IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Red-ruby. Blackberry, black raspberry, licorice, flowers and sexy oak spices on the nose. Juicy and penetrating in the mouth, with terrific verve and a brisk acid impression to the flavors of cranberry, cassis, bitter chocolate and licorice. Almost too much acid here for me. Tannins saturate the entire palate on the dusty finish.

Jonathan Maltus, owner of Chateau Teyssier in St-Emilion (one Bordeaux's first "garagistes" decades ago) is making his foray into California wine with the newly-released World's End label. The series' Cabs are made from grapes sourced from grape-growing legend Andy Beckstoffer, in the case of the Crossfire, from the Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard in Oakville. Already sold out  at the winery, according to Decanter Magazine, if this is what the end of the world tastes like, it's going to be delicous. Decidely modern, with sweet blackberry and black currant fruit moderated by licorice, graphite and spice qualities. The tannins are firm and chewy at first, but with air they soften, revealing more fruit and spice on the palate.