2019 DeLille Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel

Instantly impressive, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Ciel is broad, focused and fruity, with layers of seductive complexity that continue to waft from the glass. Full-bodied, impressively layered and textured, the Cabernet offers profound pleasure that sings with harmony and unison of world-class wine. Gobs of dusty dark red fruit tones give way to a lively mineral tension before juicy spiced plum and blackberry reduction somersault across the almost unending finish. It’s a fantastic wine that proves Washington Cabernet deserves to be in the private collection of serious collectors worldwide. Just under 3,700 bottles were made after the wine rested for almost two years in 100% new French oak. This is worth seeking out.

Dusty and inward in the glass the 2019 Grand Ciel Cabernet Sauvignon wafts up with a mentholated mix of musky black currants, exotic spices and balsamic herbs. This is deeply textural with dark mineral-tinged raspberry and tart cherry fruits offset by sweet baking spices under and air of tobacco. This tapers off both structured but also potent and incredibly long as grippy tannins fade, leaving nuances of plum and lavender to linger.