Wine Spectator: Juicy red and black currant fruit mingles with tobacco, mineral and tar notes in this medium-weight Châteauneuf. Nice smoke and spice notes on the finish. Drink now through 20...

Wine Spectator: Vivid aromas of raspberries, licorice and cassis, hints of oak. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and succulent fruit flavors that build on the palate. Better in 1999.

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Bright yellow. Reticent aromas of yellow fruits, lime blossom and clove, with a floral complexity. Juicy and brisk but a bit less full than the Estate Sonoma Coast bottling....

Wine Spectator: Slightly high-toned, with floral, red cherry and red licorice notes laced with shaved vanilla bean and light tobacco shadings, followed by an elegant finish. Drink now through...

Wine Spectator: Well-focused and harmonious, not as big as 1989 and '90, showing black cherry, licorice and pepper notes in a lean, firm style. Drinkable now, but better in 1997.--Guigal Côte...

Wine Spectator: Elegant, tasty and firmly structured with acid. Nicely layered with soft ch erry, earth and spice flavors, showing richness and complexity. Outstanding and easy to appreciate....

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2007 Coteaux du Languedoc Vassal is from lesser lots of Syrah with 20% Mourvedre. Fennel, marjoram, tar, mulberry, blackberry, roasted meats, and chocolate run from nose t...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Dark ruby. Spicy cherry and dark berries on the nose, with hints of rose and violet adding complexity. Lively and focused on the palate, showing sweet raspberry and kirsch fla...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The Perrot-Minot 2008 Chambolle Musigny Les Echanges Vieilles Vignes smells of ripe blackberries with resinous, caramelized suggestions of maple syrup, and a smoky, sweet inti...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2009 Vosne-Romanee blossoms on the palate with generous dark fruit. Floral notes add brightness and energy in this delicate, feminine Vosne. This shows gorgeous radiance a...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Palish red with a hint of evolution at the rim. Aromatic nose combines red cherry, strawberry, spices and flowers. Intensely flavored and approachable, with good intensity t...

About this Wine: Land: A plateau of limestone; bordering slopes with chalk and clay soils....

Wine Spectator: Dark, rich and exotic, with oak-framed plum, currant and wild berry, this wine shows a measure of finesse and complexity, turning beefy and firm, with austere tannins. Best fr...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: Laville's 1996 is one of the lighter-styled efforts from this estate in the nineties. Nevertheless, it has managed to cram gorgeous levels of complexity and elegance into a ci...

Wine Spectator: Blackberry, currant and mineral lead to a medium-to-full body, with ripe tannins and a caressing finish. Balanced and pretty. Best after 2013. 13,885 cases made. -JS

About this Wine: Grape varieties:  90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc....

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Good deep red. Blueberry, licorice, brown spices and menthol on the complex nose. Richer and broader than the village wine, with more intense and complex flavors of spicy blac...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2009 Soave Pieropan is a forward, juicy white bursting with varietal aromas and flavors. Smoke ash and earthiness add complexity to the yellow stone fruits on the finish. ...

Burghound: A slightly riper nose of mostly fresh red berry fruit aromas laced with hints of earth and game give way to textured and relatively suave medium-bodied flavors that possess mo...

About this Wine: Soil: clay and chalk, with characteristically rounded, huge stones.

Blend: Grenache is the dominant grape, followed by Syrah and Cinsault.