john szzabo: 2019 la sophia

Maturing, roasted, very ripe and concentrated, this smells like ambitious wine off the top. It pours inky black to make its statement, and washes over the palate with authority and massive fruit extract. Structure is terrific – tannins are thick and abundant, the muscle fibers coated with interstitial fruit extract-fat. Length and certainly depth and concentration are superb. Roasted coffee and dried black plum, roasted herbs and very savoury flavours lead among many. I can’t call this refined or elegant, but fans of, say, ‘mountain’ cabernet from the Napa Valley will find kinship in the density and extraction and structure. A classic steak house wine. Drink now (with salty-fatty steak), or hold into the early ’30s – I wouldn’t wait eternally, especially if you want to capture some fruit. Value Rating: 4/5.