2016 Devil Proof Malbec Farrow Ranch
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Malbec Farrow Ranch takes its time to open to luscious scents of blueberry jam, mint chocolate and cassis with accents of fenugreek, coffee bean, roasted plum and violet with a streak of graphite. The palate explodes with rich, dense, lush, spicy blue and black fruits with an incredibly velvety frame and great freshness on the finish that goes on and on. This is structurally stunning and should be very long lived. 325 cases were made.
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James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
This is a super rich and deep-set, plum and blueberry-focused style that has some sweet, toasted spices and really rich, intense violets, too. The density and depth is phenomenal with a super plush, super deep and super fresh palate that delivers such richness. The tension between ripeness and freshness here is really something. Without question, this is the finest release to date.
These are two more world class Malbecs from winemaker Jesse Katz. The 2016 Malbec Farrow Ranch comes from a site in Alexander Valley and spent a full 20 months in new French oak. It's an inky purple-colored beauty that gives up loads of blueberry and cassis fruits intermixed with notions of green tobacco, graphite, forest floor, iron, and earth. It's a rich, full-bodied, powerful Malbec that has a great mid-palate, sweet tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's more dense and backward than the 2015 and is going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age.