2019 Scipio

Full bottle 1,262 g. 100% Cabernet Franc grown at 400 m asl. They have six parcels of Cabernet Franc, each one with slightly different soils and micro-climates. Every parcel responds differently to the vintage and so they vinify and age every parcel separately all the way. Never more than 40% new oak. Then in stainless steel and the best barrels get selected and blended for Scipio. 9,500 bottles. 2019 had a really dry spring and then a very rainy June. Summer was hot but not extremely. Autumn was cold at night with really fresh days. The calligraphic precision and flow and beauty of this wine is almost impossible to take apart. It flows into itself; not a collection of elements or things which one can measure or describe (acidity, tannins, fruit, length, depth, aromas). It is a chiastic whole. A chiasmus. A pattern of cross-linking, cross-connected, cross-flowing acidity, tannins, fruit, length, depth, aromas which have so suffused into each other that the wine becomes a river experience. Dark, magnificent, a chiaroscuro play of contrasts: shafts of light across penumbral planes, the adjacencies blurring into the soft, forest-fragrant, dense weave of tannins. It is resplendent, within its close-held cloak of exquisite restraint. (TC)

Cabernet Franc, which they started in 2006, from their high vineyards. Mid glowing crimson. Very luscious and flattering with Cabernet Franc fragrance. Anyone would enjoy this! (JR)

Made with Cabernt Franc, the 2019 Scipio shows a vegetal quality with dried curry leaf, grilled herb and dark slate. You feel the grape in full, and the wine delivers rich generosity, soft texture with barbecued aromas and sweet spice. It is full-bodied, and the tannins are nicely managed. Some 9,200 bottles were released.