The Cabernet Sauvignon-based 2018 Mother Of Exiles is also blended with 22% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It has an inky purple-black color and luscious cassis and warm blue fruits with touches of cedar, sweet spice, graphite and cigars. The palate is full-boded and firm with flamboyant, spice-laced black fruits and just enough uplift on the mineral-driven finish. It will benefit from another 3-5 years in bottle and will age well over the next 15+ years.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Mother Of Exiles is deep ruby-purple and opens with milk chocolate and cassis aromas, fleshing out to Morello cherries, cast-iron pan and a very classy frame of sweet spices. The full-bodied palate is rich and intense with ripe, spicy fruits, finely pixelated tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long. This is lovely, and it merits at least another 2-3 years in bottle.

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Petit Verdot and 15% Merlot, the 2015 Mother Of Exiles offers up rich aromas of ripe black fruits, creamy new oak and lavender. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and chewy, with a bit too much extract and over-ripeness to be considered entirely in balance, though some consumers will love its flavorful, assertively structural style.

Another estate to work with Bordeaux varieties, with awesome results, the 2013 Mother Of Exiles (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot) has a layered, seamless, sexy profile as well as classic notes of lead pencil shavings, black currants, toasted bread and hints of herbs. Drink this textured, polished and impeccably balanced beauty anytime over the coming 10-15 years.

I'm continuing to see more and more top-quality Bordeaux blends from Paso and Denner's 2012 Mother Of Exiles is a great example of this trend. Made from 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot that saw 22 months in 85% new French oak, it has beautiful cassis, plums, violets, wild herbs and damp earth nuances to go with a full-bodied, fresh, elegant and polished style on the palate. This beauty fleshes out nicely with time in the glass, has a solid mid-palate and fine tannin that frame the finish. Give it a year or three and drink bottles over the following decade.