A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Pym-Rae displays a deep garnet-purple color and reveals wonderfully fragrant notes of candied violets, wilted roses, damp soil and black tea over a core of red and black currants, black cherries and warm blackberries plus touches of cigar box and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is evocatively singular, offering that rock-solid structure of mountain fruit, yet these are wonderfully ripe, silt-like tannins that beautifully support the elegant red and black fruit layers, finishing very long and very perfumed.

The 2016 Pym-Rae continues to show well, with a rich, meaty, powerful style as well as loads of chocolaty black fruits, tobacco, black olive tapenade, and leather-like aromas and flavors. It's beautiful on the palate, with massive concentration and depth as well as terrific balance. This gorgeous, deep, opulent beauty is going to benefit from another 4-6 years of bottle age and live for 3-4 decades.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is the first wine from the Tesseron family's Mount Veeder estate, the property that once belonged to comedian Robin Williams. It is certainly an impressive debut. Inky and dark, the 2016 possesses tremendous textural richness. At the moment, the 2016 is driven by its deep, luscious fruit. I imagine more site character will emerge over time. In my view, the French oak is a bit strong at this stage, but I imagine that will sort itself out in future vintages. The Pym Rae Cabernet is made by Thomas Comme, whose father Jean-Michel, spent more than twenty years at Pontet-Canet. I was impressed by the potential of this site during a visit a few years ago. This is certainly going to be an exciting project to watch.