Cassis, black olives, tobacco, chocolate, toasted spice, and graphite notes all emerge from the 2017 Ontogeny, a more rounded, plush, sexy wine that nevertheless packs ample muscle, depth, and richness. It's a beautifully balanced, silky, awesome wine as well as a killer value.

The 2017 Ontogeny is a hard wine to taste. Inky and dark, the Ontogeny has tons of richness, but the hard, drying tannins are really hard to get past.