Cadence, Bel Canto, Red Mountain, Washington, USA 2011

John Keats said that a thing of beauty is a joy forever, and in the hands of Ben Smith, the 2011 Bel Canto is effusively elegant and downright pretty. Winemaker Smith described the elegance of this Cabernet Franc dominant wine in the challenging year as a case of the ‘whole versus the sum of its parts.’ Fresh red and purple florals, tart berries and spicy blood orange aromas are met with graphite-driven minerality and a hint of gravelly dust. The palate is gorgeously textured, as layers of red and blue berries converge around minerality; a savoury edge of wild desert scrub and bay leaf is lifted with a brilliant acidity towards the finish.