Denner Mother of Exiles Paso Robles Willow Creek District 2020

94+ points Eric Guido (Vinous): "The 2020 Mother of Exiles is wickedly fresh. White pepper hints accentuate the spicy crushed raspberry and dried dusty rose aromas. This is elegance personified with lifting acidity and crisp red fruits that slowly saturate the palate. It offers a staining of primary concentration and cascading floral tones, along with grippy tannins that pinch at the cheeks. The 2020 is a beauty but needs cellaring to show its best. Drink: 2025-2035. (May 2023)"

92 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Ripe black fruits, leafy herbs, chocolate, and chalky minerality, as well as some hints of lead pencil, emerge from Denner's 2020 Mother Of Exiles, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Petit Verdot, and the rest Tannat and a little Cabernet Franc. It's rich, full-bodied, has a round, layered, dense mouthfeel, and ripe tannins that are currently covered by plenty of sweet fruit. It offers pleasure today, yet I see no reason it shouldn't evolve for a solid decade or more. Drink: 2023-2033. (8/30/23)"

92 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Ripe black fruits, leafy herbs, chocolate, and chalky minerality, as well as some hints of lead pencil, emerge from Denner's 2020 Mother Of Exiles, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Petit Verdot, and the rest Tannat and a little Cabernet Franc. It's rich, full-bodied, has a round, layered, dense mouthfeel, and ripe tannins that are currently covered by plenty of sweet fruit. It offers pleasure today, yet I see no reason it shouldn't evolve for a solid decade or more. Drink: 2023-2033. (8/30/23)"

Producer notes: "60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Petit Verdot, 8% Tannat, 1% Cabernet Franc. Powerful aromas of black currant, violet, fresh bay leaf, and humidor explode from the glass on the 2020 Mother of Exiles. Layers of wild blueberry, game, cinnamon, and dark chocolate give way to profound tannins on the persistently hedonistic finish."