Wine Spectator: Bright and flavorful, a generous mouthful of blueberry, blackberry and currant shaded with spicy oak notes on the persistent finish. Fine-grained tannins need cellaring. Best ...

Wine Spectator: Dense and beautifully focused, firm texture, with bay leaf-scented cherry and currant flavors that last and last on the chewy finish. Built for the cellar, this has the intens...

Wine Spectator: Announces itself as a serious red from the first whiff of earthy, smoky notes weaving through the licorice-scented dark berry flavors. This firm, chewy wine expands on the lon...

Wine Spectator: Muscular and ripe, showing fabulous potential. The best Noval in decades, it's full-bodied, with a fruity character, well-integrated, chewy tannins and a medium finish. A long...

Wine Spectator: Rich and gutsy, but also refined and stylish, with an initial push of rocky and roasted herb-laced currant and dried berry flavors, maintaining its dry savory character on the...

About this Wine: 10% Merlot 5% Cabernet Franc

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Bright ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of blackcurrant, violet, licorice, minerals and oak, along with a whiff of truffle. Enters lively and minerally, then turns broad in the mid...

Neil Mechanic: Medium garnet-mahogany hue with a brick colored edge. The nose is quite alluring with a mélange of dried cherry, tree bark, Asian five spice and crushed rose petals. You'll wa...

Wine Spectator: Glorious aromas of violets and fruit, with hints of vanilla. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and an ultralong finish. Best after 2002. -JS

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: While the bottled 2000 still reveals a certain sternness in addition to tough tannin, it is sweeter and more expansive and flavorful. The dark ruby/purple color is saturated a...

Wine Spectator: #2 on 2008 Top 100; Very beautiful aromas of crushed berry, flowers, currant and Indian spices follow through to a full body, with ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish. E...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Quite closed on the nose, hinting at menthol and wet stone. Then juicy and tight in the mouth, more taut and incisive than silky today, and showing superb precision for the v...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Pale yellow. High-toned, slightly exotic pineapple aroma-"heavier, like the '06," notes Bernard Raveneau. Fat and oily on the palate but with a very dry impression in spite of...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: (from younger vines, planted in 1999 and 1992): Pale color. Reticent nose hints at lime. Then open-knit in the mouth, with good lemony cut to its sweet, creamy lemon and pi...

Wine Spectator: This continues to evolve, and always benefits from a lot of air time in the glass (or decanter), which allows its lilting, perfumy aromas and light color to become more concen...

Wine Spectator: Ripe and compact, with rich black cherry, plum, chocolate and cedar notes, focused and long on the finish. Has tannin to lose. Best from 2002 through 2009. 6,338 cases made. &...

About this Wine: In 1886, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Monte Bello estate vineyard was planted, and the winery constructed. A first vintage from the young vines followed in 1892. Duri...

About this Wine: In 1886, high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Monte Bello estate vineyard was planted, and the winery constructed. A first vintage from the young vines followed in 1892. Duri...

About this Wine: "This fine, top drawer, Rothschild owned estate has produced a blockbuster '89 with an intensly perfumed nose, luxuriously rich palate and the ability to age for decades. A wi...

About this Wine: "This fine, top drawer, Rothschild owned estate has produced a blockbuster '89 with an intensly perfumed nose, luxuriously rich palate and the ability to age for decades. A wi...