Sporting a deep ruby/purple color, the 2012 Avenger is a thrilling blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre and 10% Grenache that has everything you could want from a Central Coast Rhone blend. Perfumed and complex on the nose, with vibrant black and blue fruits, violets, lavender, licorice and subtle vanilla bean, it flows onto the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, notable freshness and building tannin that comes through on the finish. Showing the supple, up-front nature of the vintage, yet with ample tannin, it should be better in another year, and shine over the following 4-5. Winemaker Cris Cherry continues to push the whole cluster and savory style in his wines, while not losing the core of fruit that the region is known for. These new releases all have rich, tannic profiles that benefit from air, and will be even better in another year or two. In addition, I was able to do a retrospective of Cris’s Garnacha and High Road James Berry Vineyard, but wasn’t able to get those reviews into this report. Those reviews will be published in separate article at a later date. Tel. (805) 238-7145; www.villacreekwine.com