Identity Crisis No.2
The review kicks off with help from the better half. When she says, “Mmmm… this is really good. This is the best of his wines,” it’s clear the night is about to matter.
The Drop: First Pour (0-15 Minutes)
The wine hits the glass thick and brooding, a deep violet that swallows light. The Nose is hostile and closed. Heavy oak, dark cacao, resinous cedar. It's not ready to talk. The Palate is all muscle. Black currants, bruised blackberries, and tannins like river silt. A powerhouse hiding behind sheer extraction. A true identity crisis, dragging its drinker into the spiral.
The Descent: Evolution (30-45
Minutes)Time blurs. The ceiling fan becomes helicopter blades. The wine starts to breathe.
Oxygen cracks the monolith open. Brooding fruits soften into black cherry and baked plum. Then the twist-raspberry acidity and cracked black pepper. One minute it drinks like a stoic Cabernet; the next it morphs into something wild and untamed, like high-altitude Syrah or old vine Zinfandel. A shapeshifter running from its own shadow.
Heart of Darkness: The Finish (1 Hour In) An hour in, the jungle closes around the glass. Tannins stop fighting and turn velvety, still gripping like iron. Complexity takes over the sweet fruit wrestling with leather, smoke, and dried herbs. The finish stretches on, leaving espresso grounds, dark chocolate, and a faint metallic edge.
It’s a modern day masterpiece, Pablo. But the blood pressure gauge just detonated into sparks, so stop cauterizing wounds with a lighter, check your notifications, and get back in the F1 chat before the Chardonnay gets opened out of spite.