems to develop
at the end, versus hitting you at the beginning. What I
taste is dark plums over a nice coffee bean (reminds me of
Breyer's Coffee ice cream) with very mellow tannins. This
taste does have some depth, but with this coffee aspect,
it's different than the bold and rich dark fruits that one
normally would come to expect with a Cab. The one flavor
that I recognize [and I will admit that I had to look at the
back label to associate it] is that of figs/; hell, I rarely
have a Fig Newton anymore, I prefer those made from other
fruits.
I will admit that the amount of oak is not necessarily
too my liking (it yields dry tannic character), but the
weight on your tongue is a sublime velvet, reminding me of
chocolate cake.
While this is a 2006, I am interested to see what happens
in the next few vintages.
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