smoke, cedar, round cassis and black currants, smooth, richly textured and beautifully balanced. Spice, leather and meat. Graphite, iron ore, classy, ripe and powerful but without being overblown or blowsy. Nice freshness and soft round tannins. Concentrated, complex but subtle. Very accomplished but equally primary. Pain grillé, wood and truffle. This needs more time in bottle to really blossom, but a good decant gets it going. Red fruits underly this and open up, cherry and cranberry poke through with more rocky soft mineral character. Pencil shavings and lead! There is a slight herby character, almost like eucalyptus. Violets and more perfume now... It changes all the time. Nice subtle complex length, but tannins are still holding this from springing out into what the wine wants to be. Bonfire, flint... Whilst this isn't a Bordeaux and isn't trying to be, it is certainly on the elegant, subtle side of the Californian spectrum. Really lovely and improving. This should be at its epogée in 3-5 years, and will hold for a while after that with its soft but prominent acidity. *****(**+?) or [4+4.5+4.5+4.5=17.5+/20]
