2013 Kongsgaard Cabernet Sauvignon

Kongsgaard’s Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Atlas Peak on a parcel of leased ground. The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is sensational. This looks to be great stuff, but needs another 3-4 years of cellaring to show its full potential. Layers of ripe blackcurrant fruit and again some dusty, earthy minerality are present, and the wine shows plenty of blackberry and cassis. It is full-bodied, moderately tannic, and relatively extravagant in its density and richness. This wine should be put to sleep for 3-4 years and drunk over the following 25-30 years.

Deep, inky and powerful, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is towering. Dark, bass notes abound as firm tannins wrap around a core of intense black fruit. Smoke, tobacco and cedar add layers of dimension, but the 2013 is years away from being fully expressive. Today, the 2013 has regal, majestic bearing that strongly suggests readers will have to be patient. The marriage of opulence and power is compelling.

Kongsgaard's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most compelling, riveting wines of the year. Graphite, crushed rocks, plums, incense and tobacco fill out the wine's big, broad-shouldered frame with admirable richness. Today, the tannins are overpowering. I imagine the 2013 will require quite a bit of bottle age to shine, but all the elements are present for this to develop into a spectacular wine.