Every now and then you just have to cut loose and splurge, and one of my favorite ways to do that is with a nice bottle of wine from Cypher.  The last bottle I opened was over Christmas (their delightful Zinbitch, a must try if you see it), which my family and I promptly inhaled thanks to it’s delicious red fruit and spicing.  While Zinbitch has an awesome label, I love the reference to Moliere on Cypher Monarchy even more.  An even blend of Malbec and Petit Verdot, it was almost more than I could resist when I popped the cork.

Sight:  A full deep purple, with plenty of texture from edge to edge, keeping the wine from looking watery.

Smell:  Boysenberry jam leaps from the glass, followed by blackberries, plums, black tea, herbs, and spice.  The nose is complex, and tightly layered, with implications of sweetness and softness.  Vanilla laces throughout, making things smooth and silky.

Sip:  The body is large, but smooth, and mostly silky, with mild hints of heat.  A slight pop starts the texture, but rounds out, leaning into deep plum skin, currant, and preserved blackberries.  All of the jammy character leans into dried fruits on the palate, including multiple red fruits, like cherries and currants.  Violets, lilic, and sage all power forward together, and lean into the vanilla to make an incredibly herbal and complicated taste.

Savor:  The finish go for days, lending flavors of preserved blackberries, blueberries, vanilla, lilac, and sage.  Tannins are smooth, and short.

Cypher Monarchy is powerful, aggressive, and smooth.  The flavors contained balance petit verdot and malbec delicately, but let both shine with respective elements of flowers and herbs versus vanilla and fruit.  The combination with the texture makes Cypher Monarchy intrinsically drinkable, and undoubtably well made.  If you are a fan Petit Verdot, then this is a must try wine.

Verdict:  Boysenberry, Sage, Violets, Dried Blackberry, Vanilla, Smooth
Rating: 94
Price: $40
Paso Robles, California

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