Nice green vegetal and sweet fruit on the nose, a spicy little burn and gobs and cons of blackberry, blood orange and carrot cake. Not bogged down in oak, vanilla and eucalyptus kept in check, I don’t know what the blend is, but the Cabernet is still getting its way, even though the velvety Merlot is speaking and watermelon Cab Franc plays along. Anyone can blend, but this wine had me at co-ferment.

I tasted some of the BDX varieties from Joyce last week at the Monterey Wines tasting and fell in love with them. So when I saw this on a list today, I couldn’t resist giving it a spin around the block and some serious R-rayed alone-time. It did NOT disappoint.

In the mouth, entry comes on dark and bloody, black-cherry ire lashes out with leather strops and tobacco smoke, graciously allowing the bitter edge of acid to take hold where it needs, pushing the green-roots deeper into earth but setting you up for a stemmy hi-note near-finish as the fruit ever-so-slowly drips away from the core, exposing tannins that are more of a memory than an actual point of notice.

This is straight-up good wine. Paicines, of course, in San Benito County. Did I mention this is a $25 dollar bottle of wine? You have all been falling in love with the pinots and chards from Joyce the past few years–they’ve been popping up everywhere–now fall in love with their bordeaux.

2013 JOYCE WINE COMPANY ‘J-Five’ Red Wine cab/ME/CF/bec/PV San Benito County 14.5

joycevineyards.com