2016 Screaming Eagle Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 3-Pack in OWC

The 2016 Screaming Eagle is a positively stunning wine. An intense bouquet gives way to a wine of explosive energy and huge textural depth. Graphite, crushed rocks, menthol, sage and dark spice open up gradually in this reticent, brooding Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2016 is a towering, statuesque wine of the very highest level. That is the good news. The slightly less good news is that it will need a number of years in bottle to be at its very best. I wouldn't dream of touching a bottle anytime soon. The 2016 literally does scream, with tons of varietal Cabernet aromatics, flavors and structural drive. In a word: magnificent! (AG)

Deep ruby in colour, with a youthful, precise nose of pure, ripe cassis fruit, subtle, integral cedar oak and fresh earth minerality. Some toasted spice adds a degree of complexity in the wine’s first flush of youth. The subtlety and integration of the nose is surpassed by the finesse of its medium-full body and fresh, bright, lively palate. Touches of tobacco and cocoa combine with some dusty mineral notes and a lovely depth of fruit, enveloping the firm but ripe cocoa-powder tannins. An elegantly integral, mellifluous finish with fantastic length. (TJ)