Dense, ripe and spicy; dark and concentrated, juicy and youthful with rich texture; supple, balanced and complex.

Ripe and fresh with tangy plum fruit and smooth vanilla in the nose; bright and lively, clean, complex and balanced.

Rich chocolate and vanilla nose; dark and dense with ripe plum, blackberry and chocolate flavors; velvety textured and complex with lovely acid structure and a long, luxurious finish.

Racy, nervy and showing pinpoint focus and tangy, elegant flavors of cherry, raspberry and spice; pretty, pure and stylish with great finesse and balance.

Rich and luscious with ripe cherry and juicy raspberry; crisp yet powerful and dense, complex and showing minerals and lovely floral notes; long and bright.

Love the berry and strawberry aromas here with hints of citrus fruit. Medium bodied, with a lovely intensity of fruit on the palate and a bright acidity. Super fine tannins. Racy and clean. Lovely now to drink.

Bright and racy (no malolactic) with minerals, tangy acidity, pure, focused flavors and elegant style; vibrant, lush and balanced with good length and a lively finish.

Velvety, ripe and rich with dense plum and black raspberry fruit; supple, rich and showing notes of mocha, spice and oak; long, balanced and stylish.

A crisp display of cherry and raspberry fruit and a core of tangy acidity; nervy, Burgundian and balanced with fresh flavors and good depth; long and zesty.

Dense, bold and extracted with intense blackberry and cherry fruit; dusty, deep and voluptuous with minerals and ripe fruit; lush and long.

Bright and fresh with medium weight and excellent structure; juicy plum and well-proportioned tannins; long, elegant and balanced.

Smooth, attractive melon and white peach fruit; quite elegant, the oak inputs well-controlled and balanced.

Lush, ripe and concentrated with smooth, creamy texture and lot of oak; rich, dense and showing spice and depth.

Smooth and ripe with lovely plum, raspberry and spice; fresh, generous and balanced with a long pure finish.

Nice spicy juicy fruits; attractive, ripe but fine tannins; very different to the varietal blend of the same wines.

Good colour; a super-ripe mix of plum, prune, chocolate and vanilla; overall, a touch too sweet. Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre.

Dusty and juicy with excellent structure and nice, edgy style; fresh and balanced.

Dense, rich and showing ripe cherry, cola and spice; opulent and smooth with good structure and balance; long and complex.

Bright ruby-red. Reticent aromas of dark berries, pepper and herbs. In a distinctly cool style, with a raw suggestion of green pepper. Finishes with peppery tannins. Nicely juicy and brisk but seems a bit undernourished.

This blend of 87% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec (the highest percentage of Merlot ever used for Le Desir) reveals notes of truffles, mocha, wild mountain berry fruit, crushed rock and coffee. Fabulous fruit, tremendous viscosity and opulence and a full-bodied, voluptuous texture result in a wine that is hard to resist even though it remains an adolescent in terms of development. It should provide pleasure over the next 15+ years.

This 93% Merlot / 7% Cabernet Franc blend (92% from the Alexander Mountain Estate, 6% from Bennett Valley and 2% from Knight's Valley) is a kissing cousin of the 2001, only softer and more flamboyant. Classically Californian in its exuberant, flamboyant, super-rich, unctuously textured style, the tannins are softer than in the 2001, but the wine unquestionably has the potential to last for another quarter of a century. It exhibits an opaque plum/purple color along with abundant notes of cassis, licorice, graphite, coffee cake and spice box. More approachable than the 2001, the 2002 will offer phenomenal drinking over the next 25 years.

How much fun collectors will have comparing the 2007 and 2008 La Joies over the next three decades. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (48% from Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 34% from Chalk Hill and 18% from Knight's Valley), the 2008 has similar technical numbers to the 2007 (a pH of 3.68 and 14.4% alcohol). Wonderful notes of roasted herbs, asphalt, black truffles, blackberries, cassis, camphor and subtle oak are present in the majestic aromatics. In the mouth, the wine is extraordinarily concentrated, pure and dense with amazing length. It is another 30-40 year wine that confirms the confidence the late Jess Jackson had in both his vineyard sources and his winemaker, Pierre Seillan.

Absolutely prodigious, the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain was fashioned from the Keyes Vineyard (formerly known as the Liparita Vineyard) owned by the Jackson family. A fabulous perfume of crushed rocks, a liqueur of raspberries, black currants and cherries, and a background floral note emerges from this intense, full-bodied Cabernet. It possesses impressive equilibrium, a skyscraper-like texture and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute. There is plenty of tannin remaining in this youthful 2001. It is a stunning, statuesque, compelling Cabernet Sauvignon from a high elevation, cool climate Howell Mountain vineyard that should age effortlessly for another quarter of a century. Winemaker Chris Carpenter, who has worked for the late Jess Jackson for many years, hit pay dirt at Lokoya in nearly every vintage. Certainly these 2001s have aged magnificently over the last decade. These 100% Cabernet Sauvignons are aged for 18-22 months in 100% new French oak and are bottled with no fining or filtration.

A blend of 87% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec (3% from the Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 49% from Chalk Hill and 48% from Knight's Valley), exhibits a Bordeaux-like personality. Thick, viscous and rich with great elegance, tremendous purity and intensity as well as a full-bodied sweetness, it offers notes of caramel, mocha, coffee roast, black cherries and black currants. This supple, velvety-textured, opulent 2005 is accessible now and capable of lasting another 20-25 years.

The first truly profound Le Desir, this blend of 49% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits the deepest, most concentrated and multidimensional personality of the first five vintages of this cuvee. A dense plum/purple color is accompanied by notes of graphite, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco, licorice and fruitcake. Full-bodied, layered and opulent, the 2004 can be drunk now or cellared for two more decades.