A bright raspberry hued color along the edges, a dark core, and a certain viscosity as the wine swirls slowly around the glass that leans medium+. Aromas do not hesitate and seem to pour upward from the glass even before fully immersing yourself into the stemware. A sweet bark and earth aroma is layered with a prickly raspberry liqueur, a freshly cut straw dynamic and brown sugar rolled oats. There's an exotic edible red flower aroma and some crushed white pepper, toasted rosemary and an extremely sweet vine picked hood river cherry that is almost overwhelming to process all at once. Signature Jean-Nicolas Méo texture as this wine shifts and widens its stance across your palate. its racy out of the gate with tight granular tannins, white peach and tangerine flavors. As the texture broadens further a brigade of red and blue fruits emerge and push the structure ever further. It's exhilarating in its freshness but combines a raw juiciness that's simply exquisite. Jean-Nicolas' 4th iteration of this super blend of hand-chosen barrels may very well be his best version yet. Although approachable in the short-term, it's certainly a wine that will improve in your cellar for years to come.