2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Fortis

This is generous and dense but tight. Shows ripe tannins and polish. Full-bodied, solid and tight. Blackcurrants and blackberries. So much blue fruit. Dense and tight. Starting to come around now.

The other 2013 offered in my tasting was the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Fortis, which is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec and 3% Merlot. An absolutely spectacular offering from Pine Ridge and one of their all-time great Cabernet Sauvignons, this prodigious blend has an inky purple color to the rim and a gorgeous nose of charcoal, asphalt, graphite, blueberry, blackberry and cassis, while not a trace of oak seems to make it through. The wine is large-scaled, massively extracted, but not without balance. It offers layers and layers of fruit, superb richness, and a long, moderately tannic finish. This is a wine for patient connoisseurs that needs to be put away for a good 4-5 years, but it could have 30-35 years of upside potential in a cold cellar.