This Bordeaux-inspired red blend has a rich, ripe array of dark berries that are framed in sweetly spicy oak and delivered in a seamless style that is a hallmark of this producer. Such long and noble tannins. Impressive wine. Drink this for a decade from 2022.

The 2016 Chester Kidder is an interesting blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, and the rest Petit Verdot, all aged 30 months in 85% new French oak. Jammy blackberries, cassis, graphite, scorched earth, and crushed flower notes all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, with a layered, opulent texture, subtle vanilla oak, and a great finish. It's a beautiful, powerful yet impeccably balanced wine that will evolve for 15-20 years.

92+ Made from a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah and 12% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Chester Kidder begins with a dense and chewy nose, opening to concentrated black fruit and dark red fruit aromas with dusty black pepper and dried herbs that waft out of the glass with inky resinous purple flowers and lifting oak spices. Full-bodied, the wine is generous with a chewy mouthfeel and firm tannins that tighten on the mid-palate before lingering with a long, drawn-out finish. Leaving behind flavors of bitter dark chocolate, black spice, sticky currants and cassis, there is a lasting flavor of smoked blackberries that recline on the tongue. This is delicious stuff but keep it a couple more years in the wine cellar before opening. Patience will be rewarded. - AM

92+ Bright, full ruby. Sexy violet lift to the aromas of cassis, blackberry and kirsch, along with medicinal mint and an herbal pyrazine element. Plush, broad and classic on the palate, with dense black fruit, licorice, violet and tobacco leaf flavors lifted by herbs. (The Petit Verdot element helps to elevate the wine," noted Nicault.) The wine's subtle sweetness is nicely balanced by sound acidity. Finishes with substantial tongue-dusting tannins that call for patience. (14.9% alcohol; 3.83 pH, which Gilles Nicault described as a bit high for this bottling; aged for 30 months in 90% new French oak) -- Stephen Tanzer