Review by Stephen Tanzer
Rating: (95)
(Right Bank blend based on 90% merlot): Dark medium ruby. Cooler on the nose than the Proprietary Red, offering sexy scents of blackberry, violet, licorice and leather. Then more opulent and open-knit on the palate, but with outstanding structure for a merlot-based wine. This utterly seamless example delivers insidious sweetness of fruit complicated by ineffable notes of wild herbs, licorice and spices. Very classy and long on the aftertaste, with
wonderfully refined tannins. A great California merlot. 95 points
(Winemaker Denis Malbec, who literally grew up at Chateau Latour, also makes the great merlot-based Roberta Reserve at Kapcsandy, which means that he is responsible for California’s two greatest merlots, in the opinion of
this taster.)
