2013 The Chocolate Block

(the production of this wine was down in 2013; only the Cabernet was aged in new oak): Deep ruby-red. Liqueur-like chocolatey grenache dominates the nose today, but fresher notes of cherry and violet emerge with air. A lovely spicy, southern-style wine with medium weight and nicely integrated acidity (3.8 pH); really nothing overripe about this wine. Finishes juicy and firmly tannic, spreading out to saturate the palate without leaving any impression of excess weight.