The blend here is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Intense, ripe red berries soar from the glass: a sensual and exotically spiced nose. The palate is silky-smooth on the attack, the liquid sliding luxuriously over the tongue, with a firm but wholly integrated sense of alcohol supporting the full body, which is lifted by fresh, rather juicy acidity. Sweet raspberry, bitter cherry and a little mulberry contribute to a palate which somehow marries striking immediacy with decadent loveliness. A substantial tannic presence frames the fruit without curtailing it.