(aged in French oak, 50% new; previously, half of this wine was aged in new American barrels): Bright red-ruby. Smoky, slightly reduced nose offers dark berries, chocolate and a whiff of game. Lush, creamy and sweet, with dark fruit, chocolate and mineral flavors spreading out to saturate the palate. Very attractive, seamless syrah with a broad, fine-grained finish. The rootstock originally came from the Rhone Valley more than 50 years ago. After it was propagated in a single vineyard, a selection of the best vines was made for this 10-acre vineyard in the Uco Valley. A very successful vintage for this bottling.