Wine Spectator: This is a step up, with very plush layers of raspberry and blackber-ry confiture and plum sauce, liberally framed by a strong graphite note. Lots of black tea and toasty spi...

Wine Spectator: Shows the ripe, fleshy, polished profile of the vintage, with mouthfilling plum, blackberry paste and fig fruit flavors caressed by subtle cocoa and tobacco shadings on the fi...

Wine Spectator: A fleshy, inviting style, with lots of crushed fig and steeped blackberry fruit woven with warmed cocoa and pain d'épices, all backed by a distinctly racy graphite note. Stays...

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: 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...

Wine Spectator: Pretty notes of rose and vanilla accent ripe, pure flavors of black cherry, raspberry and currant in this polished red. Bright acidity carries the smooth texture, with well-in...

Wine Spectator: This is very distinctive, with live-wire acidity running through the core of damson plum, linzer torte and blackberry fruit that's framed by a mouthwatering roasted apple wood...

Wine Spectator: Very open and inviting at first, this features steeped black currant, anise and smoldering tobacco flavors leading the way, followed by equally rich notes of fig paste and gan...

Wine Spectator: Very lush and expressive, with caressing plum sauce, mulled blueberry and blackberry fruit and melted licorice and warm fruitcake flavors, all gliding together through the fin...

Wine Spectator: Offers a density and lushness that belies the appellation, with a full, polished structure and deep plum, blackberry paste and steeped black cherry fruit flavors. The long, an...

Wine Spectator: Dark and enticing, with a subtle smoky frame around the core of mulled plum, black currant and blackberry fruit. The long, graceful finish is inlaid with flecks of charcoal, b...

Wine Spectator: Showy and densely layered, with lots of linzer torte, cassis, blackberry pâte de fruit and plum sauce flavors that march in unison, while a strong graphite spine rivets the fi...

Wine Spectator: Frankly woodsy in style, offering lots of roasted apple wood and toasted bread notes, backed by dense, slightly chewy-textured plum skin, blackberry compote and black currant ...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: From very sandy soils east of St.-Emilion, this 2010 also has a big, ball-busting level of alcohol. It offers up loads of black cherry fruit, some underbrush and loamy soil un...

Wine Spectator: A solid core of cassis and blackberry fruit is liberally framed by dark cocoa and espresso notes and carried through the caressing, blueberry-, spice- and licorice-filled fini...

Wine Spectator: Features good density but remains tight, with dark currant, fig and blackberry fruit balled up by charcoal-tinged grip. Clove, ganache and espresso notes fill in on the finish...

Wine Spectator: Set apart by range and depth, with gorgeous blueberry, blackberry and plum notes intertwined with additional açaí berry and loganberry fruit flavors. The toasted apple wood fr...

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...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: (a blend of 70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc) Bright ruby-red. Pure aromas of strawberry, lead pencil and cocoa. Supple on entry, with flavors similar to the aromas, then tur...

Wine Spectator: A fresh, elegant style, with a lively mesquite and sanguine spine that cuts through the silk-textured damson plum, cherry and blackberry fruit. The long, mineral-tinged finish...