This full-bodied wine comes charging ahead with spicy berries and Bing cherries. The tannins are granular, with strong flavors of tobacco, coffee grounds and dark chocolate in the foreground. It's a big-flavored wine from start to finish, with the power and polish to age.

The wine is named after founder Bernard Lacroute’s father, it is a more masculine and structured expression of this estate vineyard. · Moderate reddish purple color in the glass. The nose is somewhat primary, offering only scents of savory herbs. Much more expressive on the palate, with a mid weight plus core of black cherry fruit. Structured, yet suave, with exquisite balance and a giving, but not exceptional finish. This wine has a strong physique and is keeping back some of its charm at present and needs more time in bottle. I think this wine will be more glorious in another 2-3 years.

Aromas of violets, blueberries and raspberries follow through to a medium to full body, lightly chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Needs a year or two to soften.

IPNC: notes on 33 Pinot Noirs from Oregon Supple and sweetly fruited with a sweet, lush black cherry quality. Smooth and sweet with a bit of black pepper. Very attractive wine with nice polish.

IPNC: notes on 33 Pinot Noirs from Oregon Sweetly aromatic. Showing some development with sweet black cherries, some earth and a hint of undergrowth. Ripe, sleek and sweetly fruited.

Bright ruby-red. Roasted red berries, tobacco, game, coffee and animal fur on the nose. Lush, layered and sweet, with sexy flavors of roasted berries and game. Finishes uncompromisingly dry, with building, ripe tannins.

Good full ruby-red. Superripe aromas of black fruits, minerals, licorice and roast coffee, with floral, roasted and medicinal elements. Minerally, lush and sweet; dense and very long. A very long-scaled 2000, more filled in than the overwhelming majority of red wines from this vintage.

(89% merlot and 11% cabernet sauvignon) Saturated medium ruby. Smoky aromas of redcurrant, Cuban tobacco and game. Dense, concentrated and silky; suggests almost roasted ripeness yet also possesses excellent verve and lift. This has lovely fruit. Finishes with dusty tannins and excellent length. 92 points

His 1998 Merlot is an inter-appellation blend of 62% Sonoma and 38% Napa. It is a 2,000-case blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Eighty-five percent of the malolactic was done in barrel and the wine was bottled without any clarification. It is a blockbuster Merlot, and certainly a formidable achievement for 1998. The wine shows a dense black/purple color, an enormous nose of espresso roast, melted chocolate, blackberries, cherries and sweet truffle/earthy notes. Very full-bodied, astonishingly concentrated, extremely pure, and well-balanced, this is a blockbuster effort that can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20 years.

The 2011 Le Désir, a St.-Emilion-inspired offering, is a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot and the rest equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. My favorite of the 2011s, it displays lots of mulberry, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit intertwined with hints of underbrush as well as a subtle herbaceousness, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, beautiful density and sweet tannin. There are 2,500 cases of this 2011. Drink now-2025.

The 2011 La Muse presents a distinctly Old World profile of savory herbs, smoke, iron, tobacco, cedar and bright red stone fruits. This is a relatively soft, slender, small-scaled vintage for La Muse, but all the elements are nicely balanced. The 2011 can be enjoyed now or cellared for another decade.

Composed of 86% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec from Chalk Hill, Bennett Valley, Knight's Valley and Alexander Mountain Estate vineyards, the 2006 is a chunkier, more monolithic, deeply colored La Muse. It is capable of saturating the palate with full body in addition to revealing more tannin, structure and foresty, meaty, animal-like notes as well as a distinctive truffle-like component. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

A blend of 44% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec, the 2003 possesses copious aromas of graphite, truffles, asphalt, camphor and blue as well as black fruits. Medium-bodied, stylish and elegant, the wine is close to full maturity and should provide plenty of pleasure over the next 10-15 years.

Bright ruby-red. Ripe aromas of black plum, licorice, chocolate and menthol; slightly reduced. Sweet, lush, broad and deep, with black cherry, mocha and cocoa powder flavors complicated by a balsamic note. Finishes with dusty, building tannins.

Vintage Retrospective: The 1999 Napa Valley Cabernets Brighter dark red than La Muse. Aromas of redcurrant, plum, mocha and spices. Offers a captivating plump middle if not quite the plushness or sweetness of the Merlot-dominated La Muse. A hint of minty Cabernet contributes to the wine's impression of energy and definition. If this wine doesn't show quite the dimension of La Muse, it's more savory in character. Finishes with a firm dusting of tannins that avoid dryness.

This wine has an opaque purple color, big, powerful, highly extracted flavors, amazing richness for a wine of this vintage, and a long, muscular, dense finish. It needs a good 3-4 years of cellaring, yet should keep for two decades. The 1999 is super stuff, a prodigious wine of fabulous concentration.

This blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec is a broodingly burly, masculine wine with lots of intensity and richness, but not the finesse, charm or overall complexity of top vintages of La Joie. More undeveloped and monolithic than usual, it may simply need additional time in the bottle.

Rank Number 46 - 92 Points

Spicy, peppery, cassis, black berry, sappy, leather, tobacco, smoky, plum, barnyard, coffee aromas. Dry, full, round, warm palate with grainy tannins but good finesse. Chocolate, tobacco, cassis, peppery, vanilla, leather, plum, resin, green bean, black olive flavours. Long, tight, warm palate with some tannins to shed. Needs 5+ years to come around.

Aromas of blackberries, blueberries and lavender follow through to a full body with fine, firm and silky tannins. A lemony finish that gives the wine energy.

Big and juicy tannins with chocolate, walnut and almond character. Full body, rich and flavorful. Needs time to soften.

The 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva Strada al Sasso (100% Sangiovese aged in neutral barrique for 12 months) is a plush and rich wine with dark cherry fruit, plum, moist tobacco and cured leather. The wine spreads evenly over the palate with broad intensity and a long succession of dark fruit flavors. I love the texture and fullness of the wine and the tartness is significantly downplayed, which is not easy to do with the naturally acidic Sangiovese.

A bright and pretty red with dried berry, cherry and hits of hazelnut on the nose and palate. Full body, silky tannins and a fresh finish. Clean and balanced. American owned. Drink now.

Focused and elegant, this red bursts with pure cherry and raspberry fruit, showing accents of violet and kirsch. Firms up on the finish, where dusty tannins reign. Best from 2016 through 2024.

Focused and elegant, this bursts with pure cherry and raspberry fruit.