Figgins Estate Red Wine 2016 (750ML)

98 JD / 94 WA / 94 VM / 94 WE

#76 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2019

Winemaker Chris Figgins has produced one of the wines of the vintage and his 2016 Estate Red Wine checks in as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot that spent 23 months in 50% new French oak. It offers a deep ruby/purple color as well as a killer bouquet of crème de cassis, toasted spice, tobacco, and earth. Incredibly pure, full-bodied, and layered on the palate, it's a magical wine that has no hard edges, building tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's the finest wine under this label to date. Jeb Dunnuck

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, the 2016 Estate Red Wine opens with a dense core of bold and juicy dark fruit aromas that overflow into the blueberry spectrum with mocha nuances. Full-bodied, the palate is chewy and has good mineral tension, giving way to elegant, balanced oak flavors and a tannic edge that is still rigid but will last for decades to come. The freshness and liveliness of the wine remain focused, and the wine lingers with a long, contemplative finish. With a 2,000 case production, this is one that is worth adding to your cellar. - AM, Wine Advocate

Bright ruby-red. Black raspberry, cassis and sexy oak spices are lifted by a violet note on the nose. Densely packed but quite tight-grained, offering high-pitched flavors of currant, black raspberry, cocoa powder and spices. Terrific depth of flavor here as well as outstanding length. With its perfectly managed tannins, this wine really resounds and rises on the aftertaste. This may be the most approachable vintage upon release of this bottling to date but it's clearly built for a long evolution in the cellar. Incidentally, Chris Figgins does not do any post-fermentation maceration for the FIGGINS wines but he does do some for the Leonetti Cellar Merlot. (14.8% alcohol; from deep silt and loam soil at 1,500 to 1,750 feet) - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

In this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot, the aromas are all about dark fruit, flower and spice, with notes of anise, blackberry jam, soil and black cherry as well as a generous pinch of spice following. Luscious, full and highly structured fruit flavors follow. The impressive acidity maintains balance. Its best years are far ahead of it. Open after 2025; it will have an easy decade or more of excellent drinking beyond that. - Wine Enthusiast