Bright medium ruby. Inviting aromas of blackcurrant, dark raspberry, bitter chocolate, licorice and cedary French oak. Plush, velvety and sweet, with its shapely flavors of black fruits and chocolatey oak carrying through to a harmonious, unflagging finish featuring noble tannins that saturate the front teeth. Generous, sweet, broad wine with lovely mineral support contributing to an impression of balance and thrust. Seems clearly riper than the 2016 version, not to mention easier to taste today. My sample became more exotic with 48 hours in the recorked bottle without losing its grip.