Plum jam, currants, espresso, vanilla bean, crème de cassis and dark spice. Swirled, the wine shows big, dark and dense, exhibiting an abundance of black fruit bound up by dark barrel tones. A nose this intense usually implies a powerhouse of structure, yet the wine displays uncanny restraint. Yes, this wine is big. But it owes its volume to density and texture rather than to structure alone. This wine envelops, exciting every part of the palate with tannins more refined than Cabernets of this size typically exhibit. A graceful, complex wine, it will be virtually irresistible during the first five years of aging. But those who procure sufficient stocks to last six to ten years will be amply rewarded when the subtleties residing within this exceptional elixir finally emerge.