Havens, Hudson Vyd Syrah (Carneros) 2001

Deep purple.

Nose of toasty oak, toasted nuts - savory stuff - with a deep pool of black fruit and menthol underneath. Smells loaded.

Plush, packed entry. Huge flavor-pixel count. Reminds me of Pax's best bottlings. Creamy and packed through the chewy finish. Nicely refined. A bit of heat, but nothing stupid. Not about fruit.

This is killer.

Day 2 - Menthol and licorice now on the nose, very deep, but no heat. Creamy and packed in the mouth, without the grainy (stem?) tannin you see in Pax and Copain. But then moderately chewy in the finish. Actually hugely chewy in the finish. Coats the front teeth.

Day 4 - Amplified aromatics, with an attractive sweetness. Covers the whole mouth. Not particularly delineated/nuanced, but gets extra points for grainy density. Still shows slight heat.

14.5% listed

$45? Can't remember