Hendry 2020 Cabernet Blend “Red” Estate Napa Valley 95 Points

Winery Notes: ”Deep purple-ruby color. Delicate initial aromas of soft fruit, dried herbs, and chocolate notes. The wine opens up, adding toffee, pretty dried floral, cherry cola, and licorice. Finer textured than the 2018 or 2019. There’s a pleasant tension in each sip: edgy tannins, baking chocolate, and herbal elements offset by the cassis-like dark fruit. With just a little air, the tannins are almost completely tamed–decant for a softer wine. Ready and raring to pair with meaty, melty, and savory dishes. Seared rare steaks with a board dressing, kalbi ribs, grilled portobellos with cheese or mashed potatoes, or maybe even juicy, crispy duck pancakes. Think moderate to rich, with an cocoa component.”

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points: “Aromas of cherry pit and crushed almond are followed by flavors of black fruits, pine tar and a pleasing smokiness. Rustic and pleasurable, this red blend is both captivating and surprising – it feels like a classic expression of old Napa Valley Bordeaux-style blends with a mouthwatering palate and lightly grippy tannins. Delicious.”

FMW 95 Points: “Dazzling black stone fruit and chocolate aromas jump out of the glass on impact.   This Bordeaux blend offers deep dark color, with intense aromatics and concentration. The fruit is 100%  sourced from the Hendry Estate in the Napa Valley.  This Cabernet-based blend is concentrated, powerful, yet silky smooth, with a lush and creamy texture on the mid-palate offering up cacao, blueberries, and anise flavors, and its loaded flavors show intense depth,  that leads to a long but silky finish with fine-grained tannins. This wine is drinking well now and should do so for a decade.

Food Suggestions:  Pair with cheeses and meats, moderately rich braised dishes, such as pot roast, braised short ribs, or a hearty beef and mushroom stew. Retains its flavor and structure with rich, meaty foods, and shows its softer, fruitier side with full-flavored cheeses. It will pair with almost anything you like with red wine. A strong candidate for the cellar, the structure of this wine should allow it to age with grace and become even more lovely and nuanced over time

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