Bright red-ruby. Cassis, leather, musky licorice, spices and tobacco leaf on the nose. The palate delivers captivating subtle sweetness and insidious flavor intensity, with its red and darker berry flavors showing excellent delineation. Harmonious acidity lifts the middle palate but the wine's firm spine of dusty tannins calls for a couple years of patience. This serious Cabernet finishes with excellent length.

As with many wines this time around, I got more than one vintage to taste, including the 2017 Appellation Agrelo Cabernet Sauvignon. Next to the 2016, you could see the different climatic conditions of the two vintages, with this 2017 coming through riper and rounder. In any case, it's a textbook example of Agrelo, with juicy fruit and polished, sweet tannins. This is also a favorite in 2017 and shows a very classical Bordeaux-like profile, peppery, spicy and elegant. 43,200 bottles produced.