Lovely nose of freshly cut yellow pear, heavy cream, hints of American oak, and brioche. Rich, round palate of sweet cream, vanilla tapioca, and warm spices. All nicely balanced with fresh acidity. Usually a fan of the unfiltered label, but this one takes the cake.

Rich nose of cream, butterscotch, and toast. The palate is spicy up front along with a hefty dose of new oak. Nice acidity on midpalate that follows through on the finish. The oak is a bit overwhelming at this point, but this bottling usually takes a few years to come into harmony. 88-90

I've never liked this bottling from Newton. Very angular, never in harmony, and all around average at best. Dried cherry, spice box on nose with green olive. Fairly tannic and backwards with a bitter wood component that is offensive. Dried herbs, white peppper and a lack of acidity.

Showed 10X better than the Claret. At first the underripe, herbal side of Merlot showed on the nose with dried herbs, green olive, and underripe raspberries. The palate, however, showed nicely extracted, full bodied, and richly textured black fruits, spices, chocolate, and soft acidity. The green, stemmy nose soon blows off and offers spices, toast, and black fruits. Fairly tannic on finish, this could sit for a few years.

Surprisingly liked the Merlot better (how can this be?) Leathery nose with spice box and cedar tones. Dried currants, black cherries, and beastly tannins. A little restrained right now with the tannins overwhelming the subtle spices, oak, and black fruits. Needs time, as this bottling usually does, particularly in this vintage. 84+