Hidden Bench La Brunante 2018

The 2018 version of this top blend is 62% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc and 14% Malbec with barrel aging in a combination of new and used French oak for 20 months and bottled unfiltered and unfined. I scored this beauty slightly higher even though it’s extremely tight now and will benefit from the extra time in the bottle until the fall release. Upon vigorous swirling in the glass, it reveals its full potential in layers of cassis, black currants, blackberries and densely fruited black raspberries, cherries, and plums with subtle earthy/savoury notes and more overt spice notes. It’s a bigger wine than the 2017 with a mouthful of dark berries, concentrated cherries and raspberries, lovely texture, ripe tannic structure, a touch of fresh turned soil, fine oak spice and rousing acidity keeping it all in check through the long, long, echoing finish. I hesitate to offer a cellar window beyond a decade, but this certainly has the stuffing to improve beyond that. Score – 95. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, April 3, 2023)