The 2012 CV is an old vines (85 years) field blend aged for 21 months in a mixture of new (65%) and used (one- and two-year-old) French oak barriques. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. CV tends to show well in restrained vintages. It is not always the wine that makes the biggest impression in quick tastings then, but it handles itself well in terms of balance and finesse. This is not as showy as its main competitor this year in the Van Zeller stable, the Vinha do Rio, also reviewed this issue, but it has better focus and a better balanced demeanor. I suspect the Vinha do Rio has more upside potential in the cellar, though. Tightly wound and showing some Old World elegance to go with its fine fruit, this CV seems to touch all the bases. It seems fuller in the mid-palate than most 2012s – although there have certainly been CVs that are much bigger. Tasted again the next day, it was all about balance and structure, but with time its fine fruit sealed the deal again. It had thinned a bit – something we will watch as this develops – and that constrained my enthusiasm just a little and warrants some conservatism at this time. It won't disappoint in general and it may yet be entitled to a small uptick. Have patience. I would predict that it will hit peak around 2018-2020. It does show quite a bit of tannic pop just now. There were just 5,036 bottles produced, plus some large format bottlings.
(WA 2nd Jan 2015)
