All’s well that ends well. This is dark and brooding but a calm delight slowly emerges, a redemptive story in the glass.
Closed and murky when I first opened the bottle, on day 2 it finally started singing. The nose, once opened, has depth with dark cherry and fig shaded by earth and leather aromas emerging from a dark warren where dwells cautious power.
The palate is full bodied with leather and coffee, and shows persistent fruit power all the way through a finish in which nicely integrated wood builds layers without appearing obvious. Supple without being lush, the core of dark fruit is slowly encircled by a sparkling tide of firm, peppery tannins and modest acidity that lift the mood creating a lengthy, elegant resolution, an elegy with a Hollywood ending.
A wine made whole by its lovely finish. Dense, intimate, introspective like Bjork’s Hidden Place.
Score: 91
Price: $30 (Purchase here)
Alc: 14.5
Technical Notes: Aged 20 months in 50% new oak.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 