2014 L'Ecole No 41 Ferguson Vineyard
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Tasting notes
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec. Compared with previous vintages, the 2014 has slightly more reticent aromas with notes of candied violet and tobacco leaf. The wine is juicy and flavourful with a palate of black plum, tobacco leaf, graphite and a mix of resinous herbs. The fruit character is riper and darker than previous vintages though the wine avoids becoming jammy. Fine, firm tannin is balanced by a mouth-watering wash of acidity through a long finish. (ECB)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Brooding aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and violet, with Cabernet pyrazine notes of pepper and herbs nicely countered by minerality. Plush and sweet but slightly inky on the palate, offering mouthfilling flavors of black fruits and licorice. Finishes with big, granular, tongue-clenching tannins that avoid dryness but still come off as more rustic and energetically extracted than those of the 2016 Ferguson Red Wine bottling. Still needs time for the tannins to evolve but will they ever come into harmony with the wine's fruit? (this wine was bottled in July of 2016 but was only released in March of this year as a wine club item)
<p>Aromas of mirepoix and red currants lead to a palate that has a richly fruited core, framed in assertive, sturdy and muscular tannin. The dark fruit is held in tight. Try from 2024.</p>
My favorite of the three special cuvees, the 2014 Ferguson checks in as a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 6% Malbec. It knocks it out of the park with its dark, savory, mineral-laced fruit and is full-bodied, deep, rich and concentrated on the palate. This beautiful wine has building structure and ripe tannin, and it’s going to have two decades or more of longevity.