I did a little bit of comparative tasting with this wine, between the 2001 and the 2005 versions. 6 years on the 2001 is loaded with cassis and cedar notes, though heavy on the wood both nose and taste … I still have a few bottles of the ’01 so more experimentation is needed over the next few years to see how this one’s arch progresses. But now let’s focus on this newly released “monster-wine” they call the 2005. The blend, as usual, is Cabs Franc and Sauv with Merlot, and the Laura of the name refers to owner, Laura McCain. I put this wine through its paces to see how it would end up in a few years. Initially, I used a regular glass, then a big Spiegelau young red glass, then I decanted the rest of the wine and used the two aforementioned glasses to re-taste. In the regular glass, restrained floral, black fruit and those cedar tones were the dominant aromas … opening it up revealed red fruits, plum, cassis, cocoa and black licorice. Flavours started out as fairly closed off, with black fruit, cedar and tons of tannins (no floral) … opening helped showcase cinnamon notes on the tongue, with red and black fruits intermingling with spices and herbs. The tannin bite mellowed with aeration and became more of a dull roar than the lion’s share it started out as. This one should age better than its 2001 counterpart though my experimentation will continue with both wines and I’ll keep you posted. Right now, my prediction is that the ’05 has the potential to be a real beauty 6 years down the road – it has good pedigree and that makes all the difference.