“A meaty ragù of black fruit and tobacco scents, this is smoky and unctuous, with energy to drive its gamey rusticity. For grilled lamb.”

“Earthy-sweet blueberry flavors are brightened by an acidity that would make me excited to try this wine again in five years. Though the wine is suave and rich, it presents some of syrah's animal funk and floral aspects at the edges and at the end of its length. If you open it now, decant it to diminish the toasty oak in the finish. For grilled lamb.”

“Grown from a selection of south- and southeast-facing parcels, this wine layers saline, bright red fruit into a complex weave of purple berries and power. It takes a day of air to shake its oak (between 20 to 30 percent of the barrels are new); decant it now or lay it down for at least five years.”

“Notes of lemongrass and mint mingle with flavors of lemon curd and white grapefruit in this rich, honeyed wine. It will show more of itself in a year or two.”

“Two days of skin maceration followed by aging in amphorae yielded this copper-hued wine, it’s firm phenolic structure and light bitterness brightened by flavors of white peach and tangerine. Give it a year or two for the tannins to soften and the flavors to meld.”