Palmer

(a blend of 52% merlot, 41% cabernet sauvignon and 7% petit verdot; cropped at 34 hectoliters per hectare) Very dark ruby. Rich, concentrated aromas of ripe dark plum and blackberry show a pure, penetrating quality. Dense, rich and wonderfully tactile on the palate, with pure black fruit and graphite flavors nicely complicated by cocoa and coffee. Finishes very long, but with slightly rigid tannins that left me wishing for a touch more generosity. A very strong wine, but not quite as impressive as I expected in the context of the vintage-and more tannic than usual.

Bright medium red. Very ripe aromas of boysenberry, chocolate, violet and minerals. Wonderfully silky and intense, with terrific complexity to its dark berry, floral and minerals flavors. Most impressive today on the building, vibrant finish, which boasts a solid structure for at least mid-term aging. With 72 hours in the recorked bottle, this wine showed a texture of liquid velvet, with its seductive raspberry and chocolate flavors kept fresh by sound acidity. A beauty.