($179) Good full ruby. Roasted black raspberry, blackberry, spicecake, licorice, minerals and nutty oak on the nose. Denser than the 2005 and a step up in intensity but nicely light on its feet. There's lovely sweetness to the black fruit and licorice flavors. Finishes with big but sweet tannins and a lingering minerality. This makes the 2005 seem a bit dry by comparison. Bottled in July of 2006, for the first time without being fined. (I continue to find the '03 too herbal, lean and dry to recommend. The '02 in March was less herbal and minty than my sample two years ago but still high-toned, truffley and a bit vegetal, with a note of black olive and a rather chunky texture. This rather backward wine needs time but I find it disappointing in the context of the vintage, rating 87+?. The wild, distinctly Old World 2001, on the other hand, was wonderfully dense, sweet and lush without coming across as heavy, showing complex notes of cassis, graphite, spicecake, leather and game; lovely inner-mouth perfume; and an explosive finish featuring fine-grained, suave tannins that reach the front teeth. This very sexy and showy wine, rated 91 in Issue 118, merited 92 in March.)

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Might fool Bordeaux devotees with its leafy, earth, tobacco and pencil-lead nose and very firm structure. Black cherry, cassis and dark chocolate, with cedar and spice notes. Grippy tannins, though not austere. Labeled at 14.1 per cent alcohol, though it tastes a tad hotter than that. (LM)$180

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Deep garnet-purple colour. Intense, very purely fruited nose of warm cassis, mocha, black pepper, black olives and cigar boxes. Great concentration of juicy fruit on the palate, which is well supported by a firm backbone of medium to high acidity and a medium to high, fine grained tannins. Nicely balanced though the oak is still dominating slightly. Long finish.

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Bordeaux-like in its structure and balance, showing cedary oak, dusty berry, dried currant and mineral, with hints of herb and sage. The flavors firm up on the finish, and this is rich and intense without being heavy. Needs decanting. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. 22,000 cases made.

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