The opaque purple-colored 2009 Escondido is 100% Tempranillo sourced from vines over 50 years of age from the great 2009 vintage and aged for 10 months in new Hungarian oak. Cedar, Asian spices, incense, a hint of balsamic, mineral, and blackberry aromas inform the nose of this ripe, concentrated, nicely proportioned big red. In the glass, spicy, plush black fruit flavors flow into a lengthy, seamless finish. There is enough structure to support 2-3 years of cellaring but the wine has so much flesh that it can be approached now.