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Icellars Estate Winery Wiyana Wanda Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc 2016 Wine Review

Icellars Estate Winery Wiyana Wanda Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc 2016

Icellars Estate Winery Wiyana Wanda Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc 2016

Niagara On The Lake, Canada

Community Score:94/100

Community Reviews: 1

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Price: $60.00

Drink: 2017-2019

Bottle size: 750 ml

Alcohol: 13%

Sweetness: Dry

Wine Type: Red Wine


Winery: Icellars Estate Winery

Reviews and Ratings

Daniel O'Keefe rated this wine as 94/100 with the following review:

63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Malbec. Blended at 12 months then returned to barrel to age for an additional 12 months. Icellars continues its excellence with the Left Bank Bordeaux-styled Wiyana Wanda. Eight premium French oak barrels, half new and half seasoned, were chosen for the flagship blend of the estate. Opaque purple hue; the colour concentration hints at the aromatic and flavour intensity to come. A deep, dense, and brooding wine, sky-high potential, restrained in its infancy. It’s there, hiding, contemplating, and waiting to reward your patience. Presently exhibiting freshly ground espresso bean, graham cracker, vanilla, and toasty cocoa. Chewy tannins, tight grip but silky smooth, part of the perfectly balanced trifecta of tannins, body, and acidity. Immense structure. Palate welcomes ripe, juicy, fleshy dark fruits to the mix, namely black cherry and plum. Finish persists in excess of a minute with bold cocoa and coffee. Tasted from a single new barrel, so the oak influence is high, but will come into balance once the equal volumes of new and seasoned oak barrels are reunited for bottling. Wiyana Wanda represents the pinnacle of the cellar blended into a singular, unforgettable, and possibly unrivalled meritage blend in Niagara. It will age, develop, and (somewhat frighteningly) improve for beyond a decade. Save for a big roast, a rich chocolate dessert, or to share with a few very lucky individuals who can appreciate a wine of this calibre.

Tasted January 2018, aged 15 months.

If you liked the Icellars Estate Winery Wiyana Wanda Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc 2016, you might also like these wines:

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