An intense, deeply extracted wine with a powerful bouquet of blackberry jam, red-fruit preserves, and plenty of new oak. This wine screams “Drink me!” from the first sniff. It’s an 18-wheeler running down a steep grade. It explodes on the palate with a cloudburst of fruit, chocolate, smoke and oak, descending via soft, smooth tannins into a ripe, seductive, extended finish. ——P.G.(11/15/2000)—— 93