2016 Bettina

The 2016 Bettina is more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated and checks in as 88% Cabernet, 6% Merlot, and 3% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with the DB4 release, it offers terrific freshness and purity as well as complex notes of currants, graphite, dark chocolate, and subtle herbal and tobacco notes. Beautifully rich, full-bodied, and straight up seamless on the palate, it has perfectly integrated tannins and the balance and depth to keep for 20-25 years.

Dark, sumptuous and beautifully textured in the glass, the 2016 Bettina is positively stellar. All the elements come together effortlessly in the glass. Crème de cassis, blueberry jam, spice, new leather and menthol develop, but it is the wine's exceptional balance and breeding that stand out most. Medium in body and super-refined, the 2016 is a real pleasure to taste today. As a reminder, the Bettina is a blend made from various David Abreu vineyards.

The majority of the blend here comes from the Abreu’s Thorevilos vineyard with a splash from Bryant. Composed of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Bettina Bryant Proprietary Red Wine is deep garnet-purple colored with an incredibly complex meaty/earthy nose offering notions of beef, charcuterie, black olives and truffles with dried herbs over a tantalizing core of cassis, resin, warm plums and blackberries plus a waft of mossy bark. The medium to full-bodied palate is firm, grainy and earthy/savory, with a long finish.