On the nose, black currant, bitter chocolate, stewed green pepper, black tea, and leather. On the palate, a rusticism that’s quite seductive, but the wine is lacking in body and there’s some noticeable heat at the very backend.

On the nose, a pure and near-perfect expression of Petit Verdot. Super rich blackberry , plums, big dark fruits, dusty dark chocolate, slate, some vanilla, and some oak. On the palate, the wine is equally rich and very concentrated – with a bit too much oak coming through. Very structured. Wonderfully juicy – with acidity to balance the wine’s huge tannins.

This wine screams Bordeaux – while the fruit is there (blackberries and cranberries), it seems both under-ripe and lightly roasted. Along with the fruit, there’s a ton of tobacco, cedar, cigar box, dirt, bitter herbs, and an appealing hint of roasted pistachio. Behind all that is some green olive and green pepper. The wine has good concentration, tannins are very soft. Overall, too green for my palate.

This wine smells like a delicious dessert – raspberries, blueberries, black currant, coffee, and vanilla ice cream come screaming out of the glass. It smells too young – almost like a barrel sample – and tastes even younger on the palate. Huge, aggressive tannins, noticeable oak.

This wine wakes the nostrils up, because the alcohol comes out strong – you might lose some nose hair. Behind all the alcohol, though, are some delicious, sweet, almost-but-not-quite overripe blackberries and boysenberries. The wine is very tannic, and the alcohol is noticeable throughout the palate.

Welcome to California. Rich, beautiful, super sweet cherries (the kind that come in pies), blackberries, baking spices, pie crust, a nice floral lift, and a huge dollop of vanilla ice cream. On the palate, some subtle oak and a bit of heat, but otherwise, a delicious example of California Cab Sauv.

This smells serious. The style is old world, but the fruits are sweet. Seductive cherries and raspberries, some sweet herbs and vanilla extract. On the palate, this is an elegant wine -- great acidity, full-but-soft tannins.

Vanilla ice cream meets a bizarre fruit salad. Blackberry, plum, black currant, black olive figs, and red licorice. Behind all that, some sweet, wild herbs – with a good handful of sage. This wine is quite interesting, but something about all the aromas just doesn’t work together. Super concentrated. Somewhat alcoholic throughout, especially at the back.

A delightful combination of red and black fruits – reminds me of a Shafer Hillside Select. The nose is incredibly aromatic -- sweet black fruits combined with a whole bag of red fruits, like strawberries, cranberries, cherries, raspberries. Behind all the fruit, this wine gets even more interesting – scents of tomato paste and tart cherries. This is well-balanced, with good acid, soft tannin, and no noticeable alcohol.