Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 1995 Merlot Bancroft Ranch exhibits an opaque ruby/purple color, followed by a stunning nose of chocolate, minerals, black cherries, and toast. A serious, mountain-styled ...

About this Wine: The name 'Reiver' is taken from the border raiders of the Anglo-Scot borders. Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the border country was ravaged by lawless Reiver...

Wine Enthusiast: Gramona is known for yeasty, complex sparklers, and this falls into that paradigm. The nose is definitely yeasty, with apple and green melon aromas. It's a bit soft for Cava, ...

Wine Spectator: Full-bodied, rich and layered, with honeysuckle, smoke, roasted fig and melon flavors that are pure, focused, subtle and persistent. Drink now through 2018. -JL

Wine Spectator: Still a touch raw, with a coating of singed wood and coffee notes that are yet to meld fully. But there's velvety-textured blackberry, plum sauce and boysenberry fruit, with a...

Wine Spectator: Features a dark currant and blackberry coulis core, surrounded by charcoal, singed savory and light coffee notes. The solid, firm, taut finish should let this linger in the ce...

About this Wine: Its firm, well-rounded tannins offer a smoothness ever present over the years. Being highly concentrated, it can be left to age  for many years...

Wine Spectator: Broad and fleshy, exhibiting lots of melted fig, black currant paste and graphite notes woven with maduro tobacco and bittersweet cocoa. There's a long, smoldering finish. Bes...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Pale greenish-straw color. Complex but reticent nose hints at lemon oil and flowers. Dense and fruity, offering a sweeter impression than the foregoing samples. A somewhat ...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: It is a brilliant effort! Probably more controversial is Usseglio's 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee La Parte des Anges (70% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, and 10% Syrah, all aged in ...

Wine Spectator: An austere, sinewy style, exhibiting strawberry, tea, white pepper, eucalyptus and iron flavors. It's all underscored by dense, dusty tannins, with plenty of grip on the tight...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Palish red. Perfumed aromas of raspberry, cherry, coffee, spices, menthol and faded rose. Sweet and creamy but with an edge of acidity framing and carrying the attractive, m...

Wine Spectator: Very rich and caressing, with lovely plum sauce, melted licorice and cassis aromas and flavors all woven together and backed by ample but velvety tannins. The long, tar-staine...

Wine Spectator: Racy, offering delicious dark bramble, linzer torte and blackberry notes, with a strong graphite edge coursing through the finish. Gains density and flesh on the finish, which...

Wine Spectator: A very toasty but integrated style, with warm espresso and mocha leading the way for a really supple palate of black currant, plum sauce and cassis flavors. The toast holds a ...

Wine Spectator: Offers a sappy feel, with deliciously pure notes of kirsch and blackberry preserves. Lightly toasted spice and singed anise accents lead to the long, graphite-fueled finish. S...

About this Wine: Cuvee du Vatican's two cuvees of red wine included a traditional cuvee and the more limited production luxury offering-- the Reserve Sixtine (Starting in 2010 there is only on...

Wine Spectator: Very exciting aromas of crushed blackberry and lightly smoky barrels. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a medium finish. A bit tight but balanced. 10,555 cases made. -JS

About this Wine: Purchased in 1998 from the daughter of the local blacksmith - hence the name - the initial vineyard was primarily based on a gravel outcrop, assembled over the generations wit...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Medium red. Redcurrant, raspberry and flowers on the nose, plus a touch of leathery reduction. Supple, fat and concentrated if a bit youthfully undifferentiated today. In a br...