The Blend:  68% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petite Verdot

Great Wine, Bad Photo

Aging: 16 months in new French and American oak.

Alcohol: 14.3%

Price: $34 from the winery which is sold out.  I sampled it at The Salt Tasting Room, a wine bar for $75 a bottle/ $15 a glass

On the nose: Blackberry, Pepper, Vanilla

The palate:  Amazing rich dark fruit, blackberry, cherry.  Solid tannins with a cocoa, espresso vanilla finish.

I was very surprised by this wine.  It actually blew me away.  Complex and rich, solid tannins, good fruit structure without being too fruit forward or ripe.  Nice oak, without being over 0aked.  Very well balanced.  As a 2007 right now, it’s a little young and tight, but it opens up nicely in a relatively short period of time, you could probably hold on to this wine for 10 years, but as it tastes so good I doubt whether anyone will do that!  It paired well with my peppered salami and aged Parmesan Reggiano.  For those of you into points, I give it 92 points.  I really look forward to trying it if I can find it again next time I am in Vancouver.