2018 Owen Roe Rosa Mystica Cabernet Franc Yakima Valley

WSI93 VIN92 Bright, dark red. Dark raspberry, minerals and bitter chocolate on the perfumed nose, complicated by menthol and herbal nuances and lifted by a floral quality. Very suave and refined on entry, then smooth and floral in the middle palate, showing a tighter grain than the Union Gap blend. As much red as black fruit in character and quite seamless; medicinal in a positive way, with nuances of menthol and red licorice. Firmly constructed but reveals an essential suppleness of texture that makes it tastable already. Still, this wine’s substantial fine-grained tannins call for at least a year or two of cellaring, and it has the material and balance to evolve gracefully. My sample was even more floral with 24 hours of aeration, and I raised my score a point. Classy juice!