John Duval Eligo 2012

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2012 Eligo has a profoundly scented nose of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, licorice, dark chocolate and blueberry preserves against an earthy/meaty background of bacon fat, forest floor, beef dripping and black loam. The densely packed, full-bodied palate manages almost paradoxical elegance and restraint with velvety tannins and lively acid giving closure to the long, multilayered finish.

Mar 16 - Glass-staining purple. Heady spice- and smoke-tinged boysenberry and cherry scents are complicated by suggestions of candied violet, licorice and incense. Vibrant and focused on the palate, with appealingly sweet, oak-tinged black and blue fruit flavors deepening and spreading out in the mid-palate. Deeply concentrated yet graceful and precise, conveying real energy and power. Silky tannins give shape and subtle grip to a strikingly long, seamless finish that leaves sappy blue fruit, vanilla and licorice pastille notes behind. -- Josh Raynolds