Brilliant violet. Ripe dark fruit, floral and exotic spice aromas, along with suggestions of licorice and smoky minerals. Chewy and focused on entry and then more fluid in the midpalate, offering liqueur-like bitter cherry, blackberry and boysenberry flavors and a hint of succulent herbs. Closes very long and precise, with resonating floral and spice notes and steadily building tannins lending final grip.

Cask sample. A touch of desiccation to the fruit, giving a porty, raisined quality to the nose. Plummy, dark, intense fruit with a lovely graphite character giving complexity. Fearsome tannin and grip, but not too much weight and heat. In fact, there is very respectable acidic crispness. Will take a long while for the tannins to relax and the fruit to evolve. (RH)