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2023 OVID Hexameter 750ML
  • 2023 OVID Hexameter 750ML
2023 OVID Hexameter 750ML

2023 OVID Hexameter 750ML

$425.00

The Hexameter Story

The first of our wines to graduate from the Experiment program to a flagship wine, Hexameter began with the simple inquiry: How compelling can a Cabernet Franc-focused wine from our site be? That early Experiment from 2005 produced an intriguing Franc-centric wine, and the next four years were used to refine the wine, particularly honing in on the best blocks within the vineyard.

Hexameter is the poetic meter used by Ovid in his Metamorphoses and, for that matter, in much Greek and Roman epic poetry. The concept of meter intrigues us, as meter contains, animates and organizes the information contained by a poem’s words. Transposed to wine, the vineyard is the impulse behind a poem, and the wine its meter and language. As such, the wine Hexameter reveals a certain rhythm and structure in our vineyard that articulates its clear and profound affinity for Cabernet Franc.

Tasting Notes

2023 OVID Hexameter

The 2023 season began with a generous reprieve after multiple years of low rainfall. Abundant winter rains graced our site through March. Mild temperatures and turgescent fog provided an unhurried and deliberate start to the growing season. A moderately late budbreak guided us into a delightfully temperate spring and start to summer. July, August and September held exemplary ripening temperatures allowing the fruit ample time to develop the flavor and aroma precursors, the odorless compounds found in grapes that then transform into aromatic molecules during winemaking. Lush October heat invited a delayed harvest after a cooler-than-normal growing season. Each block endured until every bunch reached its zenith of quality, with harvest beginning on October 11 and the last fruit coming in on October 31.

We were lucky enough to have a friend of the winery, Vanessa Conlin, Master of Wine, share her tasting notes with us and now you.

The 2023 OVID Hexameter is a deep opaque ruby in the glass, exuding exotic spices of star anise, cinnamon, preserved orange peel and bergamot tea, highlighted with black cherry, sage and fresh ground coffee. The tannins are refined and mouth-coating, with chewy density supporting flavors of espresso, cherry preserves and cast iron, leading into an impressively long  and opulent finish.

View Note Card

Critical Acclaim

Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter

Power and precision.

This is a profoundly penetrating wine with perfectly pure red berry and blackberry fruit, a dense core of mulberry fruit, and gorgeous iron-like mineral complexity. Full-bodied and polished. Tons of power and precision. Real freshness. Wonderful integration of high-end oak spices. 100 points.

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2023 Hexameter is absolutely gorgeous.

The 2023 Hexameter is absolutely gorgeous, with a complex, floral perfume of ripe red and black fruits, spicy herbs, leather, and loamy earth. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine tannins, a supple, layered, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. Drink bottles over the coming two decades. 98 points.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

OVID has released a succession of compelling wines that seem to get better and better with each passing vintage.

The 2023 Hexameter, OVID's Cabernet Franc-based wine, is super expressive right out of the gate. Strong savory and floral overtones make a powerful opening statement. The aromatics alone are so alluring here. Brisk acids and beams of underlying tannin shape this wonderfully energetic, salivating Napa Valley red. My feeling is that the 2023 will be even more expressive when it recovers from its bottling about two months before this tasting.