Red Wine from Northern Rhone

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, 94 points: Vivid ruby. Intense black and blue fruit aromas are complemented by potpourri olive and smoky herbs. Broad palate-staining dark fruit flavors become brighter with air and show an emphatically spicy character. Finishes...

Wine Spectator, 98 points: This has a taut feel still with an almost searing iron edge but there's plenty of flesh in reserve with plum compote cherry pate de fruit and anise notes that slowly fill in on the lengthy finish. Offers lots of grip too...

Wine Spectator, 96 points: Tightly focused, with a beam of linzer torte, bitter cherry, plum sauce and fig fruit laced with licorice snap, singed iron and roasted bay leaf. The long finish has lots of roasted fig, tar and spice notes for extra...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The greatest Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert since the magnificent 1990 is the 2009. Jaboulet has nearly 100 acres in this appellation and the 2009 which is bursting with potential represents a great buy for Syrah...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: Even richer, the 2009 Cornas Confidence is a kick-ass wine of huge proportions. Its opaque purple color is followed by sumptuous aromas of ink, blueberries, blackberries and subtle smoke, and it hits the palate with...