However, they'd already decided to call it the Darkside, which is perhaps more accurately descriptive, and also less ostentatious.
Speaking of threes, this is the third time I've tried this wine. The first time it was the barrel components, which I had to mentally blend, and limited though my mental faculties are, it's pretty easy to add yum + yum and come out with the answer "very yum". The second tasting was shortly after the brutality of bottling, and on a fairly warm day, and so with the maths right but the physics wrong, the teacher wrote a note in red pen to "see me later!".
Fast forward a few months, and the grumbling, sulking, confused child has come along in leaps and bounds. She's still a bit of a Goth though, with those intense black eyes, and lets face it, you don't want your kids to be boring and nondescript. She dances out the room with such grace and balance anyway, so that you can't help but be impressed.
The tannins are simply excellent, probably due to the cooler vintage allowing slower ripening. Make no mistake, this is no wimpy lightweight, and indeed a number of 2010s wish they had such a muscular and sporty physique.
Plenty of dark fruit, chocolate, and even a bit of pipe tobacco, which probably cheekily sneaked over for a menage au trois from the Cab barrel when Paul had his back turned. There's plenty more in there, but with all those intertwined body parts, it could take years to work out what belongs where.
It's 72% Shiraz, 23% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache, and as I mentioned in the Splash+Merge write-up, that small amount of Grenache does make a positive difference. I think I suggested 60/35/5 to Paul at that time, but he was obviously worried about me claiming royalties if he used it.
Highly Recommended++ and ****
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