The 2006 Solo has a dense purple color, a big, sweet nose of lead pencil shavings intermixed with creme de cassis, new saddle leather, charcoal, and spice box. Its brilliant delineation and full-bodied texture, with nothing out of place in a seamless integration of all its building blocks make for a stylistic, flavorful, elegant, yet powerful wine to drink over the next 20-25 years. This is a strong group of wines from Silverado, and certainly a great deal of credit must go to winemaker Jonathan Emmerich.Tel. (707) 257-1770

Deep black fruit and cedar nose. Cassis and black pepper fruit and chocolate and coffee tannins. Long finish. Very good.

Not ready to open now, it’s just too tannic, although the flavors are so ripe and lush, they erupt right through the numbing astringency. Floods the mouth with ripe red stone fruits, berries and currants, as well as earthier notes of herbs, carob and minerals. The oak is strongly sensed, but entirely in keeping with the wine’s volume. Cellar this very fine wine until at least 2012, and it should develop for many years thereafter. ——S.H.(10/1/2010)—— 94