Don Melchor, Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

"The 2022 Don Melchor spent 15 months in 72% new oak barrels and lands somewhere between the open-knit ease of 2021 and the tense introversion of 2020. A coiled, dark-fruited nose of tobacco leaves, dried herbs, graphite and dark chocolate transitions to a slow-moving, velvety palate. It concludes with a taut, inward finish of gently chewy tannins that regenerates the graphite-laden intensity found on the nose. With time in the glass, its structural burliness softened and melded with additional layers of chocolate-driven richness. This could possibly merit a higher score with additional time in bottle to slightly congeal the finish. " – Wine Advocate