Availability: Sold out. Contact winery direct for library release
Cost: $70-90 est
Alcohol: 13.5%
Date Tasted: December 16th, 2011
Tasting Notes: From the cellar. A blend of 42% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvigno, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, the Mission Hill Oculus has lofty goals. Priced like a mid-range Bordeaux import, this dense, concentrated wine should knock your socks off with bold fruit, sublime French oak and effortless elegance. But a focus on longevity, with seemingly unnaturally high tannins, makes for a wine whose purpose is unclear. A cellar-dweller for sure, but eventually it must be opened and when it is the wine struggles in the glass, pleading to be returned to a cool, dark room where it may return to its hibernation. Three-plus hours of decanting helps to reveal the brooding, intense and worldly nose but the palate never fully awakens from its slumber and remains tight, closed off.
The nose alone is worth the effort and perhaps another year or two in the cellar will allow the palate to "finish", but I wouldn't bet on it. Best to enjoy it for what is now. Drink now-2015
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2011 IconWines.ca
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