Full red-ruby. Deep aromas of dark red cherry, blackberry, licorice, shoe polish, and fresh herbs. Enters big and tannic, with rich dark fruit and herb flavors, but not especially graceful and loaded with currently youthful but also harsh tannins. Clearly not as deep or as well balanced as the best recent vintages of this wine (given the challenging vintage) but closes long with repeating plum and dark berry flavors. This wine’s tannins certainly call for some patience but should come around as there’s enough fruit lurking beneath that tannic cloak.