2008 Red Wine

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 91 points: Surprisingly evolved and complex already, this wine is even more powerful than the 2010. Reaching 14.5% natural alcohol, the vines were cropped at an astonishingly low 20 hectoliters per hectare. A final blend of 80%...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: An amazing success in this vintage, the dark ruby/purple-hued 2008 reveals its noble terroir in its complex aromatics of spring flowers and burning embers/charcoal. A medium to full-bodied mouthfeel displaying no hard...

Wine Spectator, 90 points: Rock-solid with mocha and fruitcake notes nicely melded into the core of dark fig and black currant paste. Graphite and spice linger through the fleshy finish. Merlot. Best from 2012 through 2016. -JM

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: Wow. What a nose to this wine. Amazing aromas of blackberries, licorice and blueberries, with hints of flowers. Vivid and complex. What a wine! Give it two to three years of bottle age.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The 2008 Pintia has a fragrant bouquet with scents of dark plum, mulberry and fresh cherry, the new oak neatly folded into the fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy, silky smooth entry. The tannins here...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, 94 points: If you think of Mendoza’s Malbec-based wines as rich and ripe but a bit chunky and best for early drinking, try the supremely elegant 2008 vintage of Poesia, a 60/40 blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc from ungrafted vines...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: 2008 was a challenging vintage in Ribera del Duero, a vintage marked by a severe frost on September 24th. The vineyards of Vega Sicilia were saved by some anti-frost burners that really made the difference. Even though...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: An opaque purple color is followed by notes of graphite mulberries blueberries and flowers. The 2008 is broad savory and medium to full-bodied with sweet tannins decent acidity a textured complex mouthfeel and no hard...

jamessuckling.com, 93 points: Aromas of dried cherries and plums with hints of flowers follow through to a full body with velvety tannins and a juicy, meaty, fruity aftertaste. Turns to chocolate powder as well. Drink or hold.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: A candidate for the "wine of the vintage" Pontet Canet's 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings subtle...

jamessuckling.com, 93 points: This is a balanced wine with dried berry and prune character with hints of cedar. Full body, with firm tannins and a juicy finish. Delicious and flavorful. Lovely now. Absolutely delicious.

Burghound, 93 points: (BH90-93 points) This is also elegant, pure and broadly aromatic with hints of earth, underbrush and a touch of the sauvage adding nuance to the red currant and violet notes that introduce rich and rather serious...

Wine Enthusiast, 92 points: Exhibiting a bold and modern style, Brunello Helichrysum shows soft oak tones of chocolate and sweet spice behind blackberry and cassis. The wine offers inky dark concentration with some heat, polished tannins and a plump...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: A 2700-case blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc cropped at a low 27 hectoliters per hectare (compare that with 39 hectoliters per hectare in 2009 and 31 in 2010) this superb claret was aged 18 months in 75% new...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: A remarkable achievement from vines cropped at very low yields the 2008 La Fleur Morange is also sensational. According to Claude Gros this wine hit 14% natural alcohol in a vintage where the average was around 13% to...