Wine Spectator: This is lightly firm, with the vintage's plum skin and raisin notes at the edges, but the core of black currant, licorice and anise is juicy and very solid, with spice and iro...

Wine Enthusiast: A delicious wine, with ripe plum and berry flavors. It pairs acidity and firm tannins with its fruit.

About this Wine: "... blend of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon...Michel Rolland has increased the percentage of new oak casks used in the maturation process and the wi...

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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The profound 2005 Shiraz John Zilm was aged in new French and used American oak for 16 months. With an inky/blue/purple color, plenty of purity, richness, and depth as well as...

Wine Enthusiast: Barrel sample. This wine has fine tannins that are relatively soft, with good acidity and dryness. It's not powerful, but with its fine black currant flavor and ripe fruit it ...

About this Wine: This wine will require 7-10 years of cellaring, then last for two decades thereafter.

Wine Spectator: This is explosively rich, with almond cream, heather and honeysuckle aromas giving way to mouthwatering lime chiffon, papaya and dried persimmon notes. Long and expansive, wit...

Wine Spectator: Offers lush fruit, with dark raspberry and boysenberry notes, good, graphite-laced structure and bright acidity weaving throughout. The long, smoldering finish features an app...

About this Wine: Characteristics of the appellation:
A structured,  lively and mineral wine with good  length on the palate. Both straightforward and fresh, with exemplary concent...

About this Wine: "This wine is produced from a vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, whose grapes have been used in the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay since 1998. It is a vineyard th...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Light, bright gold. Complex, intensely perfumed scents of fresh pear, nectarine, licorice and smoky minerals. Sappy, palate-staining pit fruit and citrus flavors show a comp...

Wine Spectator: Focused blackberry, currant and cherry sauce flavors show notes of sweet tobacco and nicely roasted spice on the finish, with integrated grip.-J.M.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2008 La Confession is a sleeper of the vintage. Super successful, this spicy wine exhibits some toasty oak and loads of licorice, espresso roast, blackberry and cassis. A ...

Wine Spectator: Bright and jazzy, with a smoky edge to the tart blackberry and cherry flavors, picking up a licorice note on the finish. Has complexity and balance, and cellaring should bring...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The proprietors are extremely happy with what they were able to produce in 2000. Even though this vintage has a poor reputation, producers who only included the early-picked g...

Wine Spectator: Polished and forward, with dense but approachable plum and boysenberry fruit studded with lots of sweet licorice. A well-roasted vanilla bean note glides through the finish. D...

Wine Spectator: A ripe, fleshy style, with lots of fig and mulled blackberry and blueberry fruit. Good toast and ganache notes thread this together, with a muscular feel on the finish. An ove...

Wine Spectator: Offers pure, driven plum, cassis and black cherry notes inlaid with graphite and roasted wood spice. Dense without being overextracted. Very sleek. Rock-solid.-J.M.

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Good medium-deep red. Knockout nose combines raspberry, smoke, spices and loamy soil tones. Fat, sweet, sexy and rich, but with ripe, harmonious acidity giving shape to the ...