Wine Spectator: Very fresh, with a bold display of dark blueberry, loganberry and plum fruit aromas and flavors that push ahead, followed by singed spice, black licorice and toasty vanilla be...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Good medium red-ruby. Complex aromas and flavors of red and black cherry, dark plum, mocha, licorice pastille, tar and hot rocks. Supple, suave and broad but not overly swee...

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: Dense, with good mouthfeel, offering notes of velvety, warm raspberry and boysenberry confiture. Kept lively by enticing spice, anise, bergamot and mandarin orange hints. The ...

Wine Spectator: Still youthfully tight, this shows a packed core of plum, cassis and blackberry fruit wrapped with bittersweet cocoa, tobacco and charcoal notes. Nice drive marks the finish, ...

Wine Spectator: This darker, toastier style delivers plush cocoa and plum sauce aromas and flavors to lead the way, liberally laced with notes of pain d'épices, fig and blackberry confiture. ...

Wine Spectator: This delivers a winey core of crushed currant, melted black licorice, plum sauce and roasted vanilla flavors, all woven to- gether with solid grip on the full-bodied finish...

About this Wine: "La Couspaude is planted with the same grape varieties as the other great wines of Saint-Emilion, and in similar proportions: a large majority of Merlot (75%), as well as Cabe...

Wine Spectator: Polished and supple, this red offers cocoa, black cherry, toast and tobacco flavors. A bit loose on the palate, but generous and fresh. Drink now through 2018. -TM

Wine Spectator: A wine with harmony. Extremely aromatic, with violet, berry and spice character. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine, silky tannins and a long berry, vanilla aftertaste. A bit m...

Wine Spectator: Intense aromas of crushed raspberries, minerals and lilacs. Medium- to full-bodied, with firm, yet very silky tannins and a long berry and vanilla aftertaste. Very fine indeed...

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...

Wine Spectator: Lighter in color and structure than the big names, but it has ample berry aromas and flavors and firm tannins on the finish.

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Deep red. Aromas of currant, loam, dark chocolate and smoky oak. Intensely flavored but much dryer than the shiraz, with firm acids giving it strong backbone. Finishes with st...

Wine Spectator: Ripe, concentrated and youthful, offering generous plum, currant and anise aromas and flavors framed by cedar and toughened a bit by tannins that will need until 1997 to 2000 ...

About this Wine: "Monbousquet is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks and the wine is...

Wine Spectator: Juicy red. Plenty of tobacco, berry and currant character in this. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins and a long finish. Best after 2008.

About this Wine: "Produced by Bellevue, the is an excellent Bordeaux Blend. From the St Emilion Bordeaux area of France, this Bordeaux Blend features a Dry taste and Red color."

Wine Spectator: Loads of currant, berry and light toasted oak on the nose with hints of milk chocolate. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a medium-long finish. Thick texture. Nicely craft...