This black wine is nuanced with blue and purple hues. The nose is primary, grapy and oaky. Spiced fig, açai and boysenberry take center stage. Baking spice, damp earth and graphite fill in on the palate. The structural elements are well integrated in the full, weighty body. Though corpulent, the wine’s acidity is seamless, and the tannins are gossamer. This wine is malleable in usage and works equally well as a sipper or as a table accompaniment. If only its moderate finish lasted just a bit longer! Drink now through 2018.

— Published (6/16/2014)