91(+?) Points | International Wine Cellar , March/April 2011

Deep red-ruby.  Brooding aromas of blackberry, cherry, licorice, leather and mint, plus a whiff of tobacco leaf.  Juicy, intense and sharply delineated, with enticing floral lift to the dark berry and mineral flavors.  Very sexy, bright, refined wine with a firm tannic structure and excellent precision and lift.  This was aged 18 months in French oak, 25% new, and bottled without fining or filtration.  May well merit a higher score with three or four years of additional cellaring.  I'd like to see this in a blind tasting with its Loire Valley counterparts.

90 Points | Wine Spectator