Good, not great

In some ways, this smooth Garnacha blend comes across as exactly what you think a full-bodied red should be, straight down the middle with luscious rich fruit (blackberry, plum) complemented by oodles of sweet and spicy wood (oak, vanilla, black pepper) and a touch of tang (raspberry, cherry). And it works well, even if aromatically it's like encountering an odd but intriguing marriage of wine and Bourbon. What it lacks is some savouriness to offset the fruit, and while it's a big wine, it doesn't quite have the structure needed to hold everything together past those big-time aromatics.