Just a step behind the La Chapelle this vintage, the 2020 Hermitage La Maison Bleue expresses the non-granitic side of Hermitage, in its opulent fruit and early accessibility. Ripe cherries and raspberries dominate the...

A blend from vineyards throughout the region, this is classical in its structure, concentrated in the low yields of 2019. The dry season and summer heat may be present in the wine’s potent tannins, serving to complete the...

The 2021 Syrah The Motor City Kitty is impossible to ignore. Rich and fruit-focused, it wafts up with notes of rum cake and blackberry jam complicated by black olive, rosemary and ashen stones. This opens with a balanced...

A racy nose of black fruits, smoke, wet earth and violets. Medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity. It has tension and balance with plenty of blueberries on the palate and a supple finish. Drink or hold.

Based on 100% Syrah fermented with 100% whole clusters and brought up in neutral oak, the 2022 Syrah Donna's Block is slightly deeper ruby/plum in hue and offers up blackberries, pepper, bouquet garni, orange blossom, and...

The 2020 Bullnose Syrah offers deli meat on the nose, exotic spice, graphite, black tea leaves and succulent red fruits. There is warmth (generosity, plushness, etc.) in this wine, but the acidity is cooling and detailed...

Deep, glistening violet color. Pungent, mineral-laced dark berry and cherry aromas are complemented by suggestions of licorice, smoked meat and exotic spices. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering juicy blackberry...

All destemmed and brought up in larger oak, the 2017 Syrah Sainte-Agathe is more serious, with a Côte Rôtie-like perfume of smoked game, framboise, spring flowers, and hints of olives. Elegant, medium-bodied, silky and...

Sleek, ripe and focused at first, with a racy beam of black currant and blackberry fruit that drives through, carried by a graphite edge and flanked by sweet bay leaf, tapenade and pepper accents. The long finish has a...

Sleek and polished, this Syrah has multilayered raspberry and plum flavors highlighted by baking spices, savory meat and pepper. Concludes with refined tannins. Drink now through 2030. - TF

Offers a complex and savory entry of grilled rosemary, peppercorn and candied bacon, with an intense, floral black currant note underneath. Built around a rich core of brambly berries and black plum on a medium frame...

A fresh, pure and vibrant style, with abundant flavors of just-ripe plum and smoked cherry, bolstered by snappy, pepper-edged acidity and highlighted by beautiful violet notes. Shows a supple palate, with savory acidity...

A textural, balanced and harmonious red with such patina already. The nose shows notes of dark cherries, fresh plums, forest floor and warm spices. Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Dense and velvety, with a kick of...

The 2020 Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude outperforms the 2022 in a landslide. Precise black cherry, red plum, cedar and pencil shaving come alive in the glass. Full-bodied, polished and complex, the 2020 engages the palate...

Crafted from fully destemmed grapes, the elegant and polished 2020 Saint-Joseph totally delivers. Violets, black cherry, raspberry and discrete cedar usher in. Ripe tannins structure this medium-bodied and concentrated...

A smoked bacon note hangs over black fruit and savory spices in this red, which shows an emerging gentleness with a few years of bottle age. Earthy and mulberry undertones abound, including leafy forest floor, white...

The classic 2020 Saint-Joseph Les Grisières presents wafts of graphite, crushed violets, ripe red fruits and cedary undertones. Elegant and refined, this concentrated and neatly structured red has all the ingredients for...

Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch is scented of rhubarb, blueberries and tangerine with touches of lilac and underbrush. The palate is delicate and bright, with bursts of acidity elevating its...

94+ An inky purple color, the 2022 Syrah Papa's Block is expressive with notes of blackberry compote, candied lavender, sappy herbs and forest earth. Full-bodied, its fleshy, ripe structure builds a touch on the palate...

From the Soberanes Vineyard, the 2022 Syrah The Initiation was matured for 15 months in 75% new French oak. It has savory, sanguine aromas of bacon fat, woodsmoke and iron over pure blackcurrant fruit. The full-bodied...

Savory and zesty, with a sinewy core of tannins framed by blackberry, espresso, licorice and smoked beef flavors that build density and tension on the finish. Best from 2026 through 2035. - TF

The 2020 Cote Rotie Neve is really pretty stuff this vintage. Starting with a lovely mix of violets, menthol, cedar, raspberries and blueberries, it has fantastic perfume and lift on the nose, a fine, elegant...