2016 Tesseron Estate 'Pym-Rae'

"Beautiful opaque ruby colour, leading with a subtlety that reveals lovely cedar and tobacco spices and Bay Laurel. Full-bodied, exhibiting a delicate balance between the structure's intensity and the fruit profile's lightness. A substantial backbone of acid tension, a hallmark of the 2016 vintage, lends buoyancy to the density of fruit, which lands on the mid-palate and stays there, building in stature and gaining intensity. A blanket of long, velvety tannins wraps itself around the palate, and the finish is long and exacting with spearmint and a wealth of warm earthen hummus notes. The Tesseron family, owners of Château Pontet-Canet, purchased the estate in 2016. It was owned by the late actor Robin Williams, who had planted the vines on the estate. Jérôme Ledit is the Estate Manager and Michel Rolland is the consultant oenologist. The vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and have been dry-farmed since the first day in 2016 that Alfred Tesseron set foot on the property. It is already unquestionably one of Napa Valley's greatest understated assets. (Drink between 2023-2035)" Decanter - 98 Points