Rich and concentrated, with bold aromas of plum, currant and mocha leading to complex, layered blackberry, licorice and spice flavors that finish with a flourish of ripe, minerally tannins. Drink now through 2012. 4913 cases made.

Wonderfully rich and well-concentrated aromas of sweet oak and optimally ripened cherries make for a stellar start here, and the wine more than lives up to its promise with powerful, keenly proportioned flavors brimming with precise varietal fruit. Big, but beautifully balanced with a long, insistent finish, it is a generous and involving Merlot even now and has the structure and strength to get better with time, and it is certain to reward that patience with increased range and richness when held for another few years.

Medium to medium-dark ruby; attractive, spicy, cassis and sweet cherry fruit aroma with notes of green olive and black pepper, and vanilla; full body: forward, rich, textured, toasty, cherry fruit flavors with hints of milk chocolate; medium full to full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

The superb 2005 Merlot, a blend of fruit from Napa (70%) and Sonoma (30%), exhibits sweet plum and black currant fruit intermixed with mocha, coffee, and earth notes. This medium to full-bodied, elegant, lush, heady wine begs for consumption over the next 7-8 years.

Good full red. Redcurrant, tobacco, melted chocolate, mint and spicy oak on the nose. Sweet and fresh, with youthfully reticent flavors of plum, mocha and sweet herbs. Finishes with big, dusty but ultimately fine tannins. Plenty of stuffing here but in need of a couple years of additional bottle aging.