Onyx in color at the core, this wine has a deep mulberry rim. Its nose is redolent of cinnamon and allspice. The attack is succulent and mouth filling, seemingly coating every crevice of the palate. Wildly divergent flavors of creosote, tar, blackberry, black pepper and violet create a fascinating combination that lingers on the finish. There’s a lovely underlying rusticity that is somehow smoothed out by the smartly constructed round and ripe palate. Drink now through 2017.

— Published (6/11/2015)