Susana Balbo Cabernet Sauvignon

The dark ruby-colored 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon which contains 15% Merlot was aged for 13 months in 80% new French oak and 20% second use French oak before bottling without fining or filtration (as are all three of these wines). It offers an alluring bouquet of pain grille, spice box, cassis, and black currant. This is followed by an elegantly-styled Cabernet with silky tannin, 2–3 years of aging potential, excellent depth and concentration, plenty of savory fruit, and a pure finish. It will be at its best from 2010 to 2018.

Good full red-ruby. Complex, aromatic nose melds blueberry, plum, mocha, graphite and tobacco, complicated by mint, menthol and fresh herbs. Sweet on entry, then juicy, tight and fine-grained, with lively harmonious acidity giving the dense fruit a youthfully clenched quality. But with its fresh acidity and ripe tannic spine, this wine is sexy already.