About this Wine: ...The Backus vineyard, located across the valley from Harlan Estate, is now farmed biodynamically. The 1999 release was the last vintage entirely from vines planted in 1975; ...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: ($185; bottled with a screwcap) Good full ruby. Tangy red berries, spices, iron and mocha on the nose; a bit cooler than the 2004 bottling. Then juicy, spicy and tight; less l...

About this Wine: From a powerful soil, made up of schistose sands marked by iron oxide, this cuvée is characterised by flavours of wild berries and liquorice over deep, forceful tannins - comb...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: There are 1,000 cases of the exceptional, black/purple-colored 1997 Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon (3-4% Cabernet Franc was added to the blend). With abundant quantities of smoky,...

Wine Spectator: One of the riper, more exotic wines of the vintage, this gushes with black currant, fig and blackberry fruit, all of which has melded together and is starting to show a corrup...

Wine Spectator: Spice rack of a wine, rather exotic. Concentrated aromas of tar, spices and currants. Full-bodied, with loads of velvety tannins and a long, ripe fruit aftertaste. Best after ...

Wine Spectator: Solid notes of steeped black currant, ganache-coated fig and plum eau de vie pump along in this very dark red, but with well-integrated structure. Long and winey through the f...

Wine Spectator: Delivers a solid core of black cherry and tobacco leaf, with a briary backdrop on the finish. A bit chewy overall, but this maintains good intensity and a mouthwatering chalky...

Wine Spectator: This is rich and very plush, but really pure as well, with gorgeous macerated cherry, cassis and blackberry preserves flavors gliding along, carried by remarkably polished tan...

About this Wine: The flagship wine, Insignia, is recognized as one of the world's great wines. Thirty vintages have been rated ninety or more points by various wine publications. The 2002 vint...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is an outstanding wine that is close in quality to the 1992 and 1991. The 1993 boasts an opaque purple color, as well as a sweet, s...

Wine Spectator: Well-balanced, with firm tannins wrapped around a core of minty currant and blackberry fruit. Offers enough tannin for two vintages...

About this Wine: "...second coolest microclimate ... Originally a prehistoric river bed, this stony, gravelly soil drains rapidly and the vines struggle for moisture... lowest yielding vineyar...

Wine Spectator: Slowly opens up to reveal anise, currant and cedar flavors that are deeply concentrated, but also quite tannic. Firm, leathery, muscular style that begs for cellaring...

Wine Spectator: Quite vibrant, with a racy core of dark raspberry, currant and boysenberry fruit that drives along a solid graphite spine. The long, alluring finish stretches out impressively...

Wine Spectator: Rock solid, displaying a dense core of plum, steeped currant and braised fig fruit, with racy charcoal and ganache notes. Intensely chalky, offering flesh and refinement to ma...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: At the top of this estate's qualitative hierarchy are their Cabernet Sauvignons. I extolled the virtues of the 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select prior to its release, an...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The inky/purple-tinged 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (500 cases) is profound stuff. Its nose of smoke, new saddle leather, blackberry, and creme de cassis are intermixed wit...

Wine Spectator: Youthful ruby color, with a garnet edge. Floral and perfumed, with a berry undertone on the nose. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a pretty, straightforward fruit aftertas...