Shimmering red. A complex bouquet evokes fresh red berries, candied flowers, smoky minerals and baking spices. Juicy, subtly sweet and lively on the palate, offering spice-tinged bitter cherry, raspberry and floral pastille flavors that turn deeper as the wine opens up. Closes spicy, focused and impressively long, with well-knit tannins contributing gentle grip.

Supple and sexy, this is anchored in purple and black fruits, accented with a wash of coffee liqueur. Further barrel-related flavors bring malted milk candy into the mix, yet the wine remains balanced and beautifully integrated, and none of the expressive flavors seem overdone.