Magma Praemia, Destiny Bay 2020

(Destiny Bay Waiheke Island Magna Praemia, Red, New Zealand) Blackberries, blueberries, lavender,and hints of fresh and dark tobacco. Full-bodied with layers of large and powerful tannins. Muscular. Chewy and flexed. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 6% malbec, 5% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. Needs six to seven years to soften and come around. Try after 2028.

The 2020 Magna Praemia from Destiny Bay is always a very fine wine. It has the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (71%) of its three reds. It typically comes from press fractions, both of which lead to a style with more tannic substance and grunt within its core combined with a dark sinew running through its middle. This is a wine for the cellar. Despite its abundance of tannins, they are enveloped by the wine's density. While it offers sweet ripe fruit, it also has a sense of appealing bitterness with dark chocolate, black cherry, mocha and definite umami characters reminiscent of good miso. These flavors will come together to create a layered effect with more bottle age. Moreover, despite its ripeness, the 2020 is never lush, retaining a coolness that is so classically Cabernet. (Drink between 2025-2045)