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...

Wine Spectator: This is inviting, with delicious raspberry ganache, cherry reduction and sweet spice notes all pushed by racy licorice and toast. The slightly firm, muscular finish should str...

Wine Enthusiast: Big and structured wine, with ripe jammy fruit. Rich spice, soft tannins and dense texture all come together to give a rounded feel. Acidity at the end makes a final, tight ...

About this Wine: This Single Vineyard wine is made from a single hectare on 'Astéries' (rock limestone) soil between Château Fonroque and Clos Fourtet. The vines survived the frost of 1956 and...

Wine Spectator: Nice cocoa and coffee aromas lead the way for roasted vanilla bean, dark plum and black cherry fruit notes. This is a touch firm, but racy and fleshy enough through the finish...

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 ...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: (69% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot and 3% cabernet franc) Medium-deep red. Inviting, deep aromas of blackcurrant and ripe plum, with a hint of licorice. Very appealing sweet ...

Wine Spectator: This is rounded and pure, with red and black currant, black tea, roasted apple wood and sanguine notes all gliding through the supple, focused finish. Not big, but has balance...

Wine Spectator: This has a slightly brawny edge, but feels like it's filling out quickly, with lush, dark fig sauce, black licorice snap and graphite notes taking on more depth as it airs in ...

Wine Spectator: A touch soft, but persistent, with pretty floral, mulled plum and tobacco notes that glide over light, rounded tannins. The pure finish lets the fruit hang elegantly. This win...

About this Wine: Geographic location :...

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: (a 65/35 blend of merlot and cabernet franc): Bright medium ruby. Blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate and espresso on the nose, with cabernet franc notes of violet and lico...

Wine Spectator: This solid red has a nice fleshy edge to its red and black currant fruit, laced with hints of coffee, maduro tobacco and iron. The finish firms up as the toast takes over. Dri...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: A sleeper of the vintage, the dense ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Branon displays chocolatey, earthy undertones intermixed with black currants and Asian plum sauce. Medium to full-b...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: A sleeper of the vintage, the dense ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Branon displays chocolatey, earthy undertones intermixed with black currants and Asian plum sauce. Medium to full-b...

Wine Spectator: Ripe, juicy and flattering, with delicious linzer torte, boysenberry and blackberry compote aromas and flavors, supported by solid grip and nice lingering anise and espresso o...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: This blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc coming in at 13.5% natural alcohol exhibits notes of blueberry pie intermixed with chalk dust, as well as hints of subtle oak, ...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2008, which was problematic from barrel tastings, has settled down beautifully, and showed very well on three separate occasions. Proprietor Michel Bortolussi has turned o...

Wine Enthusiast: Barrel sample. Spicy, initially this wine seems to have too much wood. But in the end, the dense fruit tannins come through to dominate, giving a bright final character. R.V. ...