2010: Given the fact that the 2008 shows far better out of bottle than it did from cask I would not be surprised to see the 2010's score rise after bottling. Proprietor Denis Barraud believes this is the finest wine he has produced since 2005. Cropped at 24 hectoliters per hectare this 100% Merlot was closed and backward when I tasted it so it may have just finished malolactic fermentation. It is a formidably endowed brooding inky/blue/purple-colored effort revealing notes of crushed rocks blue and black fruits new oak and a touch of smoke. In the mouth the tannins take over and the wine shuts down completely. However there is a lot going on here and based on how previous vintages have performed it should reveal more in a few years.