91 Mark Squires - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2017 Nautilus Red is a Mavrodaphne aged for six months in used French oak. Sourced from roughly 80-year-old vines, this is a little different because it was held for six months after bottling in a cement tank filled with fresh water (as with the Nautilus white this issue). Perhaps the best red table wine I've seen from the winery, this is sophisticated and flavorful with fine structure. Textured, silky and precise, it has nuanced fruit flavors, with cranberries and baked plums, plus a tight, tense finish. The mid-palate finesse is exceptional. The acidity supports the fruit nicely, lifts it and allows the flavors to linger. There is also a serious backbone, but the tannins are ripe enough so that they never go overboard. You can open this now if you must—give it an hour of air if you do—but it will certainly be better in a year or two. It should age pretty well, but let's take that in stages. How well it ages, whether it develops or merely holds, will determine how impressive it really is. There were 7,000 bottles produced."