Deep, saturated dark ruby. Penetrating aromas of black cherry, violet, lavender, licorice, dark tobacco and minerals. Then plush and elegant in the mouth, with outstanding depth and a hint of youthful bitterness to the superconcentrated flavors of black raspberry and spices. The wine's perfectly integrated acidity and floral lift give the finish great hang time. With 48 hours in the recorked bottle, this beauty showed its powerful underlying medicinal reserve without losing its freshness. Should be a wonderful follow-up to the splendid 2007 Dow--and very long-lived. Snap this one up and grow old gracefully with it. -- Stephen Tanzer