92 Points | International Wine Cellar , May/June 2010

($65; 60% merlot and 40% syrah) Inky purple. An explosive, pungent bouquet displays cherry-cola, cassis, pipe tobacco, potpourri and smoky oak. Lush and creamy on entry, showing sweet dark berry compote flavors and an exotic floral pastille quality, then gains firmness in the middle palate and picks up a bitter cherry note. Manages to be both deeply pitched and energetic, displaying excellent finishing clarity, sweetness and spicy thrust. As sexy as this is now, I'll bet that a few more years will allow it to shed some of its admittedly appealing baby fat.