2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour

Composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 90% new. The alcohol came in at 15.5% this year. Deep garnet in color with a hint of purple, it springs from the glass with spritely notions of crushed red and black currants, wild blueberries and fragrant violets plus touches of black tea, dark chocolate, licorice and roses and a waft of tilled black soil. The impactfully concentrated, full-bodied palate confirms this wine is aging at a glacial pace with loads of bright, primary fruit and a taut backbone of grainy tannins matched by bold freshness, finishing very long and perfumed. This wine still has many years ahead!

Bright ruby. Youthfully medicinal aromas of cassis, licorice, violet, bitter chocolate and spices; this smells like a barrel sample! Highly concentrated, densely packed, chewy and sweet but a bit youthfully monolithic today, with its very ripe, plush black fruit flavors in need of more time in bottle to gain in nuance. Not a particularly high-pitched wine, this big boy will rely more on its substantial tannins than on its moderate acidity for structure and longevity. (ST)

Lots of asphalt, walnut, licorice and blackberry character. Full body, chewy and tannic with loads of structure and tension. Muscular and poised. Needs four or five years more of aging. Solid.