A pinch of hard tannins gives this bone-dry young wine an astringent toughness. It shows very fine, concentrated black-cherry, cocoa and crème de cassis flavors. Aging in almost 100% new French oak adds notes of toast that the fruit easily tolerates. Nearly all Merlot, it's a wine of considerable volume, but nowhere near ready to drink. Give it at least six years in a proper cellar, and it could be one of the rare Merlot-based California wines capable of extended aging.