2008 Red Wine

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, 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.

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: A balanced and delicious red now with plum and light clove character. Hints of volcanic ash. Full body, soft tannins and a fruity finish. Very reserved and refined. Firmness at the end. Drink now or hold.

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...

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...

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...

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, 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, 92 points: 92+ Bright, full red. Knockout nose combines black- and redcurrant, minerals, licorice, cinnamon and violet; very similar to the 2008 classico but much deeper. Then wonderfully suave and seamless in the mouth, but with...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: A wine of the vintage candidate in 2008 Troplong Mondot's offering was produced from yields of 41 hectoliters per hectare and achieved 14.5% natural alcohol. A classic blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and...

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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: Blueberries, blackberry jam, mint, sweet spices and white flowers are some of the notes that flow from the 2008 Syrah Suisassi. The Syrah shows off fabulous richness and concentration, turning positively explosive on the...

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...