Few make a separate bottling of Petite Verdot, but in the right hands, as it is here, it lends itself to a nice alternative to Cabernet. Dry, full-bodied, tannic and complex, the wine is weightier than Cabernet, with blue and black stone fruit and unsweetened dark chocolate flavors, and a tanned leather animality. But it’s soft, so drink now.——S.H.(9/1/2007)—— 88

Midnight black, super dry and bitterly tannic, but with structural elegance, this is a wine that calls for imagination with food pairing. Good beef comes to mind, char-broiled and garlicky. Gamblers will cellar it. ——S.H.(11/15/2006)—— 85