Paarl Cabernet Sauvignon

Served going to a bunch of experienced palates. Was getting quite a few old Napa Cab guesses, some that were thinking it could have been either Australian Shirazzie or Washington Syrah. Shay mentioned it was likely a warmer climate, so he got that. I completely understand pretty much all of those guesses is this one seemed to have a little bit of a roasted black fruit, clove, barbecue kind of character to it. With salted kettle chips it definitely brought the barbecue and grilled character out. This wine still had plenty of depth and a lot of character displaying a surprising amount of pepper on the finish. In their youth, these have an insane amount of tannin despite being rather on the medium-bodied side, and I really was not experiencing that here. Much improved, smoother, tannins have fully integrated. Optimal time to consume this was probably three or four years ago but in my opinion it was doing quite well today.