Not quite as successful as the brilliant 2001 and 2002, but still outstanding, the 2003 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz/Viognier (94% of the former and 6% of the latter) is not as powerful or rich as its two older siblings. Nevertheless, it is an impressive red offering an exotic nose of lychee nuts, honeysuckle, apricot marmalade, blackberries, and cassis. Expressive, full-bodied, and soft, but more superficial than usual, it is a flamboyant effort to drink over the next 5-7 years. Importer: Rob McDonald, Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 258-9552

Meaty, peppery aromas give way to ones of cherry pie filling after airing. Rhone-styled, perhaps, on the palate, with a cracked-pepper quality accenting the black fruit; there's a lifted quality—the Viognier's floral notes—to the black cherry fruit, that feels overdone. This is a tasty wine, to be sure, but one whose 6% Viognier is about 3% too much.——D.T.(3/1/2005)—— 88