I know I’m probably gonna get grief for this, but not a horrible wine. Probably 50-60 bucks too, which places it in a near *bargain* catagory for the region. Carefully decanted at 68 degrees for 4.25 hours and—nah, just kidding: pop & pour. Black and impenetrable, a lush nose of chocolate and oak and dusty spice fairly characteristic of disneyland valley-floor mainstream stuff. Predictably rich and dense in the mouth, cloying to an extent: a sweet topping on fairly peppery structure and generous tannins–if you look for them (but nobody drinking this wine will). Anyway… not a terribly geeky bottle, and my headache tomorrow will tell me how manipulated it is, but it’s not Caymus or Austin Hope… right up there with perhaps a Far Niente or Yao Ming or Plumpjack in terms of deliciousness without being completely over-wrought to the point of eye-rolling.

2016 ROMBAUER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 14.5

https://rombauer.com/